How To Eliminate Bed Bugs
Over the last ten years, Eco Smart Pest Control has developed The 5-Step Program that kills bed bugs and will end your bed bug problem. The 5-Step Program is thorough and effective; thousands of satisfied customers can’t be wrong!
Steps 1 through 3 are preformed at the time of our service call; steps 4 and 5 are the easy steps you can do yourself to speed up the elimination of your bed bug problem. We provide the products you will need for these follow-up steps.
Step 1: The Powder Treatment is CRITICAL! Carpets and rugs are great hiding and breeding places for bed bugs. They burrow to the bottom of the carpet where they can lay their eggs in a protected environment. They crawl under carpet edges at the baseboards and wait until dark, when it’s time to come out to feed. This is why the treatment of carpets and rugs with our Bed Bug Powder is extremely important in the elimination of bed bugs.
What if I don’t have carpets? or What if I get rid of my carpets?
Having carpeting or area rugs actually helps in the elimination of bed bugs, because rugs will hold the long lasting Bed Bud Powder. The powder will kill the newly hatched bed bugs that come out of their hiding places.
If you don’t have carpets, we recommend you purchase carpet remnants or area rugs and leave them down on the floor until the bed bug problem is under control. If this is not possible you will want to step up the amount of spraying you do after the initial treatment to compensate for the lack of powder. Of course we will still treat baseboards and the bed with the Bed Bug Powder.
ECO SMART Pest Control uses a specialized machine to apply the Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Powder to all the carpeted areas in the home. The powder is machined deeply into the carpet fibers where the bed bugs burrow and lay their eggs. The Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Powder is electro-statically charged so that it adheres to the carpet fibers and remains for up to one year. As the bugs crawl in the carpet, the powder adheres to their outer skeleton and causes them to dehydrate and suffocate by clogging their respiratory system. It’s important to apply Bed Bug Powder between the mattress and box spring and to the areas of the bed frame that make contact with the bed. We also pay attention to the areas where the feet of the bed make contact with the floor, to keep bed bugs from climbing up the legs of the bed.
A female lays anywhere from one to twelve eggs a day and they will hatch every six to seventeen days. That’s why the long lasting Bed Bug Carpet Powder is so important in the elimination of bed bugs.
Step 2: Installing Bed Covers is A MUST! By the time you are being bitten on a regular basis, you can bet the bed bugs have infested your bed. Getting rid of the bed will not solve your problem – only create an extra added expense. Your new bed will most likely be quickly infested by bed bugs that are living elsewhere in your home. Bed bugs will infest your beds and come out at night to feast on your blood.
Our bed bug proof mattress and box spring encasements are made with special fabrics and zippers that prevent bed bugs from getting into your bed and prevent the ones that are already inside your bed from getting out. All the treatments in the world will not get rid of your bed bugs if the mattresses and box springs are infested and are not permanently encased.Don’t forget your pillows! Bed bugs will infest your pillows and you will be resting your head right on top of them. Encase your pillows with our bed bug proof pillow encasements for that extra protection.
We will install the encasements and treat the bed at the same time.
Step 3: Fumigate Your Home - Bed bugs hide everywhere. To get to all those nooks and crannies, the best solution is to have us fumigate with Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Spray. This kills bugs everywhere the fog can penetrate and eliminates many bed bugs with one application.
Bed bugs are masters at concealment, that’s why they are so difficult to detect. They’re there, hiding everywhere, you just can’t see them. But be assured, come nighttime they will come out and bite you. So how do you get to all those nooks and crannies where the bed bugs are hiding? The best solution is our bed bug fumigation. Our technicians use a handheld fogger which creates a cloud that penetrates every exposed surface, nook and cranny, and kills many bed bugs with one application. Of course it's impossible to kill all those bed bugs hiding in places that are inaccessible (such as inside walls), therefore we may need to repeat this application at future dates.
Step 4: Wash Everything with Cedar Bug-Free™ Laundry Additive.Eliminating bed bugs from your bedding and clothing is a critical step in ending their infestation. Bed bugs infest your bedding and clothing and continue biting while you are asleep or awake, even away from your home. They are commonly carried on clothing from place to place thus spreading their infestations to other rooms, furniture, cars, houses, even to your workplace.
Cedar Bug-Free™ Laundry Additive is designed to kill bed bugs in your bed sheets, blankets, clothing, etc. Hot water isn’t enough to kill them, unless the temperature is above 135 degrees and dryers don’t get hot enough either.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the hot water/clothes dryer temperature which will kill bed bugs, but it is a fact that bed bugs attach themselves to bed sheets, pillow cases, blankets, clothing and any other fabric material. The professionals that specialize in laundering clothing that has been exposed to bed bugs tell us that bed bugs can be killed by exposure to heat, but they must be exposed to a temperature of at least 140° F for a minimum of 35 minutes. This means that the water in the washing machine must be well above 130° F because the water cools down immediately as it hits the clothes and the tub inside the washer. The same concept applies to the dryer; the wet clothes take a very long time to heat up. The problem is compounded by the fact that residential hot water rarely exceeds 140° F, and then you have all those delicate items that must be washed in cold or warm water. To this end, you need to wash ALL your bedding and clothing often using Cedar Bug-Free™ Laundry Additive, which will kill the bed bugs in cold or hot water but not harm your clothes.
TO USE:
- Use 1 to 2 Tablespoons (½ ounce to 1 ounce) in the wash depending on load size.
- As washer fills with water, add Cedar Bug-Free™ Laundry Additive
- Add bedding or clothing.
Step 5: Use Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Spray to maintain a bed bug free Home. We have powdered your carpets, encased your mattresses, box springs and pillows, fumigated your home and you have been faithfully using the Cedar Bug-Free™ Laundry Additive in every wash so you are done, right? Not yet! As careful and thorough as you can be, bed bugs can still get to you so it’s important to be on the lookout and diligent in your maintenance program.
Since the bed bugs can lay dormant up to one and a half years before having to find a host, we recommend spraying nightly with Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Spray the places where you see them or have seen them, such as headboards, nightstands, dressers, bed frames, baseboards, curtains, picture frames, and entertainment centers. This will kill the bed bugs that are emerging from those places before they get to you. Spray the sides and around your bed every night before you go to bed. This will kill any that have found their way to your mattress and also will help to repel others throughout the night. Bed bugs will try to feed off you any chance they get so don’t let them win by reaching you before they take their last breath.
If you live in an apartment you will need to be on the defense for an undetermined amount of time. Bed bugs can return at any time since they can travel in the walls, electrical lines, and plumbing.
When you travel away from home it’s best to spray your suitcases prior to airline flights. It only takes one female to start an infestation.
A female lays anywhere from one to twelve eggs a day and they will hatch every six to seventeen days. Bed bugs have up to six week reproductive cycle, so you may see a few strays after treatment. Our new Cedar Bug-Free™ Bed Bug Spray is ideal for taking care of those stragglers.
We want to get rid of your bed bugs and keep them from coming back! Call us today for a free estimate.
