Bed bug heat treatment is one of the various options to exterminate bugs. This guide will discuss DIY procedures, temperature ranges, and the success rate.

When faced with a bed bug problem, you’ll want to find all the necessary means to get rid of the problem.

Thankfully, there are several ways bed bugs can be tackled.

However, we are interested in one of these strategies: killing bed bugs with heat. To get a perspective of the financial implication, here is the cost involved.

Bed Bug Heat Treatment Reviews

Heat treatment will be the focus here as we seek to discuss ways through which these bed bugs can be exterminated with heat.

Like other types of control methods, you’d naturally want to find out the pros and cons involved. All these will be discussed too.

How effective is this process? We’ll do justice to this question too, but more than that, our discussions will cover other equally vital areas, such as preparation, DIY procedures, ideal temperature range, and safety.

We realize that lots of questions will likely emerge from persons considering this option. The same applies to readers trying to compare heat treatment with other strategies.

Whichever part of the divide you fall under, be rest assured that we’ve got you covered.

  • How Effective is Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs?

Does heat treatment work? Heat treatment has seen a surge in popularity in recent years. This is due to the great results obtained.

In other words, heat treatment for bed bugs has proven to be effective.

Bed bugs may be able to survive other extermination methods but not heat. These bugs often hide in electrical fittings or fit in tight spaces.

As a result, the relief you get from some control options is short-lived, necessitating a full structure thermal treatment.

Can Bed Bugs Survive After Heat Treatment?

By raising the temperature of your apartment to some levels, these bugs will hardly survive.

On one hand, bed bugs at the adult, nymph, and egg stages are destroyed completely. On the other hand, you must have the knowledge or experience or both to do it right.

A professional should be trusted to perform a more thorough bed bug thermal extermination.

  • Pros of Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs

There are benefits attached to the deployment of thermal treatment for bed bugs.

The most obvious of these advantages include its ability to penetrate bed bug hiding spots. Couches and other furniture are examples of such hiding places. Applying heat treatment to the whole building means that bed bugs have nowhere to escape.

Thermal treatment kills pesticide-resistant bed bugs. Pesticide-resistant varieties emerge during the growth process. These bugs shed their outer skins as much as five times during development. At this point, any pesticide treatment that doesn’t kill them will only make bed bugs more resistant.

This is where heat treatment gives you an edge. Such pesticide-resistant varieties cannot withstand sustained high temperatures (140°F).

Have you ever heard of a heat-resistant bed bug? There is no chance in the world that there’s such a variety.

Heat is fast-acting, natural and non-toxic. For these reasons, you should be able to use your home once the temperature drops to a tolerable level (which is quite fast). There are no extra expenses to be incurred from lodging in a hotel for the duration of treatment. You only need to be out for a few hours.

Your entire home or structure is treated at once. You don’t need to worry about these bugs relocating to another part of your home. Heat radiates and penetrates areas that you can’t easily reach yourself.

  • Cons of Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs

There are disadvantages associated with thermal treatments for bed bugs. The most common will be attributed to the stress and time involved in removing items that may get destroyed by heat.

These could include electrical and electronic gadgets, delicate furniture, food items, etc.

It takes more time to figure out what needs to be removed. This is a time-consuming process but worth it.

Another disadvantage associated with heat treatment for bugs is the risk associated with returning excluded items into the home. Bed bugs might have found a way to hide such items.

When these items are returned, it renders the whole treatment process ineffective. It will only be a short time before surviving bed bugs repopulate your home.

These are all aspects of bed bug heat treatment you need to know about. On the whole, thermal treatment is an effective treatment option to consider for bed bug control.

Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs: Preparation

Before heat treatment commences, necessary steps need to be taken regarding preparation. This has been mentioned a while ago and has to do with sorting.

  • Bed Bug Heat Treatment Damage

Heat can damage a lot of things. To prevent this from happening, such items must be removed until thermal treatment is completed.

Things to be removed are numerous. The following are just a few categories to consider:

How to Prepare for Bed Bug Heat Treatment

  • Flammables must be out of the way. These consist of alcohol, fuel, and solvents.
  • Either remove drugs completely or place them in refrigerators.
  • Plants and pets should also be excluded.
  • Cosmetics, candles, pressurized items (like fire extinguishers, propane cylinders, hairsprays, etc) must be removed.
  • Also, dispose of all forms of garbage before treatment.

These and several others must be excluded during preparation. We recommend asking your heat treatment service provider for information on what is safe to keep and what should be removed.

Professionals should have a better idea of what you should keep or remove.

Bed Bug Heat Treatment DIY

Not everyone wants to call in a professional to handle their bed bug problems. If you’d rather get things done yourself, then this might interest you. Diy procedure for bed bug heat treatment is quite easy to follow, but first, you must prepare for it.

Preparation for heat treatment has already been discussed above.

The next step is getting the right treatment kit. This can either be purchased or hired from treatment companies. With this equipment, you only need to set them up correctly and raise the temperature to at least 120°F ( the maximum should be 120°F). The whole process starting from installation to removal of equipment can take you anytime from 12 hours to a day.

You must ensure that items removed aren’t infested or harbor bed bugs. You can apply other forms of treatment like chemical spray or non-toxic methods such as the use of diatomaceous earth etc.

Killing Bed Bugs With Heat Yourself: Temperature Range

Thermal treatment for bed bugs has a lot to do with acceptable temperature levels. When the temperature is not sufficient, you’d only be keeping these bugs warm.

The heat has to be sufficient enough to exterminate. Yet, it must have a limit it shouldn’t exceed.

According to several charts available online, exceeding acceptable levels may result in fires and damage.

  • What temperature kills bed bugs instantly?

Here is the acceptable range of temperatures involved in thermal bed bug treatments. The least temperature requirement should be 120°F. The highest it can go under certain conditions should be 140°F.

This temperature range is lethal enough to exterminate bed bugs wherever they hide.

  • How Long Should Heat Treatment Last?

Time is of the essence when it comes to thermal treatment for bed bugs. You’d want to raise and sustain temperatures for a sufficient amount of time until all bed bugs are exterminated.

How long does it take to kill bed bugs with heat? Well, when the temperature is adequately raised (between 120°F to 140°F), it should take between 2 to 3 hours to get the best results.

Bed Bug Heat Treatment Success Rate

When using a thermal treatment for bed bug infestations, most people are most concerned with the success rate. Luckily, this method is highly successful when all the necessary conditions are met. The cold spots of your home are areas whose temperatures must be sufficiently raised.

Other conditions include having a well-sealed room, raising temperatures to sufficient levels, allowing sufficient time before temperatures are dropped as well as thoroughly checking items removed for these bugs. You should have a 100% success rate when all these conditions are met.

Bed Bug Heat Treatment Equipment

Raising temperature levels for bug control relies on a good bed bug heat treatment machine.

This equipment can either be bought or you seek for an equipment rental service. The tool consists of industrial heaters also known as commercial propane bed bug heaters.

You can also check for the best bed bug heaters on sale, but how do you know the best products? Well, this has no easy answer.

My advice is that you search for reviews on the best thermal treatment equipment for bed bugs. This should spring up tons of useful results.

Another easy way to find the best device is by visiting an equipment rental service. Nothing beats that. You are guaranteed very functional heating tools to use.

If you prefer the DIY alternative, then dry vapor steamers for bed bug treatment is your best bet. This is used on a small scale such as for killing bed bugs with heat in cars and certain areas of your home. It can also be used on couches and furniture with significant success.

Bed bug heat treatment, as we’ve seen, requires a lot of considerations. There’s also the need for certain conditions to be met before it is completely effective.

In general, this strategy of bed bug control is highly recommended by most professionals and you should consider it.

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