Bed Bug Extermination
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Bed Bugs Keeping You Up At Night?
Charlotte, NC has recently become one of the top cities in the United States with bed bug infestations, and City Wide Exterminating is leading the way in affordable exterminating and treatment.
How do we do it? We make it hot. Really hot. We guarantee our whole-home heat treatments for 30 days! We even offer an optional extended warranty starting at just $29 per month for however long you wish to keep it.
FAQ About Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They are nocturnal and use their piercing-sucking mouth parts to draw blood from their victim while they sleep. The saliva from a bed bug acts as both a numbing agent and anticoagulant. This allows the bed bug to feed uninterrupted without waking its host.
Bed bug size and color depend on age. Newly hatched bed bugs that have not yet received a blood meal are clear-creamy white and roughly half the size of a grain of rice. Adults are reddish-brown and are roughly the size of a watermelon seed. All bed bug stages have six legs and a pair of short antenna. Still not sure if your bug is a bed bug? Send a clear picture to bedbugs@citywideexterm.com, and our Associate Certified Entomologist will provide a FREE verification!
Typically bed bug bites can be observed by multiple bites oftentimes in a linear pattern along your body – usually along the side you lay on most while sleeping. Bed bug bites are most frequently found on exposed skin such as the neck, arms, and upper body area. While some individuals do not react to them, others may notice small itchy red spots within days or even hours after being bitten.
Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers! They travel with humans on their clothes, in their luggage, and even in their hair. Bed bugs can be found anywhere people are found. This means on public transportation, movie theaters, schools, hotels, airplanes, doctors offices, and just about anywhere else you can imagine. Most commonly, bed bugs are brought into a home after someone has traveled to an infested place. The bed bugs conceal themselves in the traveler’s luggage during their stay and are carried back home once the trip is over. However, they can also just as easily come home tucked behind the collar of a shirt after a night at your local movie theater.
First of all, don't panic. People have burned down homes trying to get rid of these blood suckers. Second, make sure you actually have bed bugs. Our staff Associate Certified Entomologist will gladly verify your bug. All it takes is a clear picture emailed to bedbugs@citywideexterm.com. Third, do not make the problem worse by ‘bombing’ and spraying harsh chemicals found at your local hardware store. This will only make the bed bug extermination treatment more difficult. The final and most important step is to call City Wide Exterminating. Our treatment professionals will provide you a thorough multi-step program designed to suit your budget and level of bed bug infestation.
No, but it is the most effective way to quickly get rid of bed bugs. Our staff will work with you to determine if your home is a good candidate for heat treatments.
No. Applying products is a very small portion of our bed bug extermination strategy. Our experts use a wide variety of non-chemical methods to help eliminate bed bugs. These methods include steam, physical barriers, heat, and physical removal.
Yes. Unlike heat treatments though, chemical treatments require multiple applications over an extended period of time in order to gain control.
If you have bed bugs, those clusters of black spots that resemble pepper are actually dried bed bug feces.
No! In fact, our specialists find as many bed bugs in the furniture surrounding beds as they do on beds.
Under optimal field conditions, adults may live for up to 1 year. Nymphs or young may not be able to survive as long.
Yes, even the smallest bed bugs are visible to the naked eye.
If you suspect a problem with bed bugs, contact City Wide Exterminating at (704) 888-0911 or email us at bedbugs@citywideexterm.com.
All About Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs
One of the most common ways to control bed bugs is a heat treatment. If you’re interested in learning more, continue reading below.
A bed bug heat treatment is actually a very simple process, which basically turns your home into one large oven. While specifics tend to vary among different exterminators, there is a general procedure. Before the treatment even starts, homeowners are typically required to remove any special or delicate belongings. During the actual treatment, homeowners and pets are not allowed inside their home.
The first step in a heat treatment consists of a professional exterminator placing heating units sporadically throughout your home. The amount of heating units within your home will depend on how serious your problem, as well as how big your home is.
Then, a professional will place thermometers around your home. These are used to regulate and maintain the heat to the desired range. Typical heat treatments will maintain a temperature somewhere between 113 to 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once a desired temperature is reached, our technicians typically rotate belongings so that every area of the room is exposed to the heat. If you have a serious bed bug issue, we might spray insecticides into small crevices throughout the heat treatment as well.
After a few hours, the heat is slowly turned down. Once the temperature is returned to an average household temperature, professionals will inspect and sanitize the home. Then, homeowners and pets are allowed to reenter.
Like any other living thing, bed bugs can’t withstand extreme heat. After years of studies, it has been proven that bed bugs die within 90 minutes in a temperature of 113 degrees Fahrenheit. If that temperature is raised only five degrees, then bed bugs will die within 20 minutes. But, bed bug eggs are typically more heat-resilient. Thus, heat treatments usually last at least two hours.
Yes! By the end of the heat treatment, all of the bed bugs and eggs should be exterminated.