The Bed Bugs is one of the most hazardous insects, which can infest your home, causing serious illness to the people and animal residing in the house. This small, parasitic insect lives by sucking the blood of human and animals, especially while one is asleep.
Hence, this is the main reason these bugs are found on your mattress or couches, and this is how they have gained their name ‘Bed Bugs’
These bugs can easily live on for months without food (blood) and they are really difficult to kill, or remove from your home, once they have entered. Hence, this is why you need expert help, and should not depend on home remedies, when you find these bugs have made a resident at your home.
A professional bed bug treatment cost would be around $50 – $5,000 depending on the kind of treatment that your home need. The reason for the difference in the cost is according to the area you need to get treated. If you are able to catch the intruder ‘bed bugs’ early, then you will only need to get one or two area treated. However, if the inspection showed various areas, then your home will require a more extensive treatment.
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Places where Bed Bug reside
The bed and the couch is not the only place where these Bed Bugs reside, you can find them in other places too. These places include,
- Carpet
- Curtains
- Furniture
- Pet Beds
- Picture frames on the wall
- Headboards
- Under the wallpapers
- Inside the crack holes around the house
Signs of bed bug infesting your home
These bed bugs are really tiny, and most of the time, you will not know that they have infested your home. However, there are few signs which will help you understand if your home has been infested by the bed bugs or not. They are,
- Rashes, blister or small bites on your body
- Rust spots on your beddings or furniture
- A sweet and musty smell around a particular area inside the house
- Shed of growing larvae around the house
However, it is not really uncommon for bed bugs to go unnoticed for weeks, and sometimes even months.
Bed Bug: A risk to health
According to the health inspector across the world, bed bugs are not entirely dangerous, but they not hygienic. They spread rashes, itching, and infection which are mainly caused due to scratching. Some people might face allergic reactions to bed bugs, and might require immediate medical attention.
This insect is a nuisance, to the household, people and animals, hence it is recommended that in case of any trace of bed bug found in your home, you should call for immediate professional attention.
A complete inspection
When you have found bed bugs residing in your home, the first and the foremost thing that you need to do is pick you the phone, and call the experts for inspection. It would take 1 hour to 4 hours for a proper and through inspection to take place. However, it is important for you to know that inspection would cost extra.
An inspection would cost somewhere around $50 to $200 depending on the places around your home that is to cover during the inspection.
Once the inspection is conducted, the company will provide you with an estimation of the cost of the treatment. In case of any doubt, make sure that you as the professionals, all the questions that you need.
Bed Bug Treatment And Extermination Cost – Types of professional treatment, cost of labor and exterminating
Let us now discuss about the different kind of treatment that is available for eliminating the bed bug from your home. They are as follows:
Fumigation
This completely removes the bed bugs from your house. It also kills other pests’ intruders that are present in the house. However, if you are getting this treatment done, then it is recommended that you arrange for someplace to stay for the next 3-4 days. The chemical treatment used is not good for a human to breathe in, as it releases harmful VOC’s. This treatment cost around $4-$7.50 sq. feet.
Pesticides
This treatment reaches the crook, the corner and the cracks around the house. It is not very effective though. The bed bug heat treatment cost for an apartment is around $250 – $1000 depending on the size of the room and the area that need to be covered.
Heat Treatment
This is one of the fastest and the most effective way of removing the bed bug from your home. No chemical is used in this treatment; hence, you will be able to stay at your own place without shifting. However, this treatment is really costly, that would be around $2,000 – $4,000. Before the treatment, you will need to remove all the items from the house, which cannot sustain high heat or that which has low heat resistance.
Steam Treatment
This form of treatment is considered the best, as it kills the bug at any stage. The reason for this is that it penetrates the walls and cracks better than other treatment. However, this treatment needs to be conducted a few times and takes time. The charge of this treatment is around $250 – $1,000.
Well, we know how you would like to know the cost of the labor and the exterminating. The labor and bed bug exterminating cost is equal to the size of the infestation. A small area will cost less for infestation in comparison to a larger area. Most professional companies charge by per room for extermination or by sq. foot and some might also charge by the job, hence it is important that you talk about the payment before starting with the treatment of removing the bed bug.
However, it is quite possible that you will need two or more kind of treatment to eliminate the bed bugs and other pests from your home. It is recommended that you call the professional for a follow-up visit, for a second inspection after a period of 4-6 weeks, to ensure that there are no more bud beds present. The second inspection would cost you extra and is not part of the earlier treatment.
Preparation of bug bed extermination
This is one of the most necessary steps which you as a homeowner need to know, before starting on with the treatment.
- The first and the foremost step that you need to do is start decluttering your home and removing all the old furnishing, clothing and other unused items from around the house.
- The second step is to clean all the fabric, including the hanging curtains at the hottest temperature. Box up all your belongings, including the breakable items.
- The third step is to remove all furnishing items away from the wall.
It is really important for you to remember that bed bug treatment is quite often multi-faceted, and will involve heat, steam, pesticide and fumigation treatment (as described earlier).
However, sometimes the bed bugs can be removed by simple vacuums so as to remove the bugs and carcasses from the holes and cracks around the house. The treatment always depends on the severity of the problem that you are facing, along with the size of your property.
Self-treatment for bed bug
One of the most common mistake that homeowner does, is to try eliminating the bed bug themselves. No, it is impossible to remove these bed bugs yourself, especially if the bed bugs have spread all around your room, or around your home.
No, you cannot vacuum along the baseboards, cracks and use pesticides on the affected area and think that the bed bug has been removed. The bed bug will resurface within a few days in the same contaminated area and possibility is that it might be greater in number then they were before. Hence, no matter how big or small the infected area is, always seek professional help when it comes to removing the bed bugs from your home.
Keep your home clean and free from bed bugs. It is recommended that you should get a thorough check-up done before buying a new home or purchasing old home furniture for your home. You never, know what it is holding, and how it might affect your home and your health, along with the health of your family members.
