Generally speaking, it is very difficult to get rid of bedbugs yourself if you have no training or experience with successful bed bug treatment. If you knew where to look and were able to find every bug and every egg, and eliminate them all via washing, cleaning, and other sanitizing measures, you may be able to control your bed bug problem yourself.
If one or two eggs make it through, or one female and male bug make it through, however, the bed bugs will be back, and they will be smarter and more difficult to kill the next time around!
In truth, even professionals have a hard time solving bed bug problems!
Many pest control companies do not offer bed bug removal services or they did once upon a time and have since exited the market. The reason? Bed bugs are extremely difficult to kill, and they are by far one of the Earth’s best survivors! If it’s difficult for trained pest professionals, who know all about the tendencies of pests and how they might spread in an environment, how can a home owner be expected to successfully solve the problem?
“If you try to kill the bed bugs yourself, chances are, you will only eradicate 5% or less of the total bed bug population in your home.”
-Bob Wilford, President, Presidio Pest Management
A Case Study: Bringing Bed Bugs Home on a Backpack
“Our phone rang one morning and it was a Mom of a university student who believed that bed bugs travelled home on her daughter’s backpack. She shared which school her daughter attends, and it just so happens they’d been receiving bed bug treatment. We went out for an inspection quickly after the call.
Our inspection found that the bed bugs had not yet “infected” her home – since her daughter had only been back a few days, the problem hadn’t grown just yet. We did recommend heat treatment for the affected area; since it was only in one room, it would have been a relatively inexpensive way to make certain the bugs were dead.
They decided not to move forward with treatment, and instead, throw away all of the bed bug-ridden items.
9 months later, they called us back for another inspection. The problem had spread in their home. This time, they had us perform treatment, and after multiple follow ups the family and Presidio were pleased to know that the problem was under control.”
Don’t do it yourself and make the problem worse. Call a bed bug professional as soon as possible for the best chances of solving the problem quickly.