The Bed Bugs have always been a nightmare as you cannot sleep and rest if you have bed bugs in your living place. Due to these nightmarish bugs, you spend your whole day and night itching. You must be thinking, how to get rid of them? What are the causes of these bugs? What type of treatments are available? How much does it cost? You are at the right platform to find the answers to these queries.
Bed bugs are small, oval, flat, wingless insects that are reddish, 3mm wide by 5mm long, and are a widespread pest in the U.K, have been around for thousands of years. They hide on the bed frame and the mattress during the day and move at a snail’s pace during the night.
Causes of a Bed Bug Infestation
Bed bugs multiply due to the lack of hygienic conditions in an area where there are many people, and travel is also the leading cause of bed bugs spreading quickly. They are more common in the areas where the people come and go, especially in hotels, apartments, hostels, mortals, Shelters, Cruise ships, and public transits.
The bed bugs are adaptable and quickly move from one place to another or straight from apartment to apartment. The leading causes of bed bugs spread are:
- Transportation or travel A large number of gathering of people
- Unhygienic conditions, dark places
- Where there is no direct sunlight use of the old furniture
Even a clean home or a vacant place may have bed bugs. They can survive for more than two months without any food. It is believed that they move through hollows and holes in the walls and the tubes through which wires or pipes run.
You can quickly bring them to your home by carrying them from these places where they got into your belongings. As bed bugs can hide in any place and are not easy to remove, it is advisable to contact pest control professionals.
Average Prices to Getting Rid of Bed Bugs Per Room
| Professional bed bug removal costs | Cost + VAT(Range low-high) | Average cost |
| Inspection and assessment | £90 – £150 (per property) | £110 (per property) |
| Bed bug steam treatment cost (per room) | £150- £350 | £240 |
| Bed bug chemical treatment cost (per room) | £110 – £220 | £180 |
| Bed bug heat treatment cost (per room) | £350 – £550 | From £ 350 |
Factors Affecting Bed Bug Treatment Costs
The cost of bed bug removal is firstly based on the type of treatment and level of infestation:
How many bed bugs are present in the area, and what is the growth phase?
The more adult bed bugs you have, the greater the bed bug disposal cost according to the size of the area and rooms.
Is it a single piece of furniture, a room, or the whole house involved?
The bigger they are, the more time required, and the more you’ll have to pay. Especially If you need the problem to be fixed as an emergency, the cost of bed bug removal will be higher.
Type of Treatments
Cleaning the space and sun exposure may help to lessen the bed bugs. But it is also necessary to terminate their eggs. It is not easy to quickly terminate bed bugs by sun exposure, as you have to choose the different treatments to terminate them at the root level.
1. Chemical Treatment
Another method is using the chemical by separating the different parts of the bed and finding the cracks and crevices. So applying chemicals to unreachable areas and aerosols is very effective in killing bed bugs. So, chemical treatment requires a few visits. Usually, the pest eradication experts apply three kinds of chemicals:
- Contact insecticides too quickly eradicate and easy to reach bed bugs
- Residual long-lasting) chemicals to kill bed bugs on an ongoing basis
- Dust pesticides to provide longer-lasting protection in cracks and crevices
Inspecting all the furniture in the room, including walls and baseboards, is essential. Chemical treatment is less costly and very effective in preventing future infestation. However, it is a less safe option if you have pets at home.
2 . Heat Treatment
Heat treatment requires just one visit as the bed bugs are tricky and are pretty good at hiding out of reach places. The heat treatment effectively destroys them no matter how many layers of bedding or clothing they hide. Heat can reach every nook and corner and destroy them. Heat treatment is effective in every stage of the life cycle. It is an excellent alternative method for people who do not want to use chemicals.
3. Steam Treatment
Steam is a very productive method to kill bed bugs if applied correctly. A high-quality streamer is required for this process. Streamer works by delivering lethal temperatures to bed bugs, where they are hiding. It is very effective when the bed bugs are on the surface of items or the fabric. Steam service also kills the bugs, hiding in cracks and crevices up to 2-⅜”. 160 to 180°F temperature is applied to kill bed bugs. This alone is not enough to remove all bed bugs but can help with treatment.
4. Freeze Treatment
Freezing treatment can also kill bed bugs.
- Freezing temperature is very important as lower the temperature; less time will kill the bed bugs.
- 0°F temperature is very effective in killing them, but the things you are freezing must be left in the freezing temperature for a few days.
- Monitoring the low enough temperature is suitable to kill the nasty creatures. The bulky items require more time to freeze from the centre.
How to Avoid Bed Bug Infestations
Bedbugs bite people and feed on their blood which can cause severe irritation and itching with small red spots on the skin in some cases. The positive aspect is that the bedbugs have shown that they do not carry or spread diseases via blood that they are not carriers. However, they can be brought inside your possession very quickly if you visit another residence that is infested already.
- It is difficult to avoid bed bug infestation. However, using encasing mattresses is helpful to avoid bed bugs. The shielding layered mattress provides the proper protective covering to the mattress. It prevents the bed bugs from intruding into the premises of the mattresses. Thus this protective covering hinders them from finding places to hide. If they go inside, they are trapped, making it challenging to come outside.
- When returning from traveling, avoid keeping the luggage on the bed as they may enter your house furniture through clothes and other commodities.
- Put clean beddings, linens, clothing, and curtains in hot water and dryer them at high speed. Put non-washable items, such as shoe stuffed toys, in the dryer and run at high speed for thirty minutes.
- Vacuuming the luggage is also helpful to get rid of bugs. Use a tightly sealed vacuum bag and throw it in a trash can outside immediately to avoid the spread of nasty creatures.
- After traveling, keep the clothes separate from the laundry and wash them immediately with hot water.
- Fill the cracks by using plaster and glue to provide places for bugs to hide.
- Get rid of tidiness near the mattress or bed.
TIME TO TAKE ACTION
If you notice bed bugs at your home, call a professional assistant to resolve the infestation. Do not try to do it by yourself. If you do it by yourself, they will spread from one place to another, even in clothes, beds, carpets, and curtains. The matter will worsen as it would be difficult to terminate. Pest control charges in London and the South of England are higher for bed bug treatment than in other areas.
If you have a bed bug infestation, do not hesitate to contact us!
