Have bed bugs invaded your house, hotel, apartment, dormitory, or any other living facility? They can be frustrating and distressing to deal with, but you need to act fast, though. The longer the bed bugs are crawling in your property, the more damage they are causing, which can significantly hit your reputation if you own a commercial property. Moreover, no one is willing to rent a bug-infested home.
So, before you make a quick call to any pest control company, you must know the difference between a chemical treatment and a heat treatment for bed bugs. Here is a guide to assist you in the process.
Benefits Of Getting A Heat Treatment
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Leaves No Residual Effects
The most significant advantage of getting a heat treatment is that after the heat in your property returns to normal, you will just need to clear the dead bodies of a heap of bed bugs.
You don’t have to worry about cleaning the chemical residues. Although these chemicals are safe for residential use, some people may have sensitivity to chemicals, and for them, chemical treatment might not be the best option.
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Reaches The Most Vulnerable Places
Bed bugs are pretty clever and extremely good at hiding out of reach. But with a heat treatment in action, no matter how many layers of bedding these bugs may be hiding under, the heat can reach the most vulnerable areas and kill them. Moreover, bugs dread heat from which they can run but can’t hide, as heat can kill bed bugs at all stages of their life-cycle.
This is in contrast to the working of chemicals. Some bed bugs are resistant to certain pesticides, which can potentially make chemicals ineffective on specific bugs. Moreover, unlike heat, chemicals fail to kill them in cracks and crevices.
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Usually A Single Treatment
If you get a UNIVERSAL bed bug heater package, you can wipe out bed bugs using a heater in just one treatment.
A chemical treatment often requires several visits, as it usually works best when applied two or three times over the most bug-concentrated area for several days or weeks.
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Less Time-Consuming
Heat treatment is discreet, and unlike chemical treatment, it is neither is time-consuming.
Whereas, while doing a chemical treatment, you must thoroughly prepare and remove all the barriers from the infested areas. This is important to ensure that chemicals reach the hiding places of bed bugs and kill them effectively. So, the whole process requires time, preparation and thorough planning.
Benefits Of Getting A Chemical Treatment
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Highly Effective
If you are smart enough to catch the bug infestation in its early stages, the best way is to use chemicals, as they can effectively eradicate bed bugs quickly. Moreover, when quick-acting pesticides are combined with residual chemicals, they can efficiently kill bed bugs over time and possibly throughout every stage of their life-cycle. Heat treatment, in comparison, is less effective in earlier stages of infestation.
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Prevent Future Infestations
Residual chemicals can cause sensitivity, but they also act as a potential barrier against future bed bug infestations. Not everyone prefers a continued presence of chemicals in their homes, but it is undeniably long-term protection.
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Cost Effective
When compared to a heat treatment for eradicating bed bugs, a chemical treatment is often slightly less expensive.
Conclusion
Whether you opt for heat or chemical treatment depends on the above compared factors and individual preference. You can go for the convenience of single-treatment of heat or the long-lasting protection of chemical treatment—both have their potential downsides.