Is Bed Bug Heat Treatment DIY Effective, Safe and Easy To Do? Yes It Is!
Nancy and John are in their mid-80s and live in Northern California. They have been avid international travelers for many years. Both are professionals in their respective fields, well-read, and actively involved in their communities. They enjoy a rich family life that often takes them around the world.
Although they are active and fit, they are very careful about their health due to their age. On a trip abroad before the pandemic, they realized that they had brought home some uninvited hitchhikers when they discovered bed bug bites upon waking in their custom-built, 3,000 square foot home.
In a panic to eliminate the bed bugs from their home as quickly as possible, Nancy searched for “bed bug companies near me.” She ended up interviewing three reputable exterminators, all of whom had excellent reviews and professional-looking websites. Nancy scheduled appointments for them to come to her home to provide price quotes for ridding her home of bed bugs.
On the phone, she explained that she was almost certain the bed bugs were contained to just her bedroom. She asked if the companies would be willing to treat only that room. All three companies assured her they would provide quotes for exterminating the bed bugs in her bedroom.
Since this was Nancy and John’s first experience with bed bugs, they were confident that Nancy had identified the three best companies in their area to get price quotes and expert advice. At that stage, she was not aware that using heat to kill bed bugs was an option available to her. In fact, employing bed bug heaters is one of the best options for eliminating bed bugs, whether you do it yourself or hire a company to do it for you.
Over the following weeks, while they waited for the professionals to arrive, Nancy and John continued to get bitten while they slept. The pest control companies arrived one after another to conduct walk-through inspections and provide their professional opinions on what it would take to eliminate all the bed bugs and their eggs.
Take Professional Advice About Killing Bed Bugs With Heat Yourself With A Grain of Salt
Nancy and John were shocked by the results and recommendations they received from all three pest control companies. Here’s a summary of what they learned:
1. All three companies exclusively use chemical pesticides to eliminate bed bugs. None of them mentioned that heat treatment is an option or that there are companies that utilize bed bug heaters.
2. Contrary to what was conveyed over the phone, they cannot and will not chemically treat just one room. It is necessary to chemically treat the entire home to ensure that all bed bugs are eliminated.
3. Nancy described the preparation required as needing to “tear apart your home.” She referred to the prep list as being like a “book” due to its extensive nature.
4. Following the initial chemical application, the companies will need to return twice more over the next three weeks. This is necessary because they must apply more chemicals after the unhatched bed bug eggs hatch in order to kill the newly emerged baby bed bugs. It’s important to note that chemical pesticides do not kill unhatched bed bug eggs, so this method must consider the complete life cycle of a bed bug.
Dissatisfied with the options available and feeling misled, Nancy decided to do more research on bed bugs in hopes of finding a better solution for eliminating them. Her thorough investigation revealed a well-established fact: heat effectively kills bed bugs, fleas, spiders, and many other pests. There’s no need to use toxic, residual chemicals in your bedroom, where you will be breathing deeply for about a third of your life while you sleep.
Toxic Chemical Pesticides Designed To Kill Bed Bugs Have Lost Their Effectiveness Due to Evolutionary Forces. Bed Bug Heat Treatment Equipment Is The Answer!
Another critically important lesson Nancy learned is that chemical pesticides must be reapplied multiple times while waiting for baby bed bugs to hatch. This is because bed bug eggs are often laid in hard-to-reach places that pesticide sprays cannot effectively cover. Nancy also found in published papers by entomologists that bed bugs, as a species, have developed resistance to chemical pesticides, similar to how humans are developing resistance to antibiotics that are meant to kill bacterial infections. Evolution is an unstoppable force.
Creating toxic chemicals that can effectively kill bed bugs while remaining safe for children, pets, and adults is an unwinnable arms race. There is a reason DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, and it is not because it was safe for living beings.
All bed bugs die when exposed to temperatures higher than 113°F. They perish more quickly at higher temperatures, and unlike chemical pesticides, they cannot develop resistance to heat.
With this newfound understanding, Nancy felt empowered and in control. She realized she could make a better decision than spending thousands of dollars on chemical treatments that might not work and would require extensive preparation, disrupting her daily life for nearly 30 days. Motivated, she began further research online and started reaching out to sellers of bed bug heaters and heating equipment.
Since Google initially displays sponsored ads at the top of search results, Nancy started her research there.
She discovered that electric bed bug heaters should be made of metal, not plastic, as plastic can deform with each heat cycle, leading to a shorter lifespan.
Throughout her research, Nancy quickly recognized that purchasing a “cheap” plastic bed bug heater would not be cost-effective. These heaters can be complicated to use, and the total cost of ownership (TCO) might end up being much higher than expected. Most plastic heaters require up to eight separate power cords, each needing to be plugged into its own 15 or 20-amp circuit. Luckily, she and John understood their home’s electrical system and what this setup entailed. They realized that it didn’t simply mean plugging into eight different 110-volt outlets; each cord would need to connect to its own room, as each room is usually on a separate circuit based on the number of outlets.
As they began to feel desperate, Nancy and John wondered if “bait and switch” tactics had become the norm for anyone seeking truthful and accurate information about eliminating bed bugs.
Going beyond the sponsored ads on Google, Nancy discovered additional options. She called PestPro Thermal Systems and was pleasantly surprised when someone answered the phone.
We had an extensive conversation about her experience, and I assured her that if she had an electric stove or dryer outlet, she could tackle her bed bug problem on her own terms using our 240V Bed Bug Heater Package.
We discussed the steps that she and John would need to take to prepare for turning her bedroom into a “bed bug death sauna” using her PestPro Thermal electric bed bug heater and fan.
We covered how she could use her stove outlet for power and which of the four included pig-tail adapters would match her outlet.
I explained that, if she later decided to plug into a lower-amperage 30-amp electric dryer outlet, she would simply need to select a different pig-tail adapter and turn off the toggle switches that temporarily disconnect some of the heater elements inside the bed bug heater to make this setup possible.
Our conversation went beyond just eliminating bed bugs. We also discussed how the heater could be used to kill other pests, as most insects, including bed bugs, die at around 120°F. Nancy learned that the use of dry heat can effectively kill mold and mildew, which also helps eliminate unpleasant odors associated with mold.
By the end of our first conversation, Nancy felt confident that she and John would be able to safely use their bed bug heater and that the price was comparable to the quotes she had received from service companies for a single treatment, none of which offered guarantees. She mentioned that she had been informed there was no way to prove that a new infestation of bed bugs hadn’t been introduced into their home after the chemical treatments were completed.
To elaborate, Nancy spoke to a few more bed bug heater companies and eventually called us again to place an order. She expressed that she felt more assured working with us because we demonstrated a commitment to her long-term success. She appreciated that our bed bug heaters are made from steel rather than plastic.
Furthermore, she liked that our heater design utilized high-quality parts that could be easily ordered from Amazon, Grainger or McMaster-Carr. If necessary, John would be able to repair the heater himself, rather than relying on us, the manufacturer. This way, they could avoid incurring hundreds of dollars in round-trip shipping costs for repairs at our facility. We ensure that all our heaters are securely packaged in plastic wrap on wooden pallets for maximum protection during shipping.
PestPro Thermal believes expecting a customer to pay hundreds of dollars for round-trip shipping to repair their bed bug heater is unacceptable.
One of the benefits that Nancy appreciated about her bed bug heater was its flexibility. She liked that she could easily create a temporary “bed bug hot box” using simple plastic sheeting and spring-loaded poles. By setting up a bed bug hot box in her home, she could “cook” items that might be infested with bed bugs but couldn’t be placed in her clothes dryer. This included belongings like luggage, books, furniture, or her cat’s shag rug house. Heating these items in a smaller area allowed the bed bug heater to reach lethal temperatures more quickly, effectively eliminating the pests. See photos below.
John remarked that it would be unwise not to prepare for another round of bed bugs, considering how frequently they travel internationally. He never wants to experience the stress, emotional trauma, and frustration of dealing with bed bugs again, especially at his advanced age. They both appreciated the idea of owning a bed bug heater, as it would provide them with the control they need in a safe and affordable way. Additionally, they looked forward to being able to assist friends, family, and other community members with their bed bug heat equipment, especially since the problem of bed bugs continues to worsen globally and shows no signs of going away anytime soon.
Happy Trails Nancy and John!
Nancy and John are extremely satisfied with their bed bug room heater. They continue to help me share the positive experience they’ve had with PestPro Thermal electric bed bug heating equipment. This equipment is designed for professionals, yet it is easy and safe enough for senior citizens to use in their homes as well.
Watch Nancy’s Video Testimonial HERE
Call or text 970-443-8119 for meaningful answers to your intelligent questions about our bed bug heat treatment equipment.
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