Bring The Heat

Chemical Free Bed Bug Extermination: Preferred Pest Control always strives to be on the cutting edge of "green" methods of controlling pests. Killing bed bugs with heat uses extreme heat to kill the entire life cycle of the bed bug. Yes, this does even include the egg.

No Pest Is Too Difficult to Handle
In response to insecticide-resistant bed bugs, Preferred Pest Control uses Thermal Remediation™, which is an effective solution designed specifically for the needs of homes, hotels, universities, and property management companies. Don't spend another bothersome night with bed bugs feeding on you— call us today at (888) 778-5977 or (515) 276-7277.

These are not your typical space heaters. These are high octane, high output heaters. These are 7,000 watt heaters. To give you an idea of how much power that is think about this. Your typical electric heater set at the high heat setting is consuming about 1400 watts. We have 4 - 7,000 watt heaters in your house. So that is a total of 28,000 watts. That means if you wanted to try and do this with space heaters you would have to get over 20 of them and run them on high all day.  In addition, you would have to make sure that they don’t exceed 120 degrees F and also run 20 high velocity fans to even come close to the amount of heat we are producing in your house.

Leave this to the professionals at Preferred Pest Control. We have highly sensitive wireless monitors we place throughout the home to make sure all areas are heated and nothing is overheated.

Preparation is key in getting a successful heat treatment. When you decide to have Preferred Pest Control kill your bed bugs with heat be sure and read this thermal remediation preparation sheet.

Watch this video from bedbugcentral.com. Jeff White explains the heat treatment process Preferred Pest Control uses.

Q: How hot will it get in the area being treated?

A: The Thermal Remediation kill zone is between 120-140ºF.  Our electric bed bug heaters are digitally locked not to exceed 135°F air temperature in the area being treated.  Exceeding those temperatures may result in damage to the structure and its contents.

Q: Won’t the bed bugs just run from the heat and spread to other units? 

A: Bed bugs are attracted to body heat.  In a similar fashion, it is our experience that bed bugs emerge from hiding and are attracted to the heat from the heaters rather than seeking routes to escape.

Q: Can this system be used to treat other insects (fleas, roaches, etc)?

A: All insects have a thermal death point, but their behavior during the heat treatment process will vary. Bed bugs are the main focus of our EBB equipment.

Q: How long does a typical treatment take?

A: Treatment times will vary depending on the size and construction of the structure, the level of infestation, the type of contents, etc.  We have found the average time to treat a typical apartment to be 6-8 hours from set up to tear down.

Q: Can’t I just turn up my thermostat and close all the windows to accomplish the same thing?

A: We highly discourage homeowners from trying to do this themselves. Research shows that temperatures of 122°F and higher need to be achieved for 100% mortality of the bed bug’s full life cycle. Home furnaces do not have the capability of safely reaching these temperatures. Proper air movement and temperature monitoring are also key to an effective heat treatment.  Please consider the fire and safety risks when using any type of heating equipment beyond its intended purpose, and call a professionally trained service provider with the proper equipment. 

Q: Does the furniture have to be thrown out?

A: Typically furniture and personal belongings do not need to be disposed of, except in some rare cases with extremely high levels of infestation.

 Q: Will the heat cause damage to my electronics?

A: Not when using a Thermal Remediation system.  All electronics have a storage temperature and an operational temperature. Storage temperatures typically allow electronics to be subject to up to 149°F.  The EBB heaters are digitally locked not to exceed temperatures of 135ºF.  All electronic equipment within the space should be unplugged during a heat treatment.