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What to Do While Waiting for Bed Bug Treatment?

If you scheduled an appointment for a bed bug treatment, then congratulations!

You will soon be bed bug-free. 

Yet, just because you have a treatment scheduled soon doesn’t mean there’s nothing to do in the meantime. 

When waiting for bed bug treatment, you will need to prepare your home according to the instructions provided by your pest exterminator company. Usually, this entails moving certain items from the infested area and cleaning up so that the treatment will be more effective. 

How Do I Prepare for a Bed Bug Treatment? 

A dimly lit room with pillows piled high on the mattress.

Overall, how you should prepare for a bed bug treatment depends on the type of treatment you will have and the preferences and regulations of the pest company you are using. 

However, there are some general rules you should follow to get your home ready for a bed bug treatment. 

Protect Valuables That Could Get Damaged 

Protecting your valuables is one of the most important steps you should take when preparing your home for a bed bug treatment. 

This measure is particularly critical if you are having a heat treatment performed because many items can not stand high heat. 

So, if anything in your home, specifically valuable and sentimental items, can not withstand heat over 140°F (60°C), you should place them in separate boxes. 

Then, you can ask the pest expert how you should clean these objects to ensure they aren’t harboring bed bugs. 

And remember never to move any items from your home to a garage, storage unit, or another house before a bed bug treatment, or you could end up infecting those areas. 

Instead, ask the exterminator where you should put them during the treatment to ensure their safety. 

Remove Everything Under Your Bed 

Since bed bugs love hiding under beds, the pest control expert will need access to this area to ensure they can kill all the bed bugs living there. 

Thus, you should remove all of the items from under your bed to give them a better view. 

However, do not take anything out of the house. 

Instead, place them in other areas of your bedroom, preferably inside open weave baskets, so that they can benefit from the treatment. 

Make Sure Nothing Blocks Access to Walls and Closets 

For a thorough inspection and treatment, you should move all your furniture and other items at least four inches (10 cm) away from the walls. 

Doing so will allow the pest technician to examine your walls and the backs of furniture for signs of bed bugs. 

You should also make sure that nothing blocks access to any of your closets or other rooms. 

If something heavy is in the way of a door, the pest professional may not be able to treat the area behind it. 

Remove Tightly-Packed Clothes From Drawers and Closets 

Bed bugs like to hide in clothes, so bed bug experts will definitely need to treat drawers and closets. 

Yet, most pest companies won’t ask you to remove all your clothes from these areas. 

However, if your clothes are tightly-packed, it is best to move some of them so that the heat treatment can work properly. 

If clothes are too close together, it will be difficult for the exterminators to heat them enough to get in between each piece of clothing. 

Normally, exterminators will tell you that you can place these clothes anywhere else in the room that you wish, but it is best to put them in open weave baskets. 

Protect Children’s Toys From Pesticide 

Each company will have different protocols when it comes to spraying pesticides around children’s toys and other sensitive objects. 

Yet, it is typically best to put them into sealed plastic bags so that they do not get pesticides on them during treatment. 

Declutter 

If you want to find the silver lining in this whole bed bug fiasco, you should think of it as a time to declutter

A house that is full of items and furniture will be more challenging to treat because it is harder to get all the nooks and crannies between objects to the desired temperature. 

So, you should go ahead and declutter your home before your bed bug treatment and get rid of anything you no longer want or need. 

But, keep in mind that if you are taking potentially infested items to the dump or putting them out on the curb for the trash collectors, you should clearly mark them as infested. 

Doing so will stop other people from picking them up and taking them back to their homes, where it will cause an infestation. 

Turn Off Your Air Conditioner

If you are getting a heat treatment done, you should turn off your air conditioner beforehand so that the pest experts can more easily get your home to the required temperature. 

You should also close all your windows to prevent heat from escaping during the treatment. 

What Objects Can’t Stand High Temperatures?

If you are having a heat treatment performed, you need to know which objects can not stand high temperatures. 

So, here is a list of some everyday items which may melt or explode when exposed to high heat: 

  • Vinyl and faux wood blinds 
  • House plants 
  • Most food 
  • Makeup and other cosmetics 
  • Pressurized cans, like hairspray and fire extinguishers 
  • Candles 
  • Medications and vitamins 
  • Cigarette lighters 
  • Wood and string instruments 
  • Oxygen tanks 
  • Guns and ammunition 
  • Flammable chemicals 
  • CDs and DVDs
  • Vinyl records 
  • Soap 
  • Crayons 
  • Deodorant
  • Alcohol
  • Carbonated drinks 
  • Photographs 
  • Oil paintings

To understand what you should do with these items and if any of them will need treatment for bed bugs, talk to your pest technician. 

Protecting Your Pets 

A man sitting on the wooden floor while hugging his dog.

Finally, you need to make sure you have made arrangements for your pets because you can not leave any animals in your home during a whole house heat or pesticide treatment. 

If you are having professionals perform a heat treatment, make sure you have another place to keep your pets for the few hours it will take them to complete the treatment. 

Additionally, if the pest control experts are spraying pesticides in your home, talk to them about when you can allow your pets back into the house or treated room. 

Conclusion 

While waiting for a bed bug treatment, you need to make sure you properly prep your home beforehand. 

If not, the treatment may not be as effective, and important items in your home may get damaged if you don’t protect them.