Bed bug treatments throughout the Reading area from a local company
“Sleep tight hope the bed bugs don’t bite” – not really what you want to hear when going to sleep and it’s not really an adequate protection from being bitten; a professional bed bug control treatment using a combination of high temperature steam and the latest cutting edge chemicals is more likely to get rid of bed bugs and allow you to get a decent night’s sleep.
Heat treatments for bed bugs from a local company
All our bed bug treatments contain an element of heat, we offer two types of treatment based on the level of bed bug activity and price. Heat is the most effective way to combat bed bugs as we can take the insects through their thermal death point; temperatures above 54 degrees centigrade kill both the insects and their eggs.
We use steam which is sprayed over beds and furniture at 180 degrees centigrade in combination with a variety of chemicals to give you a lasting barrier; these chemicals can remain active for months providing lasting protection, this is our entry level bed bug treatment.
For more intensive treatments we use portable electric appliances to raise the entire room temperature to 60 degrees centigrade, this is a guaranteed treatment as nothing survives an hour at those temperatures.
How do you pick up bed bugs?
Bed bugs are natures hitchhikers, on the end of each bed bug leg there is a tiny claw, and this enables them to hook onto body hair and clothing and then travel with us. It is common to find bed bugs in hotel rooms and recent research has shown that they are attracted to piles of dirty laundry that build up towards the end of a holiday.
There are some simple steps to take to keep bed bugs away when staying in hotels: take a seal-able bag to keep your unwashed clothing in and never store your suitcases under the hotel bed.
Bed bugs can be picked up just about anywhere that we humans rest, so airplanes, trains, buses and even theatre seats have all housed bed bug infestations.
Bed bug infestations in Reading, Wokingham and Woodley
If you are getting bitten at night the immediate thought is that it’s going to be bed bugs, however during the summer months it can easily be mosquito's and there is also the possibility of the bites coming from cat or dog fleas, so how can you tell if you have bed bugs or not?
Bed bugs will feed every few days so look to see if there is a pattern of bites following a similar timeline, remember bed bugs will travel around so in the early stages you may only have one or two of the critters. Signs of a bed bug infestation will be:
Smell – when bed bugs congregate together, they give off a smell which is an unpleasant musty odour which is reported as being either like a damp dirty towel left in a sports bag to slightly rotting fruit.
Blood spots – bed bugs have voracious appetites and as they only need the proteins from our blood, they excrete the liquid element leaving blood spots on sheets and pillows. You will see blood spots where they congregate, wet a finger, and rub any black marks – if these turn red its dried blood.
Discarded skins - like all insect’s bed bugs have a tough exoskeleton and as they mature so they must shed the outer skin so that they can grow into a bigger one. These skins are left behind, and you can find these fallen into corners and beneath the bed.
Lines of bites on your skin – bed bugs will creep away from the host and settle down in a crack or crevice to rest, when they return to feed as they reach our skin they will immediately feed leaving lines of bites.
Total bed bug control from a professional company
Don’t try DIY remedies for bed bug control, with an increasing resistance to pesticides many of these will have no effect on the insects and you take a risk of flushing them from one bedroom to another, eventually spreading them throughout the house. When it comes to providing total bed bug control, we treat all the bedrooms in the house to destroy any that may be lurking inside and to lay down a blanket of long-lasting insecticide. As our treatments use steam, we take a thorough approach to the problem, dismantling beds to get the steam inside to all the hiding places where the bed bugs may gather.
Our bed bug treatments take hours to carry out and the rooms need time to dry before ourselves and our pets can go back inside, so we usually look for an early appointment time. It helps us if you can carry out some pre-treatment work –
Thoroughly vacuum the rooms to remove dust and dirt, remembering to empty the machine outside straight away. As we are going to move all the furniture and spray liquid chemicals, we will dislodge dirt, hair and dust so to prevent the place becoming a mess its best to remove this debris.
Pick up toys, books and stored items from underneath beds; the area under the bed is usually used for additional storage which can get very dusty and we will have to put this stuff somewhere as we progress through the treatment.
Give cats and dogs an additional flea treatment as bed bugs can live on them as well as us, and we are looking at breaking every cycle of bed bug life.
Successful bed bug treatments from a local company
We are experts in bed bug control, we take a targeted approach to our treatments and not just a visit where we spray a few litres of insecticide around your property – successful bed bug control can only be gained from a precise and in-depth treatment. All our treatments start with heat and we use a combination of three different chemicals to provide a long-lasting barrier.
Bed bugs in Reading
"Outstanding service my elderly dad had a bad infestation of bed bugs and I needed his bed removed and single armchair. Tony and Debra were so helpful in making dad flat get treated and removed furniture as requested. They kept regular updates with me on the procedure and making sure dad was ok throughout as it’s traumatic for anyone elderly living with bed bugs. I highly recommend this company as not only did they sort the problem they gave outstanding support throughout to myself and my dad in resolving" .