BED BUGS

Ranked as one of the most troublesome  pests that have affected hundreds of homes and businesses. There is no stopping the waves of creepy crawlers until you have PROS like us come in and exterminate them.

About Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are oval, broad, flat body, short broad head, and wingless. They can not fly or jump. After feeding, they swell slightly in size and darken to a blood-red colour. The nymphs are shaped like the adults, but are yellow-white in colour.

 

Life span:

Adults usually live for around 10 months, but can live for a year or more in a home where the environment is good for reproduction, and a bed  bugs can live from several weeks up to roughly a year and a half without feeding. Older bed bugs can go even longer without feeding.

 

Harboring areas:

Bedbugs are able to hide in extremely small locations because of their flattened bodies—under wallpaper, behind picture frames, in electrical outlets, inside box springs, in mattress pads and in night tables.

 

When and where to notice?

If you get itchy welts on skin, or notice black or brown spots on mattresses sheets, or black spots on bed frames or walls, you can suspect a bed bug infestation.

Things to consider

Before you get a service, what you need to do?

Before the treatment begins, all occupants of the residential unit are to leave, and not enter preferably for 4 - 6 hours after the technician leaves. 

 

Pets should be removed from the house before treatment begins, and kept out for 6-8 hours. 

 

Aquariums can remain in place, as long as the filtrations and aeration systems are turned off, and the tank is adequately covered. Filtration and aeration equipment should be turned back on 6 hours after treatment.

 

What about Clutter?

To improve the results of the treatment the occupant is required to remove all clutter from the unit. 

 

Preparations to receive bedbugs treatment    

 

The client should if possible:

 

• Bag-up all clothing that is in contact with the floor, or in nearby dressers. This clothing should be washed in hot water or dry cleaned for extended time (40 to 60 minutes hot cycle). Clean clothing should remain out of the room until after treatment is complete 

• Bookshelves, nightstands or other furniture in the immediate area must be emptied so that the technician can spray the undersides of the furniture

• Place all items in tightly sealed garbage bags and leave them in the room to be treated.

 

Laundering?

• Make sure you launder items in HOT WATER. Cold water will not kill the bugs or their eggs 

• All clothing items that are to be either placed in the dryer or laundered are to be placed in garbage bags, sealed and emptied directly into the machines. 

• When the laundering cycles are complete, the clean laundry should be placed in a NEW garbage bags, sealed and kept that way throughout the entire treatment process 

• The garbage bags used for transporting clothing articles to the laundry room should be discarded with care as they may contain bed bugs. This is strongly recommended for severe infestations. 

• IMPORTANT: Clean clothes can be cleared by placing them in the dryer on high for 40 minutes.

 

Beds?

Beds should be bare when the technician arrives. All bedding, slip covers, pillow cases, etc. must be removed prior to the technician arrival. Soiled clothing, blankets, box spring skirts, comforters, pillows and pillow cases, etc. should be washed in hot water (separate from all other laundry) and in the dryer on high heat for 40 minutes, before or soon after the treatment to avoid resurgence of Bed Bugs. 

 

Dressers & Night Tables?

• All clothing contents of all dressers are to be placed in garbage bags and placed in the dryer cycle on hot for a minimum of 40 minutes 

• All articles on top of dresser are to be removed 

• Dressers are to be completely empty for treatment

• Bookshelves, nightstands or other furniture in the immediate area must be emptied so that the technician can spray the undersides of the furniture

• Furniture and items should be moved at least 18 inches away from the walls to facilitate spraying of the baseboards.

 

Closets?

• All closets including linen closets are to be emptied of all articles on the floor, shelving and hanging clothes

• All clean articles should be placed in the dryer on high heat for a minimum of 40 - 60 minutes at 60 C 

• All soiled articles need to be washed in hot water and then dried in high heat.

 

Baby Cribs?

• All linen is to be laundered

• All toys should be washed in soapy hot water

• All plush, stuffed toys should be placed in dryer on high heat for 40 minutes.

 

Discarding of Old Mattresses and Furniture?

All old items should be taken directly to the dumpster.

• When discarding the old furnishings, they should be first wrapped in plastic and sealed with duct tape to avoid the bugs falling off in the hallways.

• If you feel that your mattress or box spring is infested and you plan on throwing them out, it is advised to use a box cutter or knife and make them unusable

• The same should be done with old furniture.