Bedbugs are one of the varieties of blood-sucking insects that can settle in close proximity to a person, causing him a whole lot of inconvenience.
The difficulty lies in the fact that in terms of unpretentiousness to conditions and degree of survival, only cockroaches can compete with these parasites.
For this reason, before you begin the process of removing and destroying them, you need to know some features of bedbugs:
- Maintaining cleanliness inside the apartment cannot be a measure that will completely protect against the occurrence of these insects, since, unlike cockroaches, bedbugs do not need deposits of garbage to find food.
- Bedbugs can parasitize both domestic animals and humans ; their constant bites cause discomfort and disrupt proper sleep and rest.
- Many common types of insecticides do not work against these parasites due to their natural resistance to them.
- They prefer to settle in the most inaccessible places and create large colonies, so the destruction of one of the nests cannot contribute to the complete removal of insects.
- They have a unique ability to go without food for a fairly long period of time , so leaving the apartment cannot help eliminate them.
- Reproduction occurs at a rapid pace , so the destruction of insects must be carried out as quickly as possible.
- Most chemicals can destroy adults and their larvae , but will not harm the eggs in any way, so parasites may reappear.
Disinfection methods
Today, there are many different methods for disinfecting premises from bedbugs; when contacting specialized services, the most common methods are:
- Cold fog irrigation is the treatment of all indoor surfaces and furniture using an antiparasitic aerosol. The peculiarity of this product and its microscopic structure make it possible to use a much smaller amount of special equipment, which reduces toxicity, but at the same time the drug has a strong toxic effect on insects. In addition, wet processing of this type allows you to avoid flooding of the room or damage to the surface of the walls. This disinfection option is the most effective, since the residues of the product remain in cracks and crevices, so the new generation of bedbugs hatching from the eggs will also be exposed to poisonous effects.
- Fumigation involves treatment with hot fog, carried out using specific thermomechanical equipment or special generators. Their functioning is based on the breakdown of the active antiparasitic agent; the particles are so microscopic that a person is unable to see them. This method not only allows you to get rid of insects as quickly as possible, but the fog will remain inside the room for several hours after treatment, after which it will need to be ventilated. This is its main difference from cold fog, after which the ventilation process is carried out immediately.
- Do-it-yourself products, which are presented on the market in the form of sprays, insect traps, gels, poisonous powder preparations and other toxic products. Often this technique is less effective than professional treatment.
Where do bedbugs come from and where do they make nests?
The first thing that interests the owners of infected apartments is where the bedbugs came from and where they live. Oddly enough, most often the owners themselves bring unwanted guests into the house. For bedbugs, traveling long distances is not an easy task. In addition, they can live for a long period of time without food. Therefore, even if the owners went on vacation, they are in no hurry to leave the old apartment. But getting into a suitcase with things for insects is not a problem. This is how owners bring home unwanted guests from business trips.
Also, bedbugs can enter an apartment with new things that were stored in an infected warehouse. Therefore, before you bring your purchase into your home, carefully inspect your purchase.
Often bedbugs enter the house along with upholstered furniture that has already been used. When purchasing items that have already been used, it is not enough to simply inspect them. As a preventive measure, it is advisable to treat newly purchased furniture with products designed to disinfect bedbugs.
It is possible that the bedbugs in the apartment came from neighbors. All apartments have a common ventilation and sewage system. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure complete insulation of your apartment. Bedbugs will begin to move from neighbors only when they do not have enough food and space in one apartment. Accordingly, we are talking about a high degree of contamination of the premises. At this stage, it is almost impossible to solve the problem on your own. Therefore, you will have to contact services that disinfect premises from bedbugs.
Due to their small size, bugs can hide in any crevices. They choose habitats where there are three points of support (behind the baseboard, in the folds of upholstered furniture, etc.). They feel protected where they touch the surface with both their belly and back. But you shouldn’t look for insect nests far from your sleeping area.
It is very important for bedbugs to be close to a food source. Since the food of insects is human blood, they will be located close to the bed or right in it
Preparing the apartment
Regardless of the chosen disinfection method, if a full-scale treatment is planned, then the apartment also needs preliminary preparation for this procedure.
Preparatory measures are as follows:
- Removing carpets if they are hanging on the walls.
- All folding furniture, such as sofas or armchairs, must be disassembled first.
- All clothes and other things from closets must be removed and packed in secure and airtight bags; after processing, all this will need to be washed in hot water.
- All apartment residents, as well as pets, must be absent during the treatment of the premises and not appear there until the insecticides have completely evaporated.
If the apartment is processed by a professional service and the products they use require any additional precautions, then the specialists will definitely warn you about this.
Disinfection procedure
Even if it was decided not to use the services of insect removal specialists, if you treat the premises yourself, the disinfection procedure will look the same.
Destruction of bedbugs involves the following set of measures:
- Poisoning the nest, as well as all places where bedbugs may be located, with insecticides. The most effective remedies against them are Tetrix, Biorin, Ectermin or Sinuzan.
- All people not taking part in the processing of the apartment must leave the premises.
- If necessary, treat carpets and interior cabinet surfaces with insecticides.
- Additionally, it is necessary to wash all clothing and bedding to eliminate any remaining parasites. Washing must be done at high temperature, after which all linen must be ironed, paying special attention to seams and other hard-to-reach places.
What needs to be done after treatment?
Three days after baiting the bedbugs, you need to take a few more steps:
Wipe all surfaces, including dishes, walls, furniture and windows - this will remove chemical residues; Vacuum your apartment
Pay special attention to hard-to-reach areas - along skirting boards, in corners, under furniture, etc.
This way you will get rid of not only dead bedbugs, but also larvae and egg laying; Do a wet cleaning. Any alkaline solution is suitable for washing floors and other surfaces - just add a little laundry soap or dishwashing liquid to the water; Ventilate the room. Remember, cleaning the room must be done with rubber gloves, goggles and a respirator.
If after disinfestation you continue to notice bedbugs, do not worry - they will completely disappear only after a month. To consolidate the result and protect yourself from a new attack by parasites, ask your neighbors to do parallel processing.
Necessary measures after disinfection
After the room has been treated for bedbugs, it is necessary to take a number of measures that will help avoid possible negative consequences, they are as follows:
- Do not return to the treated apartment for several hours. It is necessary to refrain from long visits until the smell of the toxic substance is completely exhausted.
- Dishes that remained in the apartment must be washed with special cleaning products.
- Products remaining inside the apartment during processing become unfit for consumption and must be disposed of.
- A thorough wet cleaning is required, first of all, it is necessary to wash those surfaces with which a person has frequent contact: chairs, stools, surfaces of bedside tables and tables, door handles. This should be done only after the bedbugs have completely disappeared or the drug has shown its effectiveness; the final result will depend on this.
- If disinfection was carried out on your own, then the clothes that were worn at that moment must be washed at a temperature of at least +50°.
- A few days after disinfection, it is necessary to vacuum the baseboards and all furniture; this will help get rid of the bedbugs that died as a result of the treatment, as well as their eggs, which were not affected by the toxic substances. The vacuum cleaner bag must be shaken out exclusively outside so that insect eggs do not accidentally end up in the apartment again.
How to detect bedbugs, what they look like and why they are dangerous
Bed bugs are reddish-brown, oval-shaped insects. Their abdomen has a strongly flattened shape, tapering towards the front. Their antennae and fur around their heads are clearly visible. The abdomen lengthens after eating and takes on a fusiform shape. Its larvae are called nymphs because they do not change during development. They have no wings and are very durable. They feed on the blood of warm-blooded creatures, most often humans. They choose uncovered, hairless areas and bite almost painlessly. Experts also believe that they respond to the release of carbon dioxide. They exist next to us, their activity is most active in the middle of the night or before dawn. The female lays 2 to 3 eggs per day, several hundred in her lifetime. In good living conditions and suitable temperatures, they can live up to 300 days. When the temperature drops below 16 degrees Celsius, they hibernate.
Bedbug bites cause itching that appears after a few hours. At the moment of the bite, we do not feel anything, because the insect injects an anesthetic substance, which also prevents blood clotting. Therefore, they usually attack at night, when they are least likely to be detected. Anxiety, general weakness and insomnia are common symptoms that result from bites. Children suffer the most in contaminated premises, as insect activity often causes serious allergies.
video: How to carry out professional extermination of bedbugs in an apartment
Professional disinfection
Recently, fewer and fewer people are carrying out self-disinfection against bedbugs, since today there are a large number of organizations providing this service at a professional level.
Such treatment of the room will have the following advantages:
- Specialists use only proven products that are designed to completely destroy this particular type of insect.
- All insect extermination organizations carry out their professional activities on the basis of concluded contracts and provide a guarantee for quite long periods.
- The poisonous substance will have a high degree of permeability, so even hidden places will be treated. When carrying out disinfection yourself, it is often impossible to achieve such an effect.
- In addition to exterminating insects, specialists will provide the premises with certain barriers that will not allow new bedbugs to enter the apartment if their main refuge is with neighbors.
Precautionary measures
Regardless of whether disinfection is carried out independently or a professional service is involved, certain safety measures must be observed:
- The entire procedure should be carried out only in disposable rubber gloves and a respiratory mask. It is also recommended to use safety glasses.
- If possible, carry out self-processing in unnecessary clothing, which can then be disposed of.
- Dishes remaining in the apartment must be placed in bags that have a hermetically sealed closure system or wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Children's things should not be in the apartment during disinfection, but first they should be separately checked for the presence of parasites or their eggs.
- Pets must be removed from the apartment during disinfection, including aquarium fish, as well as other inhabitants of aquariums and terrariums.
How to prepare a room for disinfection?
Professional baiting of bedbugs requires careful preparation of the apartment. It consists of the following:
- All residents and pets must vacate the premises for the entire day;
- If you have an aquarium, turn off the compressor and cover the container itself with thick glass;
- Remove bedding from the bed, wash it at a high temperature and put it in a place where you know there are no bedbugs. Do the same with the rest of the textiles, rugs, blankets and pillows;
All microbes and insect larvae die at high temperatures
- Pack and take out food - if possible, take it to a neighbor or hide it in the refrigerator;
- Disassemble sofas, beds and armchairs, be sure to remove pillows and mattresses from them;
- Check if there is access to all rooms of the apartment, including closets, space behind furniture, corners, etc. If necessary, move cabinets and sofas to the center of the room;
- Prepare for wet cleaning that will follow disinfection - stock up on detergents and clean sponges and rags (after this you will have to throw them away);
- Put all dishes in a closet or pack them in boxes. Wrap what you can’t hide in sealed bags. The main thing is that the chemical insecticides that will be sprayed everywhere do not get on the dishes;
- Take out the trash from the apartment - accumulations of rubbish will complicate the work of specialists and block the passage to hard-to-reach areas;
- If there is a canopy on the bed and bedbugs live in it, feel free to get rid of it;
- Hide all items that help maintain personal hygiene - toothbrushes, washcloths, etc.;
- Cover the TV and other household appliances that are susceptible to moisture;
- On the day of departure of the SES service, do a general cleaning.
Criteria for choosing a disinfection service
In order not to regret your choice in the future, you need to take this process as seriously as possible.
First of all, you need to pay attention to the following factors that can influence the choice of professional service:
- Reputation of the selected organization. Today, there are a large number of companies providing such services, so you can always choose in favor of specialists who have already proven themselves on the most positive side.
- The methods the service uses to kill insects. In particular, you need to find out how safe the poisonous drugs are if chemical treatment is used, as well as the guarantee that specialists are willing to provide, usually from 1 to 3 years.
- Value for money. Since the competition in this industry today is quite strong, it makes no sense to overpay for the service, however, unreasonably low prices should also put you on guard. Even the presence of good reviews can only be a trick of scammers.
- Quality of service and attitude towards potential clients. These are criteria that many people do not attach importance to, but they are extremely important. If employees of an organization are rude when communicating with potential clients on any issues, and if the office environment is careless or looks like a temporary workplace, then this should warn against possible cooperation.
Cost of the procedure and factors on which the price depends
As already mentioned, today there are a large number of insect extermination companies, each with its own pricing policy, so the cost of services below is approximate.
Its formation is influenced by the following factors:
- The number of rooms in the apartment that will be subject to disinfection. Depending on this criterion, the price can vary from 1500 to 2500 rubles. The treatment of rooms such as the bathroom, kitchen and toilet is carried out separately, and in total it costs 1,500 rubles.
- Type of processing performed. The cost of disinfecting a one-room apartment with cold fog costs about 1,500 rubles, and treatment with the hot variety will cost at least 4,500 rubles.
- The warranty provided for a one-room apartment can be 1.5-3 years. Depending on this period, the price varies from 3,000 to 6,000 rubles; the provision of a warranty period is an additional service.
- Separately, you can ask to treat sleeping places, the price of the service is 150-300 rubles , disinfection of vehicles will cost 1500-2000 rubles.
- Travel outside the city is paid additionally , most organizations send their specialists to a distance of 20 to 100 km, 500-1500 rubles will be added to the cost for this.
- Country houses and private cottages are usually disinfected at separate prices. On average, buildings whose area does not exceed 100 sq.m can be treated for 3,500 rubles. If you need to treat a building that is large in area, then an additional payment is made for each square meter.
In this video you can see the result of the master’s work and the effect of our drugs:
After all, these insects are not only annoying, but also dangerous to health. Our specialists will answer any questions that are important to you and relieve you of problems with insects. Phone numbers for inquiries: +7 (495) 508-24-86
Processing method | Cold fog | Cold Mist + Barrier Protection** | Hot Mist + Barrier Protection** | Cold fog hot fog, barrier protection**, antibacterial treatment * | PPE*** 1500 rub. |
1 room apartment | 1600 rub. | 2600 rub. | 3600 rub. | 5600 rub. | |
2 rooms apartment | 1800 rub. | 2800 rub. | 3800 rub. | 5800 rub. | |
3 rooms apartment | 2200 rub. | 3200 rub. | 4200 rub. | 6200 rub. | |
4 rooms apartment | 2600 rub. | 3600 rub. | 4600 rub. | 6600 rub. | |
Guarantee period | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years | 5 years |
* Antibacterial treatment of premises against diseases, such as salmonellosis, gastroenteritis, asthma and diphtheria, which are carried by dangerous insects. Treatment includes a chemical disinfection method.
Do-it-yourself fight against bedbugs
If you decide not to involve professional services, but to solve the problem with parasites yourself, then you can use the following methods:
- The safest option is to destroy bedbugs by creating an unfavorable temperature regime for them. However, this may be impossible if residents cannot leave the apartment for a long time or simply ensure that the temperature in it changes.
- The use of bedbug traps and special poisoned baits has not been shown to be highly effective, since people and pets live near bedbugs, which are a source of blood - the main food of these parasites.
- A special aerosol is an effective remedy if chosen correctly. It is necessary to spray the drug not only on bedbugs or their discovered nests, but also in places where insects can move.
- Mechanical and physical destruction of bedbugs . This can be done by killing insects encountered, washing bedding at high temperatures, or destroying their shelters with a vacuum cleaner.
- There are various folk remedies against bedbugs, but they are not intended to kill insects. A bug may die if it falls into a container filled with vinegar or turpentine, but in other cases the smell of these products will only repel parasites.
Is such disinfestation dangerous for people and pets?
When following the exterminator's instructions, bedbug treatment is safe for both people and pets.
In our practice, there has not been a single case of any kind of poisoning during normal contact between the client and the exterminator and following the instructions of the master.
Several times clients developed malaise when, during treatment, they took off the ordered respirator and breathed in the room at the very moment of spraying. If people do not commit such violations, disinfestation is safe for them.
After returning to the apartment, the dried product no longer poses a threat to either people or pets. Even if someone touches the treated surface, a small amount of particles of the product will remain on the body (or fur of the animal), which are completely harmless.
Difficulties can sometimes arise if a bedridden patient lives in the apartment. Such nuances are discussed in advance and the exterminators prepare for treatment a simple manual sprayer, which very accurately treats surfaces without the risk of the product getting into the air and the lungs of the patient. However, in this case, the person is given a respirator, and the disinsection itself lasts longer than usual due to the slower speed of surface treatment.
Preventive measures
Since it can be quite difficult to destroy or remove bedbugs, it is better to take the following preventive measures to help avoid the appearance of insects:
- Maintain sanitary standards in the premises: carry out regular cleaning, cleaning furniture, washing and replacing bed linen.
- When moving to a new premises, pre-treat it with insecticides that have a poisonous effect on bedbugs.
- Elimination of cracks in floors and walls, as well as other similar loopholes in which insects can settle.
- Wash dirty linen and clothes in a timely manner; long-term storage is not allowed.
- Observe the presence of insects, if traces of their vital activity are found, then it is urgently necessary to take appropriate measures before their population has time to grow.
How to get rid of bedbugs at home yourself?
Before we move on to considering ways to get rid of bedbugs at home on your own, let’s outline some physiological characteristics of insects that will help increase the effectiveness of the fight.
The elimination of bed bugs should begin by finding out the cause of their appearance. Insects can enter the apartment through the ventilation hole and windows from neighbors, from the basement, garbage chute, or attic. Often, ectoparasites get into the suitcases of vacationers, and household members themselves bring them into the house. The following recommendations will help reduce the risk of bed bugs in your home:
- Installing screens on windows and fine mesh grilles on ventilation openings.
- Using sealant or cement mortar, eliminating cracks and holes through which insects can penetrate (leaks between the wall and the floor, in window frames, concrete floors).
- Creating barrier protection using repellent chemicals.
- Processing work clothes using a steam generator or washing at high temperatures.
- Careful inspection of bags and suitcases after each business trip, vacation and other trips.
Bed blood-sucking ectoparasites go hunting mainly at night. Because of this, it is problematic to detect the appearance of individuals in the initial stages and solve the problem before it grows to catastrophic proportions. During the day, small insects hide in their nests. To arrange them, they choose secret dark places:
- folds of upholstered furniture;
- wooden and metal bed joints;
- the reverse side of the carpet, wall paintings, peeling wallpaper;
- distant shelves in closets;
- socket boxes;
- cracks in the floor and baseboard;
- space behind the radiator.
note
To successfully combat bed bugs, it is important to know all the nesting sites of the parasites.
These areas must be carefully treated. If you leave at least one place of localization of blood-sucking individuals unattended, in a couple of weeks the house will again be filled with dozens of bed bugs. Another important condition for successful control of ectoparasite insects is the choice of an effective remedy. We'll talk about specific methods later. For now, we only note that the same method, one drug can have different effects on adult bedbugs, larvae and eggs.
What home remedies and methods should you use to kill parasites?
If you are sure that bed bugs have taken up residence in your home, you need to decide which home and professional remedies will be effective in eliminating them. Four groups of methods are used to combat ectoparasites:
- Traditional methods.
Advantages: non-toxic and affordable, suitable for treating any room, safe for people and pets. The main disadvantage is low efficiency. Most traditional methods are only suitable for preventive measures and the destruction of single parasites. - Mechanical, physical methods.
Advantages: non-toxic, safe for people and pets. Disadvantages - suitable only for processing textiles, clothing, and upholstered furniture. Eliminating bed bugs will require thorough and lengthy pest control. For example, treating one mattress with hot steam takes at least 1 hour. - Chemical methods.
This is the most effective way to combat bed bugs on your own. Household insecticides are sold in specialized stores. If you follow the manufacturer's recommendations, you can use them to get rid of all bedbugs. The main disadvantage is that searching for nests and thoroughly processing all surfaces and hard-to-reach places will require a lot of time and effort. - Professional methods.
This is the fastest and easiest way to control bed bugs. When choosing a company, it is better to give preference to the SES, which provides official guarantees of the destruction of insects.
Next, we will consider in detail each group of methods for combating bed bugs.
Physical and mechanical methods
The main physical method of controlling bed bugs is exposure to high and low temperatures. It is suitable only for processing individual items, clothing, furniture. What actions can you take at home?
- Treat upholstered furniture with a steam generator, paying special attention to folds, crevices and joints.
- Using a steam cleaner, hot hair dryer or iron, treat the mattress and pillows on both sides.
- Wash bed linen, curtains, work clothes and other items that contain ectoparasites at a temperature of +60°C or higher.
- For maximum effectiveness of the measures, it is recommended to iron the textiles after washing.
- Disassemble the wooden bed frame as much as possible and treat it with a hot hairdryer or steam generator. The hot jet must be directed to the joints, headboard, slats, sides, supports and other furniture elements.
Bulk items such as pillows, blankets, mattresses, carpets should be dry cleaned or processed in a disinfection chamber. Sometimes it is advisable to get rid of old furniture, especially if it is heavily contaminated with bedbug excrement.
How to quickly remove bedbugs at home: chemicals
Chemical methods involve the use of ready-made insecticides purchased in a store, or self-prepared pesticides. The following recommendations will help you find the right product:
- Read on the forums reviews of users with experience in successfully combating bed bugs.
- Find out what chemicals have recently been developed by specialists to combat blood-sucking ectoparasites. The new formulation should be aimed at overcoming the high resistance of bedbugs to insecticides.
- Give preference to long-acting drugs that contain two or more active ingredients.
How to quickly remove bedbugs at home? We list the TOP 5 household insecticides that will help solve the problem:
- Hector.
The drug is a powder with abrasive properties. When it gets on the body of an insect, it damages its integument and begins to draw water out of it. To combat bed bugs, Hector is left in places where insects may inhabit and move. - Karbofos
is a concentrated liquid based on melathion. It is affordable and highly effective against adult bedbugs, eggs and larvae. - Dichlorvos
is a spray that contains pyrethroids. Suitable only for the destruction of larvae and adults. - Executioner
is a liquid based on fenthion poison, which kills bed bugs at any stage of development. Sold in the store in the form of compact bottles. One jar is enough to disinfect a surface area of 5 m2. - Combat
is an aerosol that is convenient for treating cracks and hard-to-reach corners. Recommended for use in combination with a liquid preparation.
If blood-sucking parasites periodically appear in the house, disappearing only for a while, preparations with different active ingredients should be used to disinfest the premises. For example, first use “Executioner” based on fenthion, and the next year use “Hector”. This will help prevent the population from becoming resistant to chemicals.
Traditional methods
To repel bed bugs and combat a small population, you can try traditional methods:
- Essential oils and fresh plants with a pungent odor
: lavender, pine, tea tree oil, wild rosemary, wormwood, tansy, eucalyptus, citrus. The aroma of valerian will help lure bed bugs out of their hiding places. This will make pest control much easier. - Tincture of celandine.
The pungent smell will repel bed bugs. - Dalmatian chamomile powder
. The product must be scattered in places where insects live and move. You can buy the powder at the pharmacy. - A solution of 9% vinegar
. It is used to treat walls, floors and other surfaces.
You should not use kerosene, turpentine and naphthalene in an apartment, house or cottage. They are toxic to humans and pets and have a large number of side effects. The listed products are suitable for combating bedbugs in the shed, basement or other technical premises.