How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

If you have clicked on this webpage it is because you are asking yourself, “how do I get rid of bed bugs?” Hopefully this website will help you decide which option is best for you and your family.

Ways to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

If you plan to try and get rid of bed bugs on your own you should consult with a professional as bedbugs can be extremely hard to get rid of on your own. If you are able to close the place up for 12 months you may be able to starve them out, but you need to make sure there are no rodents, birds or other mammals that the bed bugs can feed on.  Bedbugs prefer humans, but when no other food source is available they will feed on other mammals.

Chemical Treatment for Bed Bugs

If you hire someone to help you get rid of bed bugs you can either hire a chemical company or a heat remediation company. Hiring a professional chemical company that has experience with the treatment of bed bugs is key. Understand that chemicals may cost less, but require at least one return visit to apply additional chemicals to ensure that any eggs which hatch are also killed. This return visit should occur 2 or 3 weeks after initial treatment as it takes an average of 7 to 14 days for eggs to hatch. It would not be uncommon that the chemical company would need to return for a third or fourth visit to ensure that all bedbugs have been killed.

Depending on the size of the infestation, you may be advised to get rid of a mattress, couch, suitcase, etc. (If you do throw out items please mark items as infested so that others do not dumpster dive and infest more homes.)  You may also need to laundry all clothing on high heat for 30 minutes and then store in clean tubs to help reduce infestation. If you hire a chemical company it will be necessary that you not have guest in your home until all treatments are completed and there is no evidence of bedbugs in the dwelling.  There are cases where people have their dwelling chemically treated, believing that since it was treated they no longer have a problem with bed bugs. Then they have guest occupy the home or take on a tenant just to find out that they still have the problem and now so do their guest(s). Not only is this bad karma, but can also lead to litigation between the parties involved.

Heat Treatments for Bed Bugs

If you decide to hire a heat remediation company, to rid you of bedbugs, you need to understand what this entails. Most heat remediation companies specialize in using heat to kill bedbugs. You should make sure that they are licensed, insured and have trained personnel using the heat equipment. Having a dwelling heat treated is similar to having the dwelling sterilized and it may cost a few hundred dollars more than a chemical company.

Best Bed Bugs Treatment

Heat companies are often able to heat the dwelling in the morning and finish heating before the end of the day. This means that you are able to leave for work and come back to a home that is bed bug free that evening. Heat is capable of killing: eggs, nymphs, and adult bedbugs. When heat is used properly it is able to kill bed bugs in the box springs, mattresses, couches, and furnishings. This is nice when you do not want to throw away your belongings.

With heat it will be necessary to open dresser drawers and if they are crammed full of clothes you will be instructed to thin them out by laying some items on the bed or floor. If you have stacks and stacks of books, magazines, or boxes of things you will need to spread these items around as well. You will also be instructed to use rubbing alcohol to wipe down any items that may melt or explode and to store these cleaned items in a clean tub outside the home.  (Ex: batteries, candles, liquor, hairspray, guns and aerosols.)

Bedbugs are very sensitive to high heat so the heat process usually works around 98% of the time, the very first time that the dwelling is heated. When heat fails it is generally because someone took an infested item out of the home during the heating process and then returned with the item and re-introduced the bugs back into the dwelling. (Ex: taking a backpack, purse, teddy bear, etc.)

Heat companies are a good option to get rid of bed bugs for those who have severe asthma, allergies, eczema, pregnant, small children or pets as chemicals may cause harm. Heat is also a good option for those who depend upon rental income and cannot afford to take the dwelling out of service for the four to eight weeks as required with chemicals.

Regardless of which route you take to rid your home of bedbugs, remember to get the agreed estimate and follow-up inspection plan in writing. Be vigilant and pay attention to your environment, but don’t let bed bugs keep you from traveling or living your life. Realize that they are only a pest and you can get rid of bedbugs.

Bed Bug Detection

Scarlet's Certification/
Credentials

The use of a certified bed bug dog that is trained to sniff out live bed bugs and live eggs are approximately 94% accurate with a professional handler. Scarlet has been certified by the IBBMA to hunt out live eggs and live bed bugs.

See our FAQ page on How to Eradicate Bedbugs.

Not sure what to do? Give us a call and set up an appointment to have Scarlet come by and have a sniff. Both Scarlet and our handler will arrive in a discrete manner. There will be nothing that identifies the handler or Scarlet as bed bug detectors. In addition, all results are kept in the strictest confidence and only information that needs to be shared with either our staff or the company that you hire to eradicate them will be shared. You should know that once Scarlet has marked an item or bed as having a bedbug, the handler will search the item to try and find the bedbug and if able to be found will collect the bug(s) as proof that there has not been a false positive result. This will also give you a chance to look at the bedbug and understand what you are dealing with.

Call Us Toll Free - 1-843-901-9765

Bed Bug Detection Remediation Services of South Carolina is a division of FFR, Inc.