Bed bugs are creatures that belong to group Insecta. They are cosmopolitan in occurrence. They might be present in all the places at homes, and in offices. If you find bed bugs, take the help of a professional assistance to treat them. Treatment of bed bugs is the process of treating them with various alternatives to kill or get rid of them.

How to kill bed bugs by heat treatments?

Most bed bugs feed on human blood while people are asleep. They pierce the skin of its host with two hollow tubes. One tube injects saliva and other one sucks the blood from the host body. Kill the bed bugs by washing everything in hot water and vacuuming your bags inside and out. Vacuum your living space relentlessly including furniture. There are several methods to get rid of bed bugs as listed:

• Seal the entire mattress with encasements for about 6 to 12 months that will cause all bed bugs and their young ones to starve and die inside.
• Wash all the curtains, clothes and bedspreads by immersing in water to kill bed bugs
• Take your mattresses, furniture and other things out into the sun so that the heat from the sun kills the bugs or make them leave
• Use insect aerosol by targeting bed frames and furniture
• Use heat from the steam to kill bed bugs
• Call for professional help if you can afford fees for them

Various Heat Treatments

Heat is a very effective bed bug killer that can be used in various ways to eradicate bed bugs. Steam heat is used in carpets, behind baseboards and furniture. Steaming is a slow, methodical work that takes patience. Steam alone will not eliminate an infestation. Vapor steam cleaners can reach the temperatures of 240 to 360 degrees or high to cause dangerous burns. So be cautious. They are very useful in the fight against bed bugs and many pest companies use this as a best effective tool.

Hot dryers and portable heat chambers can be used to kill bed bugs in infested household items. Professional heating systems can be used to treat entire rooms and structures. Though heat treatment is one of the tools to fight against bed bugs, it has no residual (long lasting) activity. The bed bug may re-infest again. Due to creation of convection currents by powerful fans within the heated room, the whole room bed bugs heat treatments have been very successful. Here the thermal death point of bed bugs will be 113 degree Fahrenheit.

Heat chambers

Out of all methods, killing bed bugs with heat is one of the methods to be free from them. Currently there are two heating systems. They are ThermaPureHeat and Temp-Air heat remediation system. These are the effective technologies used.

ThermaPureHeat treatment

ThermaPureHeat is a best solution to prevent bed bugs infestations. This approach is non-toxic, non-chemical that penetrates to all the hidden places like cavities, cracks and under carpets. Applying heat evenly will kill all the stages of the bed bugs along with eggs in a single treatment oftentimes. Unlike many pesticides, ThermaPureHeat will penetrate into all bedbug hiding places and kill bed bugs. This process will force the heat into beds, bedding, mattresses, furniture and wall cavities etc. Raising room temperatures above the thermal death point (a temperature at which the bed bug dies) helps in eliminating bed bug infestation. This temperature is achieved by ThermaPureHeat process.

In this process, electric heaters or propane generated heat is used to heat the air inside the room to a temperature of 135 degree Fahrenheit. This temperature is monitored at all the hiding places from numerous sensors. Once this temperature is reached, the heating process is continued for one hour or more to kill the bed bugs. The determination of thermal death points for bed bugs is done by two things; one is the temperature and second is the exposure time. This process is a simple control methodology to alter the natural environment of the bed bug making it worse to them. As some people are sensitive to chemicals due to many disorders, this process is a practical solution. This is ideal for schools, hospitals and health care centers.

Therma Pure Heat Treatment

Temp-Air heat Remediation System

The Temp-Air heat Remediation System has the same principle compared to ThermaPureHeat method. This process uses large electric heaters placed in the infested room and powered by generator outside. These heaters generate heat and high velocity fans are used to blow the heated air to all corners until the temperature is increased for 120 to 135 degree Fahrenheit. Finally, the sensors monitored and this treatment works for 4 hours or more.

Temp-Air heat Remediation System

Do it yourself (DIY) Heat Chamber

This is one of the methods used for hotel rooms because it is effective, easy to transport and assemble. This heat chamber is made of Polystyrene foam used to treat household items and furniture. Here infested items are placed and heat treated. Rooms with wood or tile floors require extra preparation by placing an insulating foam mat under the chamber. One important point to be noted is that the room itself still needs to be treated with conventional insecticides. In most cases, DIY bed bug treatment is not a great idea.

Portable Heating Device

There is a portable Heating Device called PackTite bed bug heater used for treating items like suitcases, books, CDs, purses and pillows. This product consists of a duffle bag with rack to place your infested items. There is an interior heater and exterior heat monitor where the temperature rises above 120 degree Fahrenheit inside the bag to kill all the life stages of bed bugs. After the treatment, the electrical cord automatically turns the heater off. This product takes several hours to treat infested items but it is completely portable and effective than hot dryer. Before placing the electronic devices inside the PackTite product, check the manual regarding the heat tolerance of electronic instrument.

PackTite Bed bug heater

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are the nocturnal, small, wingless insects. They live in dark spaces 1/4“to 1/8“long. They were cosmopolitan before World War II and now again it is back due to ban of DDT pesticide, an increase in the international travel and a developing resistance to pesticides.

Bed bugs are commonly seen in the edges of the furniture, carpets, mattresses, on the bed sheets crawling from one place to other, picture frames, loosened wallpaper and other cracks and crevices. They might be present in the luggage hiding and often they are brought to home by bringing secondhand items. They are seen with their eggs attached to bedding and clothing. They can’t be noticed by anybody as they are very small. It is very difficult to know whether an infestation occurs or not.

Some people are affected by bed bugs very severely that shows the reddish welts and bumps on the skin. Some might get swollen rashes that leads to allergic reactions. Some of them might not get any symptoms. Others may get the symptoms and goes off for long days to return back. Bed bugs do not transmit any infectious diseases. They are resistant to some chemicals.