The treatment process is designed to kill most bed bugs before the end of the extermination session, which usually lasts 1 to 3 hours. Bed bugs are one of the most notorious and difficult to identify insects that live here in North Carolina. They also require a specialized type of treatment to eradicate; we use specialized heat treatments for bed bugs to eliminate the infestation. Bed bug treatment should last indefinitely, but that depends on whether the source of the infestation is correctly identified.
Unlike ants that simply live around your home, bed bugs typically enter your property without your knowledge. That means that even if we completely exterminate the bed bugs that are currently in your home, a friend, neighbor, pet, or even you yourself could bring them back (without knowing it). Pest control professionals usually return after about seven to 10 days and spray again. This is to catch the bugs you didn't see the first time.
That said, there may still be eggs that remain dormant for 20 to 30 days. There are several related factors that can affect the amount of time a spray treatment takes to kill bed bugs. Remember that over-the-counter pesticide products are not recommended for bed bugs seen between visits. Bed bugs are tiny (adults are about the size of an apple seed) and can hide anywhere a credit card can slip.
If the environment is too cold, bed bug eggs can stay alive, and will stay alive, even after repeated treatment. They also don't feed every day (in fact, they usually feed once a week) and, therefore, a bed bug could be between meals when treatment is applied and therefore not come into contact with treatment. Whole room heat treatments require a pest control professional (PMP) to bring equipment specially designed to raise your home's temperature and kill bed bugs. Most people don't wake up when bed bugs are in the act of feeding, and each person responds differently to a bite.
Monitors, such as adhesive traps or bed bug interceptors, may be useful in the weeks after treatment. Surviving bed bugs on the mattress or box spring will not be able to escape the cover or bite. Then, you take your bag contaminated with bed bugs to your room and voila, the bedbug nightmare has begun.
