When it comes to bed bugs, people often think about tiny bugs that they can squash with their feet. However, bed bugs are difficult to kill as they are hard to find. In fact, they spend most of their life in the shelter resting, mating, and reproducing. If you have bed bugs in your home, there is no need to panic. There are ways to effectively kill them. One of these is using extreme temperatures, both high and low. This is the technique that professional bed bug exterminators use. But, does heat kill bed bugs?
Understanding Bed Bug Heat Treatment
This type of bed bug treatment takes many forms and can be done in a variety of ways. However, heat treatment is focused on exposing bed bugs to lethally hot temperatures in the hops to kill the entire population found in your home. Heat kills bed bugs around 120 degrees F.
One of the ways to perform heat treatment is through hot box treatment. This an effective method for killing bed bugs in your shoes, bags, or clothes. Your items will be placed inside the hot box and then the walls are heated past the lethal high temperature, killing the bugs in stages. It is important to ensure your items are not at risk of damage because of the heat.
Moreover, steaming can be an effective treatment for some of your lighter furniture. This treatment does not offer a deep treatment and kill hidden bed bugs; however, it will do a great job of exposing the bugs on pillows, blankets, and bed frames to fatally high temperatures.
The best way to eradicate bed bugs from your home is to use bed bug heaters. These devices are what professional exterminators use. This is where you will need to hire a professional to deal with your bed bug infestation at home.
Reasons you Should Not Perform Heat Treatment by Yourself
No matter how thorough you are with box treatment and steaming, they won’t be enough to kill deep, hidden infestations. Also, you must think about how far the infestation has spread throughout your house. Thus, you should seek the help of pest control experts. Although they may use a heat treatment on some items, they may also use insecticides and a mechanical approach. They know where to look for bed bugs and use proven methods to eliminate the infestation from your home completely.