How to Choose the Best Pest Company for Bed Bugs

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Bed bugs can be a real hassle to deal with and get rid of. One of the last things you need when finding out about a Bed Bug infestation is to have to dig through the pile of pest companies to help solve the problem. There is a process you can follow that will help you find the best company for your situation.

Making sure to vet any company for saftey in chemical product usage and alternative measures will surly gain you a better result! We hope you find AZ Heat Pest Services alternative measures to be the best in Arizona.

bed bugAccording to Andy Architect of the National Pest Management Association, there are more that 19,000 pest management firms operating in the United States. Unfortunately, these companies are not all created equally. Here are some steps from entomologist, Jeff White, to narrow your options and find the best:

Use web and telephone directories to locate several pest management firms in your area. Some may designate themselves as bed bug specialists, but this designation should only be an indicator and not a deciding factor.

Only utilize companies that have been registered to apply pesticides by the pesticide regulatory agency in your state. Lacking this license should serve as an immediate red flag. To find your state’s agency visit: http://npic.orst.edu/state1.htm.

Search for companies that use integrated pest management (IPM) services. IPM is a form of pest management designed to minimize the use of pesticides. Companies that utilize an IPM approach are more likely to provide ongoing monitoring and a multidisciplinary approach to bed bug management (more on this later).

INTERVIEWING COMPANIES: QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW TO ASK

Once you hire a pest management firm they may be entering your home and spraying pesticides or performing services that can cost hundreds of dollars. Interviewing the selected companies is not only your right, it is strongly advised.

Ask companies about their membership in recognized national, state, and local pest control associations. Membership to these associations requires periodic evaluation of their pest management protocols as well as ethical business practices. Some key associations to look for include:

The National Pest Management Association (NPMA), state pest management associations, QualityPro, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and bedbugFREE. Companies may also be members of equivalent associations.

Membership with the bedbugFREE national network is a particularly important affiliation to consider when bed bug treatments are desired. This membership indicates that companies are not only members of NPMA and/or QualityPro, but have also had their bed bug treatment protocols evaluated to ensure they share multidisciplinary treatment methods and philosophies similar to Bed Bug Central’s protocol.

Read More Here: http://bedbugcentral.com/resources/how-to-choose-a-pest-control-company

How to Spot a Bed Bug Infestation

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Bed bugs are tiny bugs that like to hide to as best they can during the day. They come out at night to feed on their favorite food, blood. Being that these bugs are very sneaky it makes it very difficult even to the trained eye to correctly identify a Bed Bug infestation. This is why it is very important to not jump to conclusions as soon as you receive a bite during the night. Also, more importantly, why it is very important to remember that just because you don’t see any bedbugs upon investigation, does not necessarily mean you DO NOT have bed bugs.

This is exactly why you should have a professional Bed Bug inspection done by the best in Arizona. AZ Heat Pest Services is here to help you get control of your home again.

LifeCycleThe only way to know for sure if you have bed bugs is to produce an actual sample of the bug itself (methods for doing this are discussed below). Do not automatically assume that any bite-like mark is a bed bug bite. Also it is important to realize that medical professionals cannot give a positive diagnosis simply by examining bite symptoms, they can only suggest some possible explanations for what may have caused the bites/symptoms to occur.

If you are experiencing bites but have not seen any bugs, you should consider the circumstances in which the bites are occurring. For example, there is a very good chance that you have bed bugs if you  waking up each morning with bite symptoms on your body that were not present when you went to sleep. A situation like this would be a good reason to investigate the possibility that bed bugs are present. in the car, at work, etc. are much less likely to be caused by bed bugs. It is also important to realize that just because you have looked for bed bugs and could not find them, does not mean that they are not there. These insects lead a very cryptic and secretive lifestyle and will often go undetected. It is best to have a highly trained professional conduct the inspection for you.

Occasionally you may see evidence of a bed bug infestation without actually seeing any bed bugs. Bed bugs leave fecal stains in the areas they inhabit. These stains are actually partially digested blood but remember that it will not be red unless you crush a bed bug that has just recently fed. As the blood is digested it turns black and therefore the bed bug droppings usually consist of several black spots in one area. The fecal spots will not flake off if rubbed and will smear if wiped with a wet rag.

Remember the key to knowing if you have an active bed bug infestation is to produce a live sample of a bed bug and there are several ways that you can easily do this including:

  1. Visual inspection of sleeping and resting areas such as beds and upholstered furniture.Carefully examine the areas beneath fitted sheets, along the edges of mattress piping, if no bugs or evidence of bugs are found, remove the mattress and continue with inspection of the box spring paying close attention to the four corners under the plastic corner guards and the on the underside  of the box spring where the dust cover is stapled into the frame. Keep in mind that bed bugs can easily be missed during a visual inspection so using one or more of the other methods below is recommended if no bugs are found during a visual inspection.

Read More Here: http://www.bedbugcentral.com/bedbugs101/how-do-i-know-i-have-bed-bugs

Bed Bugs Causing People to use Drastic Measures, Misuse Chemicals

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If you are caught up in the middle of a bed bug infestation chances are your are stressed out, upset, ad tired from your lack of sleep and dealing with your bed bug bites. Not only yourself but you may be dealing with an infestation that has influenced your family as well. This hurried and emotional response to a stressful situation can sometimes lead to people taking drastic and dangerous measures to rid these pests from their lives. Leading to the misuse of OTC chemicals that have been proven to cause serious harm in humans when over exposed.

Check out this article for more information on how NOT to deal with an infestation. Remember that AZ Heat Pest Services are experts in removing bedbugs and our specialized heat treatment will guarantee the removal and extermination of the pests that have driven you up the wall and back. Speaking of backs, we got yours when the time comes!

WebAbout 40 used bedbug bombs greeted Mike Deutsch when he entered a small home in Hempstead, N.Y., last year.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Is everyone okay?'” recalled Deutsch, an entomologist with Arrow Exterminating.

Fortunately, no one in the Hempstead house had been sickened by the chemicals enlisted in the family’s do-it-yourself eradication attempt — although new studies warn of the potential subtle or long-term consequences of exposures to bedbug pesticides, including hormone disruption, reproductive difficulties and behavioral problems. Everyone also escaped unscathed from a duplex in Marion, Ohio, that caught fire during a heat treatment for bedbugs in late December.

Research by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention suggests that people are not always so lucky.

A pattern of desperate, dangerous and often futile measures have Deutsch and other bedbug experts warning the public that bedbugs pose more significant problems than just their notorious nocturnal nibbling. While the epidemic fills fewer headlines today than when it resurfaced in the mid-2000s, experts also recognize that the bedeviling pests only seem to be multiplying further. A report released by Penn Medicine on Thursday suggested that infestations in Philadelphia are growing by 70 percent a year. Nearly all pest management professionals, according to a nationwide survey published in April, reported servicing a bedbug infestation in the past year.

Read More Here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/10/bed-bugs-health-risks-pesticides-fires_n_4565660.html

 

How to Avoid Hotel Bed Bugs

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We all enjoy getting out of the weekly grind, putting our feet up, and enjoying some well deserved rest and relaxation at our favorite luxury resort. The scarey part about sleeping in a hotel bed is that you must understand that hundreds perhaps even thousands of people have slept in the very bed you are relaxing on. There is no real way to tell how extensive of a clean the maids did when turning your room over for your arrival. So what are some things you can do to protect yourself from bed bugs while on the road? Check out the article below…

travel bugIf you’re sleeping somewhere other than home, beware. Bedbug prevalence is on the rise, and hotels and motels are some of their favorite hangouts.

These pesky critters can cause severe itching and welt-like bites, and it’s costly to get rid of them if they follow you home. What’s more, research suggests they can cause financial distress, anxiety, and social isolation.

But no need to get depressed just yet. With these easy tips, you can cut your chances of critter trouble while on the road.

Before you check out your hotel room’s minibar or oceanfront view, give it a thorough bedbug inspection—and until you’ve done that, stash your luggage in the loo.

“Bedbugs are least likely to be found in the bathroom,” says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association. “They don’t like the tile floors and there aren’t as many hiding places. They like to be closer to where people may be sleeping.”

Inspect the bed

Here’s how to check for a bedbug infestation: Pull back the linens, and check all the way around and under the mattress and behind the headboard.

Look for blood stains or small black dots that look like mold or ground pepper, says Christine Johnson, PhD, a behavioral ecologist in the American Museum of Natural History’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, in New York City. Check for the critters too. Bedbugs are about the size and shape of an apple seed, and you may find them hiding in corners or seams of the bedding.

Read More Here: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20513823_3,00.html