A1 SUPERHEROES PEST SOLUTIONS

HEAT TREATMENTS: Do they kill bed bugs? Not by simply turning up your thermostat, for your bed bugs heat treatment to work in your home everything must be heated to over 120ºf for over an hour. Everything must be heated to that temperature evenly at the same time. That means the voids in exterior walls and the insides of your furniture must reach that 120ºf temperature and stay for one hour. A professional heat treatment usually involves enclosing your home and using different heat sources in various areas of your home to safely raise the temperature throughout the structure.  For safety reasons, it is important that HEPA air filtration is used by your professional during any heat treatment to capture particulate and biological matter that may be aerosolized during the heating process. The construction and conditions at your home may affect the result of heat treatments. For example, if your home is a slab or has concrete walls it may be difficult to reach the target temperatures for the required duration. These areas where heat should be absorbed or the heat is lost are known as "heat sinks" in the industry. If such areas are present at your home, this will compromise the heat treatments and the result could be the return of the Bed Bug.

 

ACTUAL CUSTOMER OF THERMAL TREATMENT: I just had the thermal treatment done yesterday. They suggested not sleeping here the first night because the house was so hot. I am home today acting like a normal person for the first time since the bed bug was diagnosed in my home. The thermal treatment cost me $3,400 and the contract also includes a 30 day guarantee and inspection at the 30 day mark.

 

OUR OPINION ON THERMAL TREATMENTS: Remember, once the heaters are turned off, there is no residual. Heat treatments should be supplemented with pesticide and growth regulator applications as well. Our overall opinion of thermal heat treatment is it can work in many situations if performed correctly.  The cost of this unstable method of treating for the Bed Bugs is far to costly for the average consumer, carrying to many possibilities for failure. For Thermal Treatments to be effective it must be performed perfectly, and in the perfect environmental conditions without heat sinks. The HEPA air filtration is required for your safety. If you choose to go this route, make sure your professional will have HEPA onsite during the treatment and discuss the heat sink issue in your structure prior to committing to this treatment. The reason this treatment is so expensive is because of equipment costs, required for effective treatments!