Do I need a professional to get rid of bed bugs?
During the 1940′s, most Western countries had basically eradicated the bedbug problem. Widespread use of the pesticide DDT had driven the bugs out of these countries. However, the pests adapted to the DDT, primarily through mutations at their nerve endings, and there are certain varieties that will actually become more active when DDT hits. As a result, bedbugs started to return in the mid-1990′s, particularly in the Western countries that had thought they were gone.
Here’s the deal – until they’re feeding on you regularly and you show symptoms, you are unlikely to notice that you have an infestation at all. Then, when you call the exterminator, there isn’t just one method that he will use to get them out of your home. And that’s what the basic treatment involves: removal of the nesting insects. There’s no reliable chemical treatment that will keep bedbugs out for the long term. Bedbugs don’t go after baits, and there is no uniform pesticide that kills all varieties.
It will be much easier for you to get rid of bedbugs if you hire an exterminator, but you have to help him out by getting your home ready for his visit. The best thing you can do is straighten up your space. Small crannies in your walls can hide the pests, and if you have clothes and other clutter all around, the exterminator will miss many of them.
Also, throw your sheets into a hot wash, at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Do the same with clothes, in their own load. If ou don’t have time to run a load of wash, put the linens and clothes in the dryer, and set it on high heat.
It’s not enough to move your clutter into other rooms, because bedbugs will hide anywhere that they sense hosts coming to spend some time dozing or resting for a while. So moving clutter will actually make the problem worse. If you plan to move your clutter around, put it in trash bags first, and bag it airtight.
You can also run your vacuum cleaner to get rid of eggs and some adult bedbugs. Scrape your edges and corners with the extension. Don’t vacuum after the exterminator has left unless he recommends it, as he may be putting down a dust pesticide that you would just be getting rid of.
So, do you need a professional? He will be putting down products similar to what you can find at the store, but he will know places to look that you might not consider, and his application will probably be more thorough than yours would have been. If you get your house ready for his visit, bringing in a professional will help you get rid of your problem more quickly.
