Most people underestimate how difficult it is to effectively eliminate bedbugs once they infest a house. You often think you have eliminated them, whether through deep cleaning or hiring a pest control company, and they keep coming back. That’s why it isn’t easy to eliminate them and ensure your efforts are fully effective. This article will guide you through preparing your home for a successful bed bug treatment.
Why Proper Preparation Matters
Professional bed bug treatment can be ineffective and unsafe if you don’t prepare properly. Your pest control company might use two major ways of bed bug treatment: insecticides and heat treatment. Both treatments have advantages and disadvantages, and choosing which option you use depends on your needs and circumstances. However, with heat treatment, you can prepare more quickly since the bed bugs will be drawn out of your furniture using heat and then eliminated. Also, heat treatment doesn’t leave any chemicals on the surface of your furniture and appliances.
Preparation should be taken seriously, whichever method your pest control company uses, since leaving your home unprepared for bed bug treatment can later cause many health issues or bed bugs to come back.
It is very important to make way for professionals to do their job effectively in this case. If there is a lot of clutter or unclean surfaces, your bed bug treatment may fail, and you might need to go through all of the effort again. Moreover, certain belongings, like children’s toys, must not be sprayed with insecticides, or they should be thrown away afterward.
Bed Bug Treatment Steps
For a successful bed bug treatment, the following seven steps of preparation should be done carefully:
- 1
Get Ready to Leave Your Home
Pest control is usually not safe for the residents’ health either. Your children and pets must stay outside the house for as long as the pest control company recommends. Considering the health risks that the pest control procedure poses to you and your family–particularly when insecticides are used–you must take the time recommended by the pest control company seriously.
Preparing a clean set of clothes before you leave is essential to ensure you don’t bring bed bugs to your alternative residence. To prepare some clothes for leaving, wash them with warm water and then dry them with the highest setting on your dryer that doesn’t damage those clothes.
- 2
Leave Your Belongings Behind
When you leave your home during the pest control procedure, it is crucial that you don’t move your belongings to another place. Since bed bugs can crawl into your furniture, appliances, and any of your belongings, moving your belongings to another place will risk bringing bed bugs or their eggs with you. Not only will this cause another house to need pest control later, but it will also cause your home to need pest control again when you bring your belongings back.
Leave everything behind for the pest control company to treat to avoid the complications of bringing your belongings elsewhere with you.
- 3
Clean Your Belongings and Put Them in Plastic Bags
Although your belongings should stay in the house, they need cleaning before the pest control company starts the bed bug treatment. Cleaning your belongings and ensuring they are bug-free can help you prevent many side effects of bed bug treatment. Bed bug treatment can contaminate many of your belongings (especially with insecticides). Since you don’t want your belongings to be sprayed with hazardous chemicals, it is essential to take the following steps before the process starts:
Bedding: Wash sheets, blankets, pillowcases, and other bedding in warm water and then dry them. Set your dryer to the highest setting to kill any bed bugs hiding in the fabric. After removing them from the dryer, immediately put them in plastic bags (ones you can seal).
Clothing: Like your bedding, wash your clothes with warm water and dry them using a high heat setting. Similarly, put your clothes in plastic bags and leave them behind in the house.
Curtains and Pillows: For your curtains, pillows, stuffed animals, and towels, putting them in the dryer for some time does the trick. Use the highest heat setting that doesn’t damage your belongings, and double bag them immediately afterwards. Make sure you leave all of these plastic bags in a room, not stack them on top of each other, and leave them a bit separated from the walls.
- 4
Store Nonwashable Belongings Appropriately
Books, electronics, picture frames, plastic toys, and other nonwashable belongings should be inspected carefully to ensure they’re bug-free and then placed in a plastic bag or bin. Since no chemicals are sprayed on these belongings, they can be left in place for heat treatments. The bed bugs will be drawn out of them by heat and then eliminated.
- 5
Vacuum and Mop All Floors
Since dust or debris left on surfaces can interfere with the bedbug treatment, it’s recommended that you vacuum and mop all floors before the pest control company starts the bedbug treatment. After this procedure, the vacuum bags have to be disposed of with care. Putting the vacuum bags in a plastic bag before disposal is an effective step.
- 6
Vacuum Couches and Armchairs
Like floors, furniture dust and dirt can block insecticides or heat treatments from reaching the bed bugs. Thus, vacuuming all couches and armchairs can make the bed bug treatment more effective.
- 7
Declutter and Provide Access to Walls
A cluttered space is the best place for bed bugs to crawl into everything and be safe from treatment. Removing unnecessary items around the house, throwing away the unneeded items, and tidying the rest of your belongings are important steps for a successful bed bug treatment. Moreover, moving your furniture away from the walls can significantly ease your pest control company’s work.
Consider Professional Assistance
With a long list of things to do, preparing your home for a bed bug treatment can be a hassle. However, since much of the work includes cleaning, getting help from commercial cleaners can help relieve your stress and ensure a seamless process. Professional cleaners are much more efficient than those not trained to clean. Moreover, a reputable residential and commercial cleaning company will make things easier by offering a customized cleaning service that suits your specific needs.
First-Grade Residential Cleaning Services in Baltimore, MD
Do you need help preparing your home for a bed bug treatment? Interworld Cleaning offers expert green residential and commercial cleaning services in and near Baltimore, MD. With certified, licensed, and insured services, we ensure high-quality, eco-friendly cleaning services that you can trust. Our money-back guarantee and 5-star ratings bear witness to the fact that we take pride in the quality of our work. Our services are available 24/7, and you can call us to schedule your customized residential cleaning services at any time.
Call us now and see the difference that our commercial cleaners can make!
