Choosing the right treatment to eradicate your bed bug problem can be a hard decision to make. There are lots of different types of treatment available and they all have pros and cons.
We have detailed the treatments Trust K9 offer and when we, and our customers, feel these are the best option.
Heat treatment – Full Structural
Excellent for eradicating bed bugs quickly! This treatment is great for customers who cannot take the bed bugs any longer; although expensive it will kill all life stages during the treatment time. This treatment is not practical for everyone as you are required to be out of your home for 24 hours (14 hour treatment time, 10 hours cooling time) and we cannot heat above the third floor.
» Read in greater details about Trust K9 heat treatments
Chemical treatment
Great all round! This treatment takes 5 weeks to kill all of the bed bugs and although this isn’t an appealing aspect the chemical is actually active for a lot longer. This treatment is great for giving you long lasting protection for example if it is in a neighbouring property. There also isn’t much prep work for this treatment and you only need to be out of the treated rooms for 2 hours.
» Read more about Trust K9 chemical treatments
Canine search
This form of bed bug search is far more accurate than a visual search. Although costly it minimises disruption and is far quicker than a visual search. Canines are alerting on the strongest point of the scent of bed bugs therefore confirming if an infestation is present. This search is great for low level infestations or larger buildings.
» Find out about Trust K9 Canine search
There are also a few other options on the market, however please be aware Trust K9 does not offer these treatments as we do not feel that on their own they are sufficient enough to eradicate an infestation.
Heat treatment – Pod/Tent
This treatment is great for eradicating bed bugs in furniture; however this treatment will not kill bugs in the building such as skirting boards and plug sockets. This treatment would need to be teamed with a chemical spray to kill any bed bugs in the building and this would still take up to 5 weeks to kill all of those bed bugs.
Steam treatment
This treatment is a great starting point especially when you are trying to eradicate them yourself. Bed bugs die at 46 degrees Celsius so anything you get above this temperature will kill all life stages of bed bugs. However surrounding areas to the steam will be cooler and this can push the bed bugs further into furniture and the building as they try to escape. Steam also has no long lasting affect so a chemical barrier would also need to be applied and no further steam could be carried out as this would wash away the chemical barrier.
Freeze treatment
This treatment will kill bed bugs; however reaching temperatures low enough can take a long time. Freezing is great for soft furnishings and clothing that can be placed in a chest freezer.