Bed bugs, along with possible termites, are considered to be the most versatile and complicated of pests to not only kill but to completely eliminate from a home or business. Bed bugs were nearly eradicated in the mid to late twentieth century when DDT was the most popular insecticide on the market. After this dangerous insecticide was banned in the early 1970s, bed bugs began to make a slow but steady reemergence onto the pest control scene since their greatest detriment was banned. Since the 1990s, Canada and many other tourist destinations have seen rampant and widespread bed bug outbreaks and there are actually a few different reasons for this: globalization and increased travel, as well as increased bed bug resistance to commonly administered pesticides of the pyrethroid class. Pest control Oakville professionals now limit the usage of pyrethroids to fight bed bugs and have increasingly turned to one weapon that the bugs cannot develop a resistance to, heat.
Heat and high-temperature steam that reaches at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit, kills the bed instantly. The think exoskeleton of the bugs simply cannot withstand high temperatures. The steam that reaches that level of temperature is a great tool to use against bed bugs due to its overall safety compared to dangerous insecticides and the machine’s ability to pinpoint hot steam directly on wandering bugs who die instantly when the steam hits the bugs. Although it may sound tempting to immediately go out and buy a steamer to use against a bed bug invasion, it requires skill, precision, patience, and powerful, industrial-grade steamers to reach the required temperatures to kill the bugs en mass. It is an incredibly difficult task to try and reach deep into cracks and crevices where bed bugs may or may not be hiding. Since there is no way to know for sure, every square inch of a room must be treated with steam in a slow and steady process.
Pest control professionals utilize steamers of state-of-the-art and industrial-grade strength capacities. These steamers can reach temperatures well in excess of 300 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which is capable of reaching behind a wall and killing bugs crawling behind a surface. In addition to these capacities, professional-grade steamers also come with a wide array of nozzles, applicators, and wands that can reach with relative ease into the tiniest of cracks to kill hiding bugs.
Steam cleaners present an effective and overall safe way to kill and eradicate bed bug infestations. Due to the special circumstances pertaining to bed bug hiding spots, regular, everyday steamers are not efficient for this kind of task. Hiring a pest control professional who specializes in bed bug heat treatments is the proper and only effective way to use steam to help clear an infestation. Heat is a great and environmentally safe way to kill bed bugs in mass, but unless the process is done correctly, it can be a giant waste of time, money, and resources.