Simple tips for a better bed bug heat treatment

by Tommy Underhill
November 1, 2019

Bed bugs don’t slow down during the winter —they still want you for dinner!— we just tend to travel less after the Holidays and therefore transport fewer hitchhiking bed bugs. Between now and the end of the year it’s wise to be especially vigilant for bed bugs, and to kill a bed bug infestation before your holiday guests arrive.

Bed bug heat treatment tips

I’ve put together a list of techniques to provide better results when eradicating bed bugs with heat. Some of these items pertain to service providers, some to those receiving the bed bug heat treatment.

• CUSTOMER: Eliminate clutter - bed bugs hide in so many places, you don’t need to provide any more for them. The greatest issue concerning bed bug heat treatments in cluttered areas: clutter acts as an insulator. Get rid of the clutter, reduce your treatment times, increase the efficacy of heat treatments.
• CUSTOMER: Reduce insulation - Cardboard boxes are wonderful insulators and nested boxes make sure the temperature inside remains nice and cool... a perfect temperature for bed bugs and bed bug eggs to survive a heat treatment. Don’t have boxes within boxes. Spread them out and, if possible, get the contents out into the open and exposed to the convected, heated air.
• CUSTOMER: Don’t waste time or money with over-the-counter sprays or foggers, or with worthless DIY treatments. Unlike essential oils, sprays, or foggers that settle on the surface of your furniture and carpets, heat gets to where the bed bugs live and hide. The best these supposed treatments do is drive the bed bugs deeper into your furniture or walls. The worst they do is give bed bugs more time to entrench themselves deeper into your home. Call a professional at the first sign of bed bugs.
• PROVIDER: Maximize airflow - Beds and other furniture are often placed right against one or more walls in a room. Dust ruffles on beds can obstruct treatment airflow under and around a box spring and mattress, potentially limiting the furniture’s exposure to heated air and extending treatment times. We lift and secure the dust ruffle to allow heated air to flow all around the bed. We separate the mattress from the box springs so air can flow between and around these items. We move items away from walls and utilize aluminum blocks to raise air-blocking furniture like dressers away from the floor. We have the experience to ensure your treatment is a success.
• PROVIDER: Use the right bed bug heater - Electric heaters generally produce between 19,000 BTU and 26,000 BTU. The Titan 800 propane bed bug heaters generate 990,000 BTU— up to 50 times as much heat energy with significantly greater airflow. As air passes through the heater, our propane heaters can produce a 180.6°F net rise in air temperature. The GreenTech Heat training ensures there will be no damage to your belongings during a bed bug heat treatment. When it’s cold, a Titan is the most efficient way to heat!

Because heat kills all the living and unhatched bed bugs in one treatment, there is no need for a repeat treatment. The only way a successfully-treated area will have a reinfestation is if someone brings bed bugs back in to the area.

It is possible to achieve a 100% bed bug kill in any weather, regardless of starting temperatures and external ambient temperatures. As with any other insect heat treatment, there is only one mandatory criteria for a successful treatment: achieving lethal temperatures for the required time duration. Measure temperatures and log times and know when all the bed bugs, other insects, and their eggs in the treatment area are dead.

A professional heat treatment is much more effective when. When you treat a home or business with equipment from GreenTech Heat Solutions, we know you will kill all the bed bugs and their eggs in only one day. Your customers and tenants will sleep soundly that night, possibly for the first time in a while. Call us at 888-699-3944 for answers to any specific questions you might have.