Removing Bed Bugs From Homes & Hotels

With the exponentially increasing volume of domestic and commercial travel in the United States every year, the bed bug population has gotten a chance to spread all the way to the farthest reaches of the country. What was once a problem exclusively for cosmopolitan eastern cities like New York and Boston has now become the problem of even the most rural of communities.

Pest professionals in the American Southwest have been focusing a large portion of their attention and resources on Houston, Fort Worth, and Dallas pest control. The real problem, however, is that the average homeowner is unfamiliar with identifying bed bugs in their own home. This may result in an individual inadvertently ignoring the problem or even refusing to admit that there is one until bed bug populations have reached critical levels and a solution must be found. It’s important to note that the surest way to ensure the removal of these pests is to contact your local pest control professionals.

It’s been recently discovered that bed bugs can’t climb up smooth vertical surfaces like glass and some plastics. However, scientists conducting an observational study on bed bug behavior were shocked to discover that, when confronted with a smooth, Pyrex glass bowl, a bed bug had seemingly little issue climbing up and out. It was later concluded that the bowl might have been covered in dust particles which the bedbug might have been able to use as a foothold, or that the glass had minute fissures in its surface that were undetectable with the naked eye.

That said, it’s important to keep your pitfall-style traps clean and reasonably smooth. Bed bugs aren’t the fastest insects in the world, but when their prey is an immobile, sleeping human being, speed is hardly necessary. Bed bugs can move at an average speed of about four feet per minute; that’s about a twenty-two-hour mile.

Some recent research suggests that, while bed bugs are surprisingly hardy at low temperatures, they’re fairly defenseless against even the mildest heat treatment. Most studies agree that temperatures as low as 113 degrees Fahrenheit can fry bed bugs. Likewise, temperatures of about 120 degrees Fahrenheit can kill bed bugs at all stages of development, in about a minute.

However, due to their tiny size, and the even smaller size of their eggs, it’s easy for bed bugs to hide in the folds and stitching of fabric. Getting rid of them might take much more muscle than running the casual heat lamp across the surface of your bed. By the time you notice bed bugs in your surroundings, they have already so deeply embedded themselves in your upholstered furniture, mattresses, and pillows that an exterminator’s knowledge and experience is going to be required to evict the surreptitious creatures.

Cantu Pest & Termite is proud to be the first company in Texas to offer Cantu Green Services to our customers in search of a more prevention-based solution to their pest removal while minimizing the use of pesticides.

If bed bugs or other pests have made unwanted appearances around your home or business, call Cantu Pest & Termite and schedule an appointment today with one of our friendly, experienced bed bug removal experts.