We hate bed bugs and want to keep them out of our homes, but how do we achieve that?
Because they are so apt at hiding in microscopic cracks, bed bugs are a very challenging nuisance to eradicate.
Bed bug insecticides are not effective, which causes homeowners to fear and get anxious about finding an effective Pest Control & Bed Bug Extermination in Washington DC
Heat is a well-known bed bug killer that may be applied in a variety of ways to treat infestations. Learn how to use heat to get rid of bed bugs by reading this article.
Heat Treatment
It is impossible to ignore the benefits and potency of heat treatment for bed bug control.
All bed insect life stages, including bed bug eggs, can be killed by heat because it is non-toxic.
It’s important to apply the proper heat treatment for bed bugs in order to prevent re-infestation following the treatment.
However, one of the more powerful weapons we have in the fight against bed bugs is heat therapy.
Despite the fact that whole-room heating systems are marketed as stand-alone remedies,to control the infestation, the majority of heat treatments must be combined with other non-chemical and chemical techniques.
Various Types of Heat Treatment
The thermal death points:
The thermal death point is the temperature at which bed bugs dehydrate and die in a heated room. Bed bug eggs must be exposed to 118 °F (ca. 48 °C) for 90 minutes to die out completely. This is because the room’s convection currents are generated by large, powerful fans.
The clothes dryer:
Eradicating bed bug infestations in home items such as toys, shoes and clothing is quite challenging to be treated with insecticides.
Fortunately, bed bugs in these goods can be effectively killed by a standard dryer. All stages of bed bug life, together with their eggs, can be eliminated in 30 minutes using a loosely packed dryer set on “high.”
To ensure that every item reaches the bed bug thermal death point, the drying period might need to be prolonged.
Portable heating equipment:
One effective and portable electric heating gadget bed bug is bed bug warmer from PackTite®.
PackTite is a collapsible duffle bag with a support rack inside where you may store your infected belongings. You can see the temperature inside the PackTite® by using the inner heater and the outer heat meter. All bed bug life stages, including eggs, are destroyed by heating the bag to a temperature above 120 °F.
After the treatment is over, the heater is automatically turned off by the timer on the electrical line.
Steam:
Steaming requires patience, and it’s used to treat bed bugs on mattresses, inside box springs,along carpet tacking strips, and in other places where insecticide sprays would not be appropriate.
When steaming is done, move at a speed of 12 inches every second to ensure that the estimated heat target temperature which is 160–180° is achieved.
Additionally, the steamer’s head needs to be big to prevent bed bugs and their eggs from being blown throughout the room when the steam is released at a high velocity.
Self-contained heat chamber:
At the University of Florida, Dr. Philip Koehler and Roberto Pereira created a polystyrene foam chamber that could be used to treat furniture and household items. Almost all the things in the infested room can be heatedly treated in the chamber while traditional pesticides are used to treat the room’s perimeter, baseboards, cracks, and crevices. Placing an insulating foam mat under the chamber is a special precaution that must be taken in rooms with wood or tile floors.
