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If your home has become infested with bed bugs, heat treatments could be effective at eliminating them – however it’s essential that the treatment be executed as per protocol in order for optimal results. It is crucial that preparation be undertaken prior to starting such an intensive regime.
De-clutter your home to ensure that the high heat can reach all areas where bed bugs hide. This is essential in eliminating them efficiently.
1. Remove All Clutter
Clutter items, including storage boxes, bookshelves, dresser drawers and furniture must be cleared away prior to undertaking bed bug heat treatment. Otherwise, they risk becoming heavily infested with bed bugs during treatment – the easiest way to protect these pieces would be storing them away safely in an airtight container, such as contractor bags.
Clothing provides bed bugs with a perfect place to hide, so they should be washed and dried twice at the highest possible temperatures. Tightly packed garments in dresser drawers should also be loosen up to allow heat access all areas of the clothes.
At home, it is also wise to dispose of personal artifacts and picture frames, as they could potentially reintroduce bed bugs from places like work, babysitters or friends’ homes back into your own bedroom. By disposing of these objects you are giving these pests free rein to spread themselves to new parts of your residence and find their way back in.
2. Move Furniture
At home, many items are stored in closets and dresser drawers for easy organization; this can also become a source of problems when planning bed bug heat treatment. Stacked boxes of clothes, shoes and other items may block airflow to their respective areas and keep heat treatments from reaching them effectively.
To ensure an effective bed bug heat treatment, all items must be moved at least two feet from the walls in the area being treated, including all clothing from dresser drawers and closets; clothing hung on hangers should either be draped loosely over furniture or laid out on the floor for optimal results.
Electronic devices such as computers, iPods, MP3 players, TVs, radios, and clocks should be removed from infested areas and stored elsewhere within your home if possible. If they must remain there for some reason, be sure they are unplugged with all batteries removed before leaving them unattended.
3. Remove Pets
Pet owners should remove their animals prior to bed bug heat treatment in order to prevent harming their furry companions by the high levels of heat used during treatment and possibly picking up bedbugs in areas not yet treated by jumping onto objects in your home. Additionally, this could potentially spread them even more widely within your house!
Before engaging in heat treatment for bed bugs, you must wash all clothing worn within your home. Any that cannot be washed must be put inside plastic bags or airtight containers sealed with aerosol pesticides to eliminate bed bugs present.
Your clutter should also be moved away from walls and furniture in order to improve air circulation, which will enable bed bug heat treatment to access hard-to-reach spots within your home that would normally remain hidden from view.
4. Wash All Clothing
To ensure the success of bed bug heat treatment, all clothing must be washed at high heat settings twice. This includes clothes in dresser drawers, laundry baskets and closets. Laundering clothes that have been worn outside the home usually is not necessary; however, fabrics should still be washed twice to eliminate bed bugs from them.
While washing alone will eliminate pests, for added assurance that all bed bugs have been eradicated it’s wise to invest in a ZappBug machine for extra assurance that all bed bugs have been completely eliminated. In addition, for any delicate items like picture frames or personal artifacts which are hard to move it may be wise to wrap them in contractor bags to protect them and transport them to another location until they can be washed or treated using another pest control method.
Any product containing gases or liquids is susceptible to being damaged from high temperatures and should be sealed up securely in a bag, including aerosol cans of hair spray, bug spray, deodorants, asthma inhalers, spray paint, cleaning products and candles.
In conclusion, preparing for bed bug heat treatment іs crucial for its effectiveness. By following the steps outlined іn this guide, including decluttering your home, washing clothing at high temperatures, and moving furniture tо ensure adequate airflow, you can increase the likelihood оf eliminating bed bugs successfully. For learn more about heat treatment services and how they can help with bed bug infestations, contact a professional pest control provider.
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