Insecticide or Heat for Bed Bugs?

There are many forms of Bed Bug Treatments. Most notably are Traditional Insecticide Treatments and Thermal Heat Treatments. More and more methods are surfacing daily. Pesticide treatments have been around for a very long time, About as long as man. Products have evolved and methods have been refined.Heat Treatments are still a relatively new concept. There is very little data available, unless you consider a very large amount of speculation online. There are some opinions from people not necessarily for Heat, but against Pesticides in general. Heat Treatments are one of many new products and services brought about by the green movement. Don’t get me wrong, green is good, rules and regulations are good too. I just believe Pesticides are vital to the health and well being of people. I have formed that opinion after seeing thousands of roach infestations, seeing rat poop on kids pillows, seeing rashes and hives on babies from parasites like Bed Bugs, Fleas, Mosquitoes and Mites, as well as Spider bites. I have also seen homes destroyed by Termites and Carpenter Ants. I have read about Lyme, Histoplasmosis, Malaria and a host of other diseases. Yes I believe they are important. Yes, I agree with the fact that something needs to be done about the Pesticides on the food we eat. But that is another subject.There has been a lot of research lately about Bed Bugs evolving and and becoming resistant to certain products. This has always been the case with many other types of insects, most notably the cockroach. How do we deal with a situation like this? Simply change to another product like we have always done. Although in my opinion of 28 years of Pest Control Experience, if a Bed Bug infestation is treated properly and that infestation is eliminated. How then could that Bed Bug possibly evolve? Many people would answer that the technician didn’t eliminate the Bed Bug infestation. I agree that is the case in most situations. We can ask how then can a customer choose a Company that will eliminate the problem? Again, in my opinion it comes down to the length of the guarantee. The longer the Bed Bug Guarantee, the more confidence a company has on their work. If there is no guarantee or a short guarantee (As in the case of heat) then the company must not have any confidence in their work.

Some reasons I have heard why some companies give short guarantees or why a treatment didn't work. This is from customers that I have treated AFTER a heat treatment failed.

• The home was not prepared properly. (Then why was the treatment done?).

• The items that were removed and then brought back in re-infested the house.

• No Bed Bugs were found on a follow up inspection. (Was there any found on the initial inspection?)

• The entire home was not done, only the areas where Bed Bugs were found or reported. (Hmm. Ok, but couldn't have Bed Bugs been in the kitchen chairs, the office chair, the bonus room, laundry room, the hallway carpet, the hamper in the bathroom?…….Could they be there now?)

Questions to ask a Heat Control Company BEFORE a service for Bed Bugs:

• How long has the inspector been doing Bed Bug inspections? (I have been doing them for 28 years.)

• How long has the Pest Technician been doing Bed Bug treatments? (The one doing the treatment NOT the salesman or inspector)

• What kind of training has either the Tech or the Inspector had?

• What Products and Methods do you use?

• What happens if all the Bed Bugs are not killed initially?

• What happens if the items taken out of the home have Bed Bugs in them when they are brought back in?

• What happens if I re-introduce Bed Bugs into my home?

• Is there a chance any items in my home could be damaged?

• If you use heat, what materials are susceptible to damage? How do you know this? Did you have training to know this?

• What happens to Bed Bugs deep in the walls?

• Do you offer a temperature report after the process? (What is this? Heat probes are placed throughout the room to see how high or

• low the temperature reaches and for how long, there should be a report.) • The home was not prepared properly. (Then why was the treatment done?).

• The items that were removed and then brought back in re-infested the house.

• No Bed Bugs were found on a follow up inspection. (Was there any found on the initial inspection?)

• The entire home was not done, only the areas where Bed Bugs were found or reported. (Hmm. Ok, but couldn't have Bed Bugs been in the kitchen chairs, the office chair, the bonus room, laundry room, the hallway carpet, the hamper in the bathroom?…….Could they be there now?)

Questions to ask a Heat Control Company BEFORE a service for Bed Bugs:

• How long has the inspector been doing Bed Bug inspections? (I have been doing them for 28 years.)

• How long has the Pest Technician been doing Bed Bug treatments? (The one doing the treatment NOT the salesman or inspector)

• What kind of training has either the Tech or the Inspector had?

• What Products and Methods do you use?

• What happens if all the Bed Bugs are not killed initially?

• What happens if the items taken out of the home have Bed Bugs in them when they are brought back in?

• What happens if I re-introduce Bed Bugs into my home?

• Is there a chance any items in my home could be damaged?

• If you use heat, what materials are susceptible to damage? How do you know this? Did you have training to know this?

• What happens to Bed Bugs deep in the walls?

• Do you offer a temperature report after the process? (What is this? Heat probes are placed throughout the room to see how high or

• low the temperature reaches and for how long, there should be a report.)

If you ask these questions I would love to hear the answers. Email them to me, but don’t mention the name of the tech or company. I do not dispute that heat kills bed Bugs, that is a proven fact. Heat is a great tool to take care of an isolated problem. Heat is also a great tool to take care of a sensitive problem like retirement or nursing homes. But heat treatments should ONLY be used as a tool, not a one size fits all, better than sliced bread approach. There are a lot of fly by night companies popping up and using cheap heating equipment, that will just spread the problems and into hiding.