Bed bugs are difficult to eradicate once you have them. Personally I would not attempt to treat on my own. Once there is an infestation, a professional tretament service will address the visual problem but also the hidden problem behind walls and under floor boards. It’s time to get professional bed bug treatment.
There are times when waiting to treat makes sense. We had a call and did a search in Townsend MA on January 2. The family had visited relatives in Maine. The wife had gotten bitten and when she went to the dermatologist it was suggested that her bites might be bed bugs. She decided to bring in a bed bug dog to see if they had brought any bed bugs back to their home in Townsend.
The bites were typical of the lines with bed bugs and she didn’t believe she had gotten any bites since she had come back but wanted to see if there were any bed bugs in her home. I suggested that her relatives have their home inspected as well. But as it turned out, that wasn’t necessary as the relatives had already seen bed bugs at their home shortly after the visit.
Bed bug dog Spice alerted upstairs on a cot in a bag that they had used in Maine. Spice actually stuck her head inside the bag then sat. She also alerted on a gym bag. She stuck her head in the bag then sat (her alert) on top of the bag so she was pretty clear where she smelled bed bugs. The owner put the cot bag outside in freezing temps but will need to be treated as cold cannot be relied upon. The gym bag got thrown in the dryer. The bag had gone to Maine and carried back all of their clothing which they had dried upon their return but had done nothing with the bag.
Rather than immediately treat since it was not clear that any bugs had migrated from the bags, the owner elected to wait 3-4 weeks to see if she gets any more bites. Either way I will return in four weeks to recheck the house with bed bug dog Spice. Four weeks will be sufficient time for any eggs to hatch and for bed bugs to migrate to human hosts in the house. Also, if they are in the house there will be an established scent pool when Spice and I return to search. Our return trip at no charge will give her piece of mind. If she sees bed bugs in the interim we will not need to return, she will treat. If she starts getting bitten we will go back to try to get location an then visual confirmation.
Hopefully moving and taking action on the bags will be sufficient to address her potential bed bug problem. It’s much cheaper to hire a bed bug dog than to treat for bed bugs.