Steam Treatments for Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius
Bed Bug Steam Treatment
Steam treatment works to eradicate Bed Bugs
Our Board Certified Entomologist suggest with bed bug infestations rising in the Kansas City area and fears sweeping the nation, that homeowners need to start looking for ways to tell if they have bed bugs and, if they do, are searching for safe ways to get rid of the problem. While no treatment is absolutely foolproof, certain treatments, such as steam cleaning, are highly effective at ridding a home of the pests when used by a licensed commercial provider such as ZipZap Termite & Pest Control.
Bed bugs are tiny, microscopic pests that can cause a big problem in a home. It is possible to tell bed bugs are in a home by looking first in two places: the body, in the form of bites or a rash and the sheets. On bedsheets, bed bugs will show their presence by leaving behind what appears to be a tiny blood splatter, or blood smears. This marking is the feces left behind by bed bugs and is a telltale sign that they are present in a home. A second way to know if a home has the bugs is to look at areas of the body without any hair for small red bite marks. Some marks will swell and others will not.
Once the signs of bed bugs are found, it is time to seek professional company to treat. Options for do-it-yourself treatments at home are viable but just know that it is very difficult even for a professional. No treatment is as effective as anything performed by a professional, especially our Board Certified Entomologist here at ZipZap Termite & Pest Control. An environmentally-friendly treatment option we offer is high steam application.
Bed bugs are highly sensitive to heat, and levels of 97 degrees Fahrenheit and upwards have been known to kill the pests in large numbers. A steam cleaner is especially effective because the steam can penetrate areas that sprays, powders and other sometimes harmful substances cannot, including cracks, crevices and even the insides of mattresses. Another reason steam is a good killer is because it will take care of full-sized adult bugs as well as eggs and developing bed bugs.
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A pest control company that uses steam cleaning will give the resident of the home or workers of a business to be treated a list of things to do before their arrival. These things generally include washing all linens and sealing up everything that has been exposed to the bugs, including electronics, inside plastic bags. Once the site is fully inspected and prepared, ZipZap Termite & Pest Control will bring a steam cleaning machine that produces a high temperature into the area. A common starting point for any bed bug treatment are mattresses. Any bugs that survive the treatment will move to other areas, where they can then be eradicated on the next sweep.
Any reputable pest control provider will do a full and thorough cleaning of the area, including mattress seams, beneath handles and labels on the mattress, inside and outside the base of the bed and the headboard and foot board. The fabric on the bottom of the box springs will |
be removed for treatment of the inside of the mattress, but it can be easily reattached. Other furniture will be treated in the same manner, along with curtains, carpet, rugs and even crevices in walls.
Many times a good steam treatment will get rid of bugs in a single pass, but sometimes multiple uses are necessary. Here at ZipZap Termite & Pest Control we offer steam treatment for eradication of bed bugs.
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by J. Preece
