Homeowner's prep work helps bed bug treatment in Freehold, NJ

Challenge

I was looking forward to my final stop of the day. I was in the process of helping a very nice couple in Freehold resolve a bed bug infestation, and today was going to be the first treatment. Bed bug infestations are stubborn. A single female has the ability to populate a dwelling. Bed bugs are external parasites that feed exclusively on blood — and they have a distinct preference for human blood. With bed bugs, the best way to deal with them is to take precautions bringing items into your home (including your own clothing) that may be infested. Bed bugs are hitchhikers. If a home has an infestation it is because someone inadvertently carried them in. But once a home is infested, it is important to take action early when the population is low and the infestation is localized.

I had already completed the initial inspection two days prior, and had given the homeowners a prep sheet of the preliminary steps that needed to get done before starting treatment. The effectiveness of our treatment depends the homeowners getting the home properly prepped and ready. When homeowners do a good job getting the home prepped, we can do a better job killing the bugs. The goal behind the prep work is to not give these bugs any harborage or an opportunity to spread throughout the home. The prep sheet includes important instructions such as washing and drying all the linens and curtains in the room, reducing as much clutter as possible, and vacuuming all areas. 

Solution

Fortunately, only one bedroom in this Freehold home had any bed bug activity. Prior to treatment, I removed all of the electrical outlet covers and light switch covers off of the walls. Bed bugs are stealth insects that look for the smallest places to hide. They can easily crawl into the little voids behind electrical and light switch covers and escape treatment. With bed bug treatments, thoroughness is the name of the game. You have to think of all the nooks and crannies they can use as potential hiding spots, and make sure that they don’t take advantage of them. I released a dust application around all the of the electrical boxes that expands into these spaces. If any bed bugs are hiding within, they are instantly killed. Bud bugs have a waxy outer shell (exoskeleton) covering their bodies that protects them and provides the structure for their muscles and organs. This dust adheres to this waxy outer layer and causes them to dry out. They soon die from dehydration.  

Next, I plugged in my high-powered HEPA vacuum, an vacuumed up any live bed bug activity. I thoroughly vacuumed every square inch of the mattress and box spring — those are the usual trouble spots since the bugs want to be near their food source. When we sleep, they bite. Bed bugs easily hide in the mattress and box spring seams and stitching.  It is important to also vacuum all of the nearby areas where the bugs may be hiding including the trim work around the windows and any crack and crevice where there can be live bed bugs or eggs. After vacuuming, we installed mattress and box spring encasements to protect and seal them. With these encasements, bed bugs are prevented from going in either direction. They cannot enter and they cannot escape. This critical step permanently seals the mattress and box spring from any further bed bug activity. 

Finally, we used a chemical application to eliminate whatever bed bug eggs were  not removed during the vacuuming process. The application kills the eggs through dessication, drying up the moisture in the egg. Finding all bed bugs eggs is a challenge considering that a single egg is about the size of a small dust speck. Fortunately, eggs are laid in batches of up to 50 eggs, so they are somewhat easier to see. However, they are off-white and often blend into the surface. The easiest way to see an egg is under a magnifying glass. The female prefers to lay eggs on rough surfaces like mattresses and carpets. The eggs are covered in an amazingly strong glue-like substance so they stick and cannot be easily dislodged. It is critical to find the eggs to permanently stop the infestation. Removing just the visible bed bugs may not solve the infestation if the eggs escape notice. The chemical application also has a residual that works for several weeks after the treatment has been done. Finally, it’s important to focus on all of the same crack and crevice areas when performing the chemical application. Otherwise, the bed bugs will just move to  “safe” areas from the treated areas. Bud bug infestations must be done as a full-court press, so the bugs are not given an opportunity to hide elsewhere.

When the job was completed, I scheduled a two week follow-up, explaining to the customer that everything that had been done, and we will need to re-inspect and see what progress has been made. No reputable pest control company can guarantee that an infestation can be resolved in one treatment. You have to make sure that the application was successful and determine if additional work needs to be done. Bed bug infestations are stressful for any homeowner, and Cowleys makes every effort to reduce this stress. This couple was happy and appreciative knowing that we will work with them until their infestation is gone. I'm looking forward to my return visit, confident that significant progress has already been made.