Sprays may kill the bed bugs but they are largely ineffective on the eggs. Follow up inspections are always required and further treatments are often necessary. The survival of bed bug eggs is also an issue.
Depending on the individual spray, and the conditions of where it was used, a residual insecticide could be effective for anywhere from two weeks to over a year. The time from exposure to death will also vary - some sprays can kill exposed bed bugs in under a minute, while others take several minutes to work.
If a bed bug heat treatment has been done, the bed bug eggs will dry out and kill the eggs, keeping them from hatching. Bedbug eggs and larva all completely die and cannot survive between 116° and 119°F. If a chemical treatment was done, some pesticides may not kill the eggs and a follow up treatment will be needed.
There are no magic sprays that will get rid of a bed bug infestation. Using a chemical to get rid of bed bugs will not work unless you also remove clutter, clean and launder everything, seal off hiding places, and follow other, non-chemical steps to control bed bugs.
You are very likely to continue seeing bed bugs following the initial treatment. In fact, for a few days after the initial service, you may experience an increase in activity and see more bugs than you did before the treatment but with each service you should see fewer and fewer bugs.
You can either manually inspect the same areas each day, or some clients find it helpful to put a sticky adhesive trap around the bed legs which would pick up bed bugs that are on the move. If no bed bugs show up in the trap after several days, that's one indication that they have been completely eradicated.
You may continue to sleep in your bed after treatment. Encasements should be put on mattresses and box springs. Any surviving bed bugs in the mattress or box spring will not be able to escape the encasement or bite.
Spraying over and over, whenever you see a bug. This type of application may not actually violate the label, but it is unlikely to eliminate the infestation and can cause the bugs to become resistant to the pesticide so it will no longer work.
The Pesticide Specialist explained that some bed bug populations have developed resistance to common insecticides, so certain sprays may be ineffective, no matter how much is used. Over-use or daily pesticide applications should be avoided to prevent the bed bugs from spreading out or developing resistance.
You should treat every two weeks until activity is gone.
The exact time it takes will depend on the temperature and the equipment used. But expect bed bugs to die immediately at 122 °F or within ninety minutes at 118 °F. Heat treatments usually take 6 to 8 hours, depending on the severity of bed bug infestation in the house.
Do continue to sleep in your bedroom after identifying a bed bug infestation. If you move rooms or start sleeping on the couch you run the risk of contaminating these other areas of your home. Similarly, avoid taking your bedding from the location of the infestation to other rooms of your home.
Can bed bugs come back after professional treatment? No. Bed bugs will not return after professional treatment. However, we must stress that not everyone who claims to be a professional is actually one.
Bed bugs generally keep coming back because you haven't eliminated every bed bug in the colony, and only some of them. The most difficult part of treating bed bugs is that they are excellent at hiding, so it can be difficult to completely wipe out the entire colony.
However, if there are not too many, then chances are that they will not bite every night. On average bed bugs feed once every 3 to 10 nights and spend the rest of the days resting and digesting their meals.
Can there be just one bed bug? It's impossible to say that there's never only one bed bug, but it's unlikely. Even if there is just one, if it's a pregnant female, it won't be long before there are many, many more.
Vacuum your entire home every day for at least four days following treatment. If your vacuum cleaner requires a bag, only use disposable bags and throw it away in an outdoor garbage can immediately after vacuuming.
If you're using our all-natural bed bug-killing spray, which works best when sprayed directly onto live bed bugs, the best time to treat is right before dawn. “They live close to where people sleep, rest, or sit for long periods of time and are active at night and generally hide during the day,” explains the UME.
Getting rid of bed bugs myself is not an advisable solution
Bed bugs are some of the most difficult pests to treat. Spraying them with commercial pesticides may risk the spread further throughout your home. Worse of all, putting your own health at risk.
MYTH: Bed bugs only come out in the dark, sleeping with the light on will prevent me from getting bitten. FACT: Bed bugs activity level has nothing to do with the amount of light in a room. Instead, bed bugs adapt their activity level to the schedule of the host to amplify their feeding time.
Research has shown that rubbing alcohol will kill and repel bedbugs. Put straight alcohol in a spray bottle and spray on your mattress, especially the seams, a few hours before going to bed. Tea Tree oil is also known to kill and repel bedbugs.
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“People may have bed bugs and not know it because many people have no physical reaction to bed bug bites,” Dr. Harrison says. “That's why it's important for people everywhere to inspect for bed bugs regularly.”
Mattresses and pillows make potential habitats for bed bugs. Pillows may also be host to bed bug eggs, making them a potential point of bed bug infestations. A possible sign that bed bugs have infested pillows may be the appearance of bites.