At Northern Colorado Pest and Wildlife Control we are excited to announce that we will be adding Heat Treatments for Bed Bugs. This service will be another valuable tool for the eradication of bed bugs. Currently we have been doing conventional treatments for bed bugs which is another term for using insecticides. Conventional treatments are still going to be a large part of our service plan as these treatments are far cheaper than heat treatments, but they come with some drawbacks. Conventional treatments generally take multiple visits to eradicate a bed bug problem.
Multiple visits are necessary because the insecticides used are targeting the adult and nymph bed bugs but do very little for the eggs. Follow-up visits are scheduled 3 weeks apart which coincides with the time it takes bed bug eggs to hatch so another round of insecticides is used to target the newly emerged nymphs. Bed bugs are tricky too and some have developed resistance to some insecticides, and this can create a difficult situation for both the technician and the customer. To combat this, we use different insecticides on each visit so its less likely that resistance will be built up by the bed bugs.
The other obstacle with conventional treatments is the preparation of the unit, or lack thereof by the customer or tenants. It only takes one bed bug to re-infest the area and eradication is a 50/50 partnership between the technician and the customer/tenant. With all that being said, there are situations where the population of bed bugs is so high that the added cost of heat treatments will be cheaper in the long run than multiple treatments every 3 weeks. There are other instances where preparation by the customer or tenant is not possible and bed bugs are in areas that cannot be treated by insecticides per the chemical labels, and there are those customers that want instant gratification and do not want to prepare every three weeks.
Our heat treatment package will be a single treatment which includes both a conventional treatment, a heat treatment and a follow-up inspection by a third-party K-9 to clear the home, or unit. This third-party that clears the unit will provide a certification of clearance and at that time it is up to the homeowner and or tenant to not re-introduce bed bugs as there will be no warranty. If the K-9 identifies live activity, the process will be repeated until the K-9 clears the home or unit.
Northern Colorado Pest and Wildlife Control hopes to be offering Heat Treatments by April 2022. At this time, we do not have a price for this service package but there will be a minimum charge applied to all jobs and then they will be based off of square footage of the home/unit treated. The process will still require some preparation by the customer/tenant and the technician. You might wonder why a conventional treatment is included and that is because heat can drive bed bugs to hidden areas like baseboards, electrical outlets, underneath carpet, etc., to avoid the heat as there could be micro-climates within the home or unit that heat may not penetrate. For this reason, we want to put down a conventional insect barrier so bed bugs that are on the move are forced to cross our product (insecticide) which will kill them in a few days to a week.
We recognize that heat may seem attractive to some individuals so they can eradicate bed bugs quickly without insecticides but that may not be true if the bed bugs move to sheltered areas. We will provide a heat only option, but it will not be any cheaper and it will not have any warranty. This Heat Treatment Package was built to yield results. Like with any other pest control service, there is no substitute for a detailed inspection.
We look forward to providing this service and will keep all of our existing and potential customers informed as to when this service will be available and the associated costs. Again, thank you for trusting us with taking care of your pest control needs and if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Check out our website www.nocopwcontrol.com for up-to-date information and coupons for service.
