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What To Look For

If you have bed begs, it is best to find them before the infestation becomes established or spreads. Treating a smaller infestation is an inconvenience, but it is far less complex than treating after it becomes more widespread. However, smaller infestations are also much more challenging to find and correctly identify. Let our proven inspection techniques give you closure on confirmation of this bugs presence.  Other insect signs, such as  signs from carpet beetles,  can be easily mistaken for bed bugs. If you misidentify a bed bug, it gives the bugs more time to spread to other areas of the house or possibly piggy-back a ride to another location to start a new infestation.

Look For The Following:

• Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed.
• Dark spots, which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would.
• Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger.
• Live bed bugs.

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What To Do

 If you know you have bed bugs you need to contact a licensed professional pest control company for a solution.  Don't trust do-it-yourself products or self-treat gimics, you will waste your money.  Your chances of getting rid of bed bugs improve if you use a professional company.  Successful self-treatments are extremely rare, nine out of ten will typically  fail, not to mention the health risk from improperly using pesticides.  If you are not on identification of the bug, contact us for an inspection immediately, our state certified inspector will respond promptly.  The longer you wait, the larger your bed bug population grows,  the greater the risk of spreading to others homes, public venues, or your work place.

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What Not To Do

What NOT to do can be as important as what to do when dealing with bed bugs.   You should not move infected beds and furniture through your home for disposal, this will only scatter the infestation making treatment more difficult.  Choosing the correct method of service could actually save you thousands of dollars in replacement costs for those discarded items.  BUG BOMBS DON’T WORK ON BED BUGS.  Here are the top five (potentially dangerous) misconceptions about pesticide use and bed bugs.  (Reminder: working with a licensed pest management professional is the best way to eradicate an infestation.)

Grocery store/Hardware store insect sprays

• They will not eliminate a bed bug infestation.
• To kill bugs, the spray must come into direct contact with them.
• Since most bugs are hiding in nooks and crannies that the spray can’t reach, the majority of them will NOT be killed by the spray.
• Grocery store insect sprays have little or no residual activity (which means that they break down quickly and only last a short time.)

Boric Acid

• Boric acid products do not kill bed bugs.
• Boric acid is a stomach poison that must be eaten by the insect.
• Bed bugs only feed on blood so the boric acid is virtually ineffective.

Garden Pesticides
NEVER USE AGRICULTURAL OR GARDEN PESTICIDES INDOORS!
These products are toxic (poisonous). They can make you or your family very sick!
 Bug Bombs

• Household bug bombs that are meant for flying insects will NOT kill bed bugs.
• These insecticides cause bed bugs to scatter because the spray irritates them.
• The scattering effect from bug bombs spreads the infestation to places that may have been bed bug free!

Dr. Susan Jones with The Ohio State University published a paper in June 2012 on the ineffectiveness of bug bombs on bed bugs.  For the science behind the warnings,  click OSU  "bug bomb" button on this page.
Alcohol, Kerosene or Gasoline
Do not use rubbing alcohol, kerosene or gasoline. These chemicals are potentially very dangerous because they are flammable and may cause a fire.

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Prevention

• Check secondhand furniture, beds, and couches
• Reduce clutter in your home to reduce hiding places for bed bugs.
• Vacuum frequently to remove any successful hitchhikers.
• Be vigilant when using shared laundry facilities. Transport items to be washed in plastic bags (if you have an active infestation, use a new bag for the journey home). Remove from dryer directly into bag and fold at home. (A dryer on high heat can kill bed bugs.)
• Installing door sweeps on the bottom of doors to discourage movement into hallways.
• Sealing cracks and crevices around baseboards, light sockets, etc., to discourage movement through wall voids.

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Do You Have Bed Bugs?

The Longer You Wait, The Worse It Will Get.
Chat With A Professional Today!
1-844-HEATBUG
Or Email Us: info@sleeptitethermal.com

Schedule An Appointment

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Learn more about bed bugs,
and how to prevent an infestation
​at www.epa.gov

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C.D.C. On Bed Bugs

CDC and Stacks PDF On Bed Bugs

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OSU On Bed Bugs

Learn More

Bug Bombs

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