If you find bed bugs in your home or business, there’s no doubt you’ll want bed bug treatment. But how do you know what treatment is best and how long it will last? Let’s discuss this and more.
DIY Bed Bug Treatments
For some people, the first thought after finding bed bugs is how they can DIY to save money. Truthfully, there are more products for sale over-the-counter than any one person can ever remember. Worthy of note is that professionals use none of them. This alone should speak volumes for OTC bed bug products.
Not only are DIY products inferior to professional products, but so is the DIY technician. Yes, we mean you. You’re not a pest control technician and cannot be expected to have the knowledge a pest control technician has. That means you likely have no idea how to treat bed bugs. You don’t know what to use, when to use it, how often to use it, how much to use, where to use it, or how to use it. All these things are crucial for successful bed bug control.
Bottom line: DIY bed bug treatments are rarely successful and usually cost much more than hiring a professional initially. Do yourself a favor; if you have no formal training and experience in bed bug control, don’t attempt to learn on your own home! You’ll likely regret it.
What if We Want a DIY Treatment Anyway?
No problem! Everyone has the right to try their own DIY bed bug treatment, and there are plenty of products sold to the public. The issue most people will
face, however, is failure after failure. DIY bed bug treatments are rarely successful and can cost thousands in products and furniture replacement after multiple failed control attempts. There are a few key things you must understand to be successful:
- Bed bug lifecycle
- Where bed bugs hide
- What insecticides to use
- When to use certain insecticides
- Where to treat
- How to treat
- How often to treat
These topics cannot be learned in a few minutes and take time and practice. Each situation is unique; meaning treatments aren’t always the same.
The bottom line is that you need the bed bugs eliminated, and education is critical to stop them! That means there are several things you must either already know or must learn. Among them are:
Bed Bug Lifecycle
It’s essential to understand the bed bug life cycle to know how often treatments must be made and what products must be used. Since bed bugs grow quickly from egg to mating adults, IGRs (insect growth regulators) can be an important part of a solid bed bug control program.
Where Bed Bugs Hide
If you don’t know where the bugs are hiding, how can you target the actual insect? Sure, you can apply an insecticide to the surface of various areas, but that may not be enough. If you’re going to DIY, learn how to find bed bugs before starting treatment.
What Insecticides to Use
The problem with OTC (over-the-counter) insecticides is that they are usually weakened versions of what might otherwise be an acceptable product. Additionally, they can be made of inferior ingredients, including both active and inactive ingredients. Furthermore, most pest control companies do not use OTC products and, therefore, cannot guide you on which ones may or may not work. Every product manufactured for OTC bed bug treatment will boast of its results, but most will fail in untrained persons’ hands.
When To Use Certain Insecticides
Bed bugs have a high probability of being immune to certain insecticides. This is due partly to misuse and improper mixtures of applied insecticides. That means if a product is not working, a new product that functions differently may need to be used. Untrained persons generally have little to no knowledge of pesticides and, therefore, cannot solve such a problem.
Where To Treat
You would think this is an easy one, but it isn’t. Sure, we could give you a list of places to treat, but the treatment may be ineffective if we miss even one spot. Knowing where to treat is not enough. You must know where to treat and what to treat with. You mustn’t spray liquid chemicals on books, toys, clothes, or electronics. You can spray liquids on some hard and soft surfaces where the product label allows it. So what will you use on the toys and books? Dust insecticides won’t be safe, aerosols won’t be safe, and foggers won’t do either. What do you do? It would help if you had an arsenal of treatment methods. That arsenal can cost thousands of dollars in up-front fees just to get started. Do you really want to invest that kind of money in a DIY treatment?
How To Treat
Different treatment methods and application techniques are used to control bed bugs successfully. Among these are: fumigation, heat, cryogenics, vacuuming, steam, liquid insecticides, dust insecticides, aerosol insecticides, and more. Where and how to use each one takes knowledge and experience.
How Often To Treat
Frequency can fluctuate depending on infestation levels, insecticide labels, the type of insecticide or treatment being used, and the type of facility being treated. Using a non-repellant insecticide too frequently may cause repellency. Using a product more often than the label allows violates the law. If treatments are spread too far apart for the level of infestation, they may fail. Some treatment methods and products allow re-treatment every seven days, while others require fourteen days. Heat treatments can be performed as often as necessary unless state or local laws mandate otherwise.
What Can You Successfully Do?
Housekeeping and Prevention! We understand these aren’t treatments, but they’re even better. If you never get bed bugs, you’ll never need to treat them. Of course, this isn’t a guarantee that you’ll never get them, but if you do, you’ll have a clean house that’s easier to treat and likely to have fewer bed bugs than a cluttered, disorganized, and dirty home.
Conclusion
When treating bed bugs, there is no definitive answer to every question. Each product, treatment method, application method, infestation level, and label restriction help form the parameters with which we must treat. This is why professional pest control is almost always in your best interests when dealing with bed bugs.
Professional Bed Bug Treatments
Professional treatment is the only way to go when it comes to bed bugs. But which company should you go with? That’s a question everybody wants answered, and we will answer it!
Bed Bug Program
A good company worthy of your business should offer an actual bed bug program with a name. Such a bed bug program should include inspection for the specific pest, identification of that pest, and implementation of a control program. If it’s a good program, why wouldn’t you call it something?
Take, for instance, our A.C.T. Bed Bug Program. We spent years researching, developing, and implementing this program. Ten years later, we have had 100% success, and people request it by name.
An actual program takes time to research, develop, and implement, which takes a company with knowledge, resources, and concern for its customers. Any Joe Bob Smith’s Pest Control Service can offer a “bed bug treatment,” but can they offer you a valuable, successful, tested program? That’s what you need and how you want to invest your money. You should reap the reward of your pest company’s labor. That’s precisely what you get with Four Seasons!
There are several things to consider when choosing the right pest control program for your bed bug treatment:
Can They Explain Their Bed Bug Program?
Secondly, the company representative should be familiar with their bed bug program. Is he or she knowledgeable about how it works, why it works, and why it’s a good choice for you? Can the program be customized for your specific needs? Is he or she able to explain all of this in detail? If not, you probably need to keep looking.
Is the Program Affordable?
You don’t want to look for the cheapest or highest bed bug program. Truthfully, the price should matter very little. What you need to look for in pricing is how AFFORDABLE the program is. Has the company made its bed bug program affordable for the average person? Are payment plans available? What has the company done to help the average person afford their bed bug program? This will tell you a lot about whether or not they care. If they don’t care, do you really want to hire them?
What’s Their Follow-Through Plan?
Some companies will offer something like this, “We will do your first service for $xx, and then if you need any follow-ups, those cost $xx.” Some even say, “We do your first treatment, and then if you need us, just call back.” Both are clear evidence that the company has no plan for follow-through.
You need a company with a follow-through plan of action. Maybe it’s two treatments; perhaps it’s six treatments. It could be in the middle with four treatments and an inspection. Every company is different, but they are useless if they have no solid follow-through plan.
Our follow-through plan is built into our very affordable A.C.T. Bed Bug Program. We’ve thought it through, tested it, and proved it on thousands of accounts so that you don’t have to play a guessing game.
What’s The Warranty Period?
Once you have had bed bugs, you never want them again. A company that offers a warranty believes in their work and understands your needs. Many companies affix their bed bug warranty to their bumper. That means from the time their bumper crosses your driveway until the time it leaves your driveway, you’re good. After that, you’re on your own! In other words, no warranty.
What is a Good Warranty?
Good warranty periods begin at 30 days and extend to 60 and even 90. Warranties extending out to 90 days shows that the company has had great success with treatments and can afford to stand behind its work for more extended periods than the competition.
But what if you could get six months, 12 months, 24 months, or even a lifetime warranty?
So Which Company Should You Choose?
You should choose the company with a bed bug program their sales staff can explain. Additionally, it should be affordable and contain a plan of action for follow-through with an extended warranty. Furthermore, reading online reviews can help settle the matter as well. Those who have the most reviews probably do the most bed bug work. If those reviews are high, they do good bed bug work.
Take a look at their website. Do they invest in their technology and available information for their customers? Does their website look generic or customized and personal to their brand? Are there pictures of staff, vehicles, their office, and work they have performed? A company that spends time and money on its website is trying to be beneficial to its customer base. That’s important!
Choosing the right company can be easy if you follow these simple steps. However, we make it even easier; choose us, and we will show you how good it is to have Four Seasons on your side!
It’s good to have Four Seasons on your side!
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