Got Bed Bugs? Heat Em Dead!
BED BUG HEAT TREATMENT ROOM PREPARATION
Bedbugs love clutter, there's hiding spots everywhere. The more cluttered your room is, the harder it is for you to inspect it and the less effective your heat treatment is likely to be.
Do not take anything out of the room until after the heat treatment to avoid contamination. If you must remove something inspect it thoroughly for bugs/eggs before leaving the room.
Its really important NOT to move anything to another home or location until after its been heat-treated. You’ll run the risk of infecting the other location and also your car which can come back to haunt you when it later reinfects your newly treated home.
Leave dirty laundry in the room it’s a bedbug magnet that smells like food. Spread what you can out on the floor to be treated.
The time to begin washing everything is once the heat-treatment is completed and there's no chance of contamination.
STEPS FOR BED BUG TREATMENT SUCCESS
1) Hot Air Flow is the most important thing. Areas that get little air flow will be the areas that don’t get hot enough to kill the bugs.
2) You need to make sure every area and item in the room gets exposed to as much hot air flow as possible. You do this every few hours, by angling the Heater/Fan, shuffling things around to allow hot air to get to new places and possessions.
3) The first thing to do is go throughout your home and look for clothing and things that could be contaminated such as front hall coats, jackets, blankets, kids backpacks, plush toys and whatever else comes to mind. Spread these out on the floor during the heat treatment.
4) Remove living creatures, candles, lipstick, makeup, batteries, ammunition, fireworks, matches, valuables, fine art, medication, oxygen tanks, vitamins, aerosols, fuels and solvents from the room.
5) Take down posters, pictures and secure any loose papers and lightweight fly away things. These can be sucked into the back of the heater, causing a potential fire.
6) Remove musical instruments from their cases and only heat treat the case.
7) Move everything in the room at least 30cm ,12” away from the walls to make it easier for hot air to access the baseboards.
8) Unplug air conditioners in the house/apartment to eliminate power surges and give more power to the heater.
9) Turn OFF or unplug electronics and everything you can find, to give as much power to the heater as possible.
10) Have you got plastic vinyl window blinds, the thick ones? These can have a low temperature melting point and need to come down or they may change shape.
11) Remove the covers from light switches and electrical outlets so heat can get inside. The most important ones are located behind or near the bed/couch.
12) Move your couch and upholstered items, cushions, pillows from the living room into the bedroom being treated.
13) When treating couches its best to turn it on its back to expose the underside. Removing the dust cover will allow better hot air flow to where the bugs hide inside.
14) Disengage or insulate heat sensitive fire alarm sprinklers in the ceiling. See building manager if unsure.
15) Sliding closet doors should be removed or moved to the middle so there are openings at both ends. During the treatment position the heater or fan so hot air flows through one side and out the other.
16) DON’T THROW OUT YOUR MATTRESS. Lean the mattress and box spring up against each other creating an A shape on top of the bed frame. Heat can access both sides at the same time eliminating the bugs inside. Removing the netting from the underside of the box spring will allow better hot air flow to the inside where the bugs hide.
17) Dresser drawers should be left wide open or removed. Thin out stuffed drawers to allow for better hot air flow.
18) Remove clutter and empty out closets, cupboards and all storage areas. Create space for hot air to circulate around every item, avoid thick piles of clothes, closed cardboard boxes etc.
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19) Cardboard is a great insulator. Everything in a cardboard box should be removed and spread around the floor, especially books.
20) Closet floors and shelves should be free of items. Clothing on hangers should be thinned out so nothing is touching, Leave spaces between each item for better hot air flow.
21) Litter boxes must be removed from the treatment room and the surrounding area vacuumed thoroughly.
22) Before you set up the heat treatment kit, it’s important that you vacuum the entire room. Dust, dirt granules, pet hair etc. can damage the equipment and your possessions in the room. The fan is very powerful and will blow loose hazardous things around at a great speed.
23) Immediately after vacuuming, remove the vacuum cleaner bag and place in the outside garbage as it’s a likely to contain bed bugs or eggs.
24) Don't forget the car. To prevent re-infestation in your home, the car’s carpet and upholstery should be inspected vacuumed and treated.d with an appropriate off the shelf bed bug killer.
25) Hang blankets over closed windows for better heat insulation, hotter treatment temperatures and faster heat-up times. Its also a good way to kill eggs that could be in the blankets.
26) Do NOT skimp on the heat treatment TIME. It takes that much time for the heat to soak into the walls, cracks and crevices. Skimping on the time can result in failure to kill all the bugs and eggs. The recommended treatment time is 1 hour to heat up the air in the room and 7 more hours for it to completely soak through everything and kill all the bugs.
