Bed Bug Exterminator Blog
Preparing for your Bed Bug Treatment
When you have contacted us for our assistance with bed bug extermination, there will be a few tasks that you should do to help with the effectiveness of the treatment. Don’t worry! You don’t have to dispose of your items! There are some preparations that should be done to help you preserve what you do have and protect your items from being at risk of infestation again.
We will provide you with a checklist to help you take care of all recommended steps. But below we want to give you some samples of things you will find on that list.
Let’s start with your bedrooms.
Take everything out that may be under your beds. Sometimes things collect under there and this is a good time to toss out unwanted items. Anything you plan on keeping, inspect closely for any bed bugs that may be hiding.
Strip down any beds, sofas, cots, cribs… anything that you or others sleep on. Take all of the bedding and launder it at a high temperature.
Take your mattresses and box springs off of the frames and prop them up against a wall. If you have pull out couches or any folding cots, open them up so they are ready for treatment.
Make sure that all clutter is removed from floor areas. We want to make sure that no clutter is left behind that may hide bed bugs. Sweep and vacuum your floors throughout your entire home.
Any furniture that has cloth upholstery needs to be vacuumed.
Use a vacuum attachment to clean your baseboards as well. Try to get right in behind the baseboards, as bed bugs can dwell in there secretively.
Check for any signs of bed bugs behind picture frames and mirrors mounted on your walls. If you do notice them, take down these items and let us know about your findings when we come.
As soon as you are finished vacuuming, dispose of the contents in a sealed bag. You may have collected some live bed bugs so we want to have the vacuum bag disposed of quickly.
Onto your Closets
Anything that you have in your closets, including items on the floor or in drawers needs to be removed and laundered, if possible. If you have items that cannot be laundered, you should set them on the floor of the room. We will leave them for the treatment. Safely bag up all items to be laundered in plastic bags.
Any dressers or book shelves will need to be emptied of all items and inspected. Bag up anything you can launder and what cannot be laundered, set on top of the dresser or cabinet for treatment. All books need to be checked for bed bugs. You may spot them along the splines of hardcover books. Set your books on the floor in a pile.
If you have suitcases, backpacks, etc. you can open these up and leave them for treatment.
Your Furniture
We will need at least 2 feet clearance between the walls and any furniture. Just move any pieces towards the central part of the room so that the bed bug exterminator can get access to the walls and baseboards easily. You can also place any items that are not being laundered in the central area of the rooms for treatment.
All of your electronics are safe to leave in the location but should be turned off and unplugged. If you have wall-mounted televisions, you will need to take them off the wall.
Your Pets
You will need to make arrangements to have your pets out of the house for at least 24 hours after treatment. Launder any pet beds or blankets thoroughly. If you have fish, speak to the bed bug exterminator. You may need to have the aquarium moved.
Laundering your items – Important!
You should treat all of your laundry as being infected with bed bugs – whether it is or not! This is the best way to not have a re-infestation. Make sure that you wash everything in hot water and then into a dryer with high heat. Dry for a minimum of 40 minutes to bring the temperature up to 49C. The high heat is effective in killing off bed bugs and eggs.
If you cannot wash certain items, you can still run them through a hot dryer cycle. Or you can search for dry cleaning services that will accommodate bed bug infestation items.
Garment Storage Bags can be very helpful when keeping your laundered items away from your non-laundered items. You have to be careful not to contaminate your cleaned items or you will have to clean them again. Seal tight your cleaned items to protect them.
The above steps are not all inclusive. As your situation will be unique, there may be additional preparation required. But do not be overwhelmed! Our bed bug exterminator will cover off with you all of the preparation steps to be done. They are there to offer you suggestions and guidance.
We want to work with you in moving you past your bed bug infestation as smoothly and quickly as possible. You can start this by contacting us today and we will work together on this.
We can assist you in all areas of Edmonton and surrounding communities. We offer services in Sherwood Park and St Albert as well. Contact us today for all of your bed bug extermination needs.