Once you have discovered that your home has bed bugs, there are a wide variety of treatment options to consider based on the severity of the infestation. Bed bug treatment costs can vary based upon the most popular eradication methods available which include heat, insecticides and various new methods only available to licensed, pest-elimination specialists. The size of your unit, the eradication method chosen, and the size of the infestation all factor into the cost of treatment.
What is the cost of bed bug treatment?
Heat and insecticides are the two most effective treatments for ridding your home of bed bugs. Bed bugs cannot survive temperatures of 120 degrees and higher. The heat of these temperatures will kill all bugs and eggs without any possibility of the bugs developing resistance against heat. Heat treatment can become problematic if the temperatures are not high enough and the unit is not exposed to the heat for 2 to 4 hours – which is where powerful, residual insecticides and powders come into play.
Does Heat Kill Bed Bugs and How Much Does it Cost?
Since the bed bug revival began in the 1990s, treatment methods involving insecticides have had to consistently evolve due to bed bugs rapidly developing resistance against chemicals. Thankfully, heat is one method of treatment that bed bugs can never develop a resistance to and is guaranteed to kill them if the temperature is high enough and each compartment within the unit is exposed to the temperatures for a sustained period of time.
Heat treatments can be expensive, and it is important to consider costs as well as the construction of your unit when considering this option.
Treating bed bugs with heat can produce amazing results, or can produce inadequate results based on the particulars of the unit being treated. If you reside in a house or any free-standing, isolated structure – heat will produce better results.
If you are treating in an apartment or any unit attached to another, all the units surrounding it must also be treated. If you only treat your unit, there is a high possibility that the bugs will simply crawl through the walls and into adjoining units to escape the heat, thereby spreading the problem and allowing the bugs to return when the heat has dissipated.
Bed Bug Heat Treatment Cost
Bed bug heat treatment cost is perhaps the main variable that prohibits bed bug victims from utilizing this eradication method. Before considering heat treatment, always consult a pest control company that provides heat treatment. Consultation and inspection by a professional will help to make it clear if heat treatment is needed or not.
Costs can range from $200-$300 for small units to upwards of $5,000-$8,000 for large homes where the bugs are spread throughout the home. Heat is an effective, non-toxic method to clear your home of bed bugs, but circumstances can vary and the costs can increase if multiple visits are necessary to kill every single bug.
How Much Do Bed Bug Chemicals Cost?
The most widely utilized method to rid homes of insects and pests involves the usage of chemicals. In the pre-1970s era, DDT was a powerful insecticide that was almost guaranteed to rid your home of pests; however, the chemical’s damage to the environment was severe, which led to its ban in the early 1970s.
Bed bugs were nearly extinct in the United States and seeing as how they are a pest that serves no benefit to the environment – this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Due to the rapid resistance bed bugs are starting to have, these chemicals and sprays are constantly having to evolve to kill them.
The current, common chemicals available to kill bed bugs and their eggs are pyrethrins, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids, and desiccants. These are available for sale to the general public and come in a wide variety of brands and formulations.
The important thing to know about insecticides is that to completely kill bed bugs, you will want to invest in a formulation that utilizes these chemicals and provides a residual kill since bed bugs can hide from the poison for long periods of time.
Crossfire is perhaps the most popular insecticide on the market as it combines these chemicals and is solely formulated to kill bed bugs and their eggs with a one to four-month residual kill. Temprid FX and Harris Bed Bug Killer are also effective brands that offer a residual kill.
If you choose to treat on your own with these chemicals, it is important to follow the directions verbatim due to the toxicity of the chemicals. Additionally, you will need to spray the poison in all areas where bed bugs, including the legs and undersides of all furniture and cracks and crevices in baseboards and walls.
These chemicals can range in price based on the brand selected, the size of your unit, and the number of bed bugs. For optimal effectiveness, always choose a brand that offers a residual kill as the bugs will need to cross into the poison to reach their host.
Desiccant powders such as diatomaceous earth, Delta Dust and Cimexa, are designed to dry out and split the hard, waxy shell of bed bugs which results in a slower but assured death.
Application of these powders is the key to maximizing their effectiveness and should be spread by a dust applicator in all cracks and crevices and legs of furniture where the bugs will have to climb to reach their host. Like heat, bed bugs cannot develop resistance to desiccant powders, which makes them an effective treatment option.
Powders, either desiccants such as diatomaceous earth – which dries out bed bugs, or silicone-based – such as Delta Dust and Cimexa – which utilizes fine particles to severe the shell of the bugs, are relatively inexpensive.
Do not dump the powders in clumps, as the bugs will simply avoid walking through them, so you will want to mist the powders into their spots with a dust applicator.
Related Questions
How Much Does a Bed Bug Exterminator Cost?
Most pest control companies now offer specialized bed bug treatment options and bed bug treatment cost varies depending on the size of the unit and infestation. Because bed bugs are undoubtedly within the top five most difficult pests to eradicate, treatment of these parasitic insects is not cheap due to their ability to spread quickly and hide in difficult areas. Bed bug exterminator cost is typically calculated after inspection and is based on size and locations throughout the unit.
Orkin Bed Bug Treatment Cost
Orkin bed bug treatment cost varies depending on your location and the number of bed bugs within your home. Prices can range from $300 to $500 for insecticide-based treatment to upwards of $5,000 for larger home heat treatments.
Terminix Bed Bug Treatment Cost
Terminix bed bug removal cost is similar to Orkin due to the actual cost being based on the severity of the situation. With both companies, heat treatments are more expensive than insecticides. Because pest control professionals have access to products not currently available to the public, hiring an exterminator is always your best bet.
Is it Cheaper to Get Rid of Bed Bugs On My Own?
If you choose to get rid of bed bugs on your own, bed bug treatment cost can fluctuate widely. Typical do-it-yourself bed bug treatments can range from $200 to $1,000 without any guarantee that you will succeed.
If you have a small infestation and you research bed bugs and how to get rid of them thoroughly, you can certainly achieve victory in the war against them, however, some infestations may need heat treatments and a combination of insecticides and possibly tenting to prove successful. It is always a good idea to seek the help of a professional since many companies offer follow-up inspections.
In Summary
Bed bugs are one of the most difficult pests to eradicate and the cost of killing these insects matches the overwhelming amount of work it takes to destroy them. The cost of killing bed bugs can be different for a house and an apartment since the size and the composition of the structure are different based upon the possibility of the bugs spreading to other apartments vs. a self-contained, free-standing structure such as a house.
Heat treatments and insecticides are the most effective ways to kill bed bugs and the costs of these treatments are also based on the size and type of structure. If you choose to kill them on your own or hire a professional, the inescapable truth is that killing bed bugs can be an expensive task.
