BellaJames

We have a rental condo that is infested with bed bugs. We have terminix but they can't get rid of them. Any suggestions?

inspectorD

Always call someone else besides the big companies...start lookin.

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Wuzzat?

Try negotiation first, but if that fails use the nuclear option. . .

tarrabyte

I would suggest looking for a company that provides Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs. It me six months with chemical treatment to get rid of bed bugs, but you can do it. You can watch inspection videos at Bed Bugs Northwest. Heat treatment means you can be rid of bed bugs in one day.

JeffGrill

Terminix should have provided a written guarantee. It is common for bed bugs treatments to require 2 to 3 visits since the eggs are very hard to locate and kill. The heat treatment approach where you home or a room is super heated is a good option, but then you are paying for yet another exterminator.

You can try and go at it yourself. You can find good step by step instructions for killing bed bugs at the Bed Bugs Handbook.

Nestor_Kelebay

Tarrabyte:

What does "heat treatment" involve?

Do they actually heat the residence, and if so, how hot does it have to become.

Also, it seems to me that a mattress is good insulation. I expect that you'd have to keep the mattress hot for a long time before the heat penetrated into the middle of the mattress (kinda like cooking a turkey).

How do they physically heat the house or apartment or bedroom, and how long do they keep it hot for?

I'm inquiring because I expect I'll have to eventually deal with bed bugs, too.

tarrabyte

I have some information on my web site Bed Bugs Northwest, but you are correct, it does take a day to heat the house unless it's just a room. Depending on the company you could expect 4-6 hours of heat. There is usually a residual pesticide used as well. A follow up inspection 30 days later with a dog is suggested. It's a great way to go if you can afford it, rather than having to lay in bed waiting for them to bite you so they can drag their blood bloated bodies through pesticides. That's what chemical treatment is about. Bed bugs don't groom their legs, so their bellies have to actually touch the pesticides, or their bodies....

JeffGrill

Heat treatment works extremely well. The idea is to seal a room or heat a building to 120 degrees using a forced air system. Because you are heating it beyond the required 113 degrees F, all objects in the room heat to the required temperature. The temperature is sustained for 2 hours to ensure that all bed bugs and eggs have been killed. Studies show this to be a very effective method, plus it is chemical free. You should visit the Temp-air website, the company that supports this system to find a local bed bug pest control company that provides this service.

If you are worried about the mattress specifically, just place the mattress and box spring in a zippered bed bug cover after the heat treatment.

Heat can also be used via a hand steamer for a more localized application, such as around the bed. Some ciompanies even often heat trucks or heat rooms, so that objects can be placed into the room ensuring that all hiding bed bugs are killed.

StorageShedSmart

I am curious about this being a rental condo. First question: Is your condo attached to anyone else's property? A friend of mine years ago ended up with bed bugs because she was renting an apartment and the man down the hall had a SEVERE infestation. For reasons that I don't know or understand, bed bugs don't climb stairs so it would have to be connected on the same level.

Second question: Have you talked to the person you rent from? My friend contacted the rental company and they sent an exterminator in to do the whole floor. If you don't own the condo and didn't bring the bugs in yourself it should be the expense of the owner.

As a side note: Taking your possessions to a heat room at an exterminators is one way to make sure the bugs AND eggs in your stuff get killed, but it will not take them out of the carpet or away from cracks in the wall. It also doesn't affect the clothes you are wearing at the time and can be a big hassel to pack everything up to take it down. Bed bugs live in any paper, wood, cloth, or otherwise porous material. They can't live inside solid glass or solid metal, but that's about it.

If you cannot find someone to heat your condo, which you should get permission from the owner of the property if you can find someone, then it might be better to regularly apply pesticide for a few weeks while you wait for eggs to hatch.

JeffGrill

When looking for the best bed-bugs-treatment, you do need to take into consideration adjoining condos as there is a 20% chance that the bed bugs will move from unit to unit.

Regarding Terminix, they do provide a written gaurantee on treatments, so definitely followup with them.

Heat is preferable for treatment, as it heats your entire condo to the temperature required to kill bed bugs (about 130F). You could take some of the measure mentioned in the link above while you are waiting for treatment.