Bed Bugs
Bed Bugs
Description: Small, reddish brown. Similar to the size of a wood tick or smaller. Usually come out at night to feed. Habitat: Mattresses, furniture cushions, any crack and crevice. Food: Human blood. Damage/Signs of Presence: Bites, rashes, sores. You may see the bugs or their fecal matter that looks like fly specs. Rust spots on the mattress (actually blood spots). Clusters of eggs in the ribbing of mattresses and other places. Life Cycle: Their development will be rapid, growing to a full sized adult within 21 days. Management:Standard chemical treatment and/or heat treatment is used for control. The following check list is to be used in preparation for your teatment by the technician.
Check List for Pre-Treatment of Bedbugs
____1. Buy Mattress Covers. You will need to buy mattress AND box spring covers for
every mattress and box spring in your home. Customer or tenant will need to bag
mattresses and box springs AFTER treatment is complete. Store in cool place
away from affected area.
____2. Empty all dressers and closets completely.
____3. Launder ALL clothing & linens on HOT cycle. This also includes pet bedding. You
must wash and DRY all clothing and linens on the HOTTEST cycle for successful results.
Most 'dry clean only' clothing can be put through the dryer on hot cycle.
____4. After laundering is completed, place all clean laundry in sealed plastic bag/container. Store in garage or other cool area away from the affected area.
DO NOT TAKE LAUNDRY TO LAUNDROMAT!! **THIS WILL ONLY SPREAD THE BEDBUGS TO ANY CUSTOMERS USING THE LAUNDROMAT FACILITY.**
____5. Vacuum entire house. Entire house must be vacuumed extremely thoroughly including
inside each closet, under furniture, furniture cushions, mattresses, etc.
____6. Dispose of any boxed items. Newspapers, magazines, papers, clutter of any sort only
provides more places for bedbugs to hide. These items should be discarded if possible.
____7. Children’s toys will need to be washed: Using a strong detergent in HOT water, wash
children’s toys thoroughly, place in plastic bag/container, and store in garage or cool
place away from affected area.
Any stuffed animal type toys that cannot be washed in machine with HOT water should be placed in sealed bag and stored in garage or cool area for at least 1 year, or disposed of.
____8. Remove any pets. All pets, including fish, lizards, dogs, cats, birds, etc., MUST be
removed from dwelling, PRIOR to technician’s arrival
____9. Clothing must remain in plastic bags until treatment program is complete.
____10. Please leave dresser drawers, closets, & luggage, etc. open and accessible for
technicians to treat those affected items/places.
____11. No re-entry allowed for at least 4 hours after service is complete.
***ALL STEPS MUST BE COMPLETED FOR SUCCESSFUL RESULTS.*** If all steps are completed as directed, subsequent treatments should not be as labor intensive to the customer/tenant for pre-treatment. Additional tips and suggestions may be offered by technician at time of service. Pre-treatment check list should be completed 24 hours prior to technician’s arrival.