Bed Bugs Extermination

So, the question is, how do you go about bed bugs extermination? It is definitely not as simple as infestations of fleas, that is for certain. The resistance of bed bugs to pesticide seems to be rising quickly. Wild bedbugs, that is to say, those living in peoples' homes, are thousands of times more resistant to pesticides than laboratory bed bugs. These days, many professional pesticide companies prefer to use steam hoses, because all forms of bed bugs die when exposed to temperatures above 45 degrees centigrade.

Bed Bugs Extermination

There was a definite attempt at bed bugs extermination in the 1940's and the 1950's, which largely wiped out bed bugs in the developed world due to the widespread use of DDT. However, since 1995, bed bugs have made a remarkable comeback, the main problem with this though, is that they have returned as super bugs.

They have become resistant to many of the common chemicals used to combat them. This makes clearing your house of a bed bug infestation yourself a rather difficult job.

However, there are still things you can do about a bed bug infestation, whether you want to call in a professional insect killing firm or whether you want to do it yourself. These days, with the popular shift away from using chemicals and the bed bugs' resistance to them anyway, scientists have discovered a different, sure-fire way of bed bugs extermination.

That is through heat. Bed bugs can survive in all their forms up to 45 degrees centigrade, but they all die at 46 degrees centigrade and above.

To find out if you have these blood-sucking bugs, remember that they feed just before dawn. Look around the bases of walls to see the scurrying about. Look for bed bug nymphs in your bed and their cast skins. You may also see brown patches or smears (faeces) or red patches or smears (your blood) in your bed.

You can pick up these insects in infested hotels or any infested public building, a friend's apartment or on public transport, so make sure you know what they look like - get a picture of bed bugs as soon as possible.

You may also have a row of red, itchy bumps or patches of skin with red itchy bumps, which are its bites.

Professionals now use steam to kill bed bugs. So, if you want to do the job yourself, you could either use a wallpaper steam stripper or a paint stripper, hot air is safer than a methylated spirits blow lamp.

In your quest to achieve the bed bugs extermination, the first thing that you will have to do is discover where the adult bed bugs are hiding out.

The activity of bed bugs is actually quite predictable. They like dark cracks where they can sleep off a drink off blood for a few days, before going out on the razz again, so you should check all furniture and any loose skirting boards and architraves. They also like cracked plaster work and torn mattresses.

Torn lino and damaged wallpaper are favourites too. So, first fill your damaged plaster work and sew up your torn mattress, then you can either take off your loose woodwork, before steaming behind it or you can risk steaming it while it is in situ.

Either steam clean or blow dry your house and then screw the woodwork back firmly. You can also put beads of mastic along the edges, top and bottom for skirtings, just to be sure. Then repair or replace your wallpaper and floor covering. Do not forget the ceiling, because bed bugs will also drop in for a decent meal.

You see, bed bugs are not so much attracted to dirt and grime or even decay and damp, they like homes that are falling into disrepair.

If you think that all this sounds like a lot of work, you are right and you could easily call in a professional firm to do the job for you. Get at least one quote before you give the go-ahead, and if you want to save some money ask if you can do the labouring work yourself: removing and refixing woodwork et cetera.