Recent statistics show that the incidence of bed bugs is on the rise, which presents a challenge for controlling these pests, especially in areas with large, close populations. A pest control expert can provide proven methods to help you with the challenges of bed bug control for your Manhattan, NY, home.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Small bugs the size of an apple seed with no wings, bed bugs are drawn to body heat where they can feed off of the blood when they bite a human. They come out at night when people are sleeping and typically bite the exposed areas of the shoulders and arms. While they do not transmit disease, they cause skin irritation and occasionally respiratory problems with their bites.
They can live for up to a year on one blood meal and can inhabit a mattress, fabric headboard, and even the inside of electrical sockets.
How Do They Spread?
Bed bugs are pervasive hitchhikers. They can travel in luggage, on backpacks, in clothing, and on seats of cabs and Ubers. Because they are so small, it is difficult to see them with the naked eye. In areas where the population is high and most residents use some type of public transportation, they can spread quickly.
Related: How to Tell If You Need Bed Bug Control in Staten Island, NY
The Challenges of Bed Bug Control
With highly populated areas and multi-unit dwelling, bed bugs can travel from one apartment or condominium to another with relative ease. They can travel along the baseboards, under doors, and through electrical outlets. Bed bugs find homes in cluttered areas where they are not likely to be found such as closets. Once they infest one apartment, it is easier for them to travel to other parts of the building.
Because Manhattan residents travel quite a bit for both work and pleasure, bed bugs can find a way to tag along and be transported in this way. Sometimes bed bugs are in the hotel room where people stay, at which point they find their way into the clothing and onto the suitcases and return unnoticed with the traveler.
Related: How Our Exterminator Kills Bed Bugs in NYC
How Bed Bug Experts Can Help
We come into your dwelling with highly trained bed bugs detection dogs that will inspect the nooks and crannies of your home. With over 800 hours of detection training and accompanied by a master canine trainer, our dogs can successfully locate bed bugs with 96%-98% accuracy.
There are specific steps for you to take before we arrive to inspect your location. First, turn off any fans and close all windows at least an hour prior to the inspection. Second, remove pets to a safe location. Third, remove any clutter and food that could prevent detection of the bugs. Fourth, vacuum all floors to remove any debris and leave the premises while the dogs are inspecting.
Once the bugs are located, our team of professionals will treat your home with Cryonite freezing, a type of dry ice snow that is not poisonous and leaves no residue. This treatment literally freezes bed bugs in their tracks. Since it is not a chemical, it is not harmful to the environment and allows you to inhabit your home immediately after treatment.
Controlling bed bugs is a challenge, but with the proven methods of detection dogs and Cryonite freezing, they can be eliminated quickly and effectively.