Trust K9 - BED BUG SOLUTIONS

Monthly Archives

2 Articles

Bed Bug Foundation

Last week Trust K9 attended a meeting set up by the Bed Bug Foundation regarding Dog detection accreditation and a code of practice. This is a much needed tool in the work of bed bug detection as an overall standard would be a wonderful starting point for clients/customers looking for a starting point on finding the right company to initially detect there bed bug infestation.

Once the infestation is confirmed the Bed bug foundation can then assist with finding the correct companies for treatment.

Please visit their website following this link. bedbugfoundation.org

The bed bug foundation is a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of bed bugs throughout Europe.

What bed bug treatment option is best for my property?

Initially you do an internet based search for ‘bed bug treatments’ to eradicate your bed bug problem and unfortunately there are all different kinds of results that come up.
Trust K9 offer two different search types and two different treatment types depending on your level of infestation, budget and property.
Upon ringing or emailing around you will be asked for certain details to enable pest control companies to provide you with quotations for bed bug services. The details Trust K9 require are simple, the area you live in, the number of bed rooms and living rooms you have and the level of your infestation.
The level of infestation can be difficult to work out if you have only just discovered it, however there are certain traits that bed bugs have that will help to establish how long the bugs have been present.

  • Have you been bitten or had bumps appear on your skins for the past weeks or months?
  • Have you noticed blood marks on your sheets upon waking up?
  • Has anyone else in the property been bitten?

An infestation will tend to start as a bite problem or possibly a rash. Due to the nature of bed bugs it can take weeks or even months for the bugs themselves to be seen (they are masters at hiding). However you can, by chance, see a bug at the beginning of an infestation. As bed bugs are a ‘bad luck bug’ it would be as simple as good luck to see a bed bug at the very start of an infestation.

When carrying out a visual search it is much easier to look for the evidence of the bed bugs rather than the actual bugs themselves. A visual search can take anywhere between 5 minutes to a few hours depending on how quick evidence is found. Once evidence is found in one room it is advisable to have the whole property treated due to the bed bugs nature.
The second option is a canine search. Although this search option is more expensive, it is a lot faster taking up to 1-2 minutes a room. If canine doesn’t alert in a room you can be 98% accurate that there is no infestation there, whereas a visual search can only be 30% accurate in cases where no evidence is found.
A canine search is also the best option in low level cases, for instance if you have visited a property recently that has an infestation and want your property checked or if you have only been bitten for a few weeks.

Following on from a bed bug search you can then go ahead and have a treatment. A treatment can be carried out in the first instance if bed bugs have been seen in the property.
A chemical treatment takes 5 weeks to kill all life stages of bed bugs. Bed bugs follow a cycle of feeding every 5-10 days (depending on availability of carbon dioxide and temperature) with eggs taking up to 18 days to hatch. We guarantee the majority of residential property treatments for six months. Once a property is sprayed the treated rooms will need to be left empty for 2 hours whilst the chemical dries. A chemical treatment is safe once the chemical barrier is dry.

The second option is a heat treatment. This treatment takes between 12-14 hours to do and a property will need to be left empty for a further 6-8 hours to cool down naturally. Although this treatment is an expensive one it is the fastest way of eradicating a bed bug infestation as it kills all life stages of bed bugs during its treatment time. It most cases, when treating a residential property this treatment is guaranteed for six months.
Please do not hesitate to contact Trust K9 with further questions you may have regarding a bed bug search or treatment.