How To Beat Bed Bugs On The First Try: 4 Easy Strategies For Finding The Best Local Exterminators & How They Can Help
Did you hear about the band where all the members are bed bugs?
They mostly play covers…
I’m sorry, if you’re currently suffering from an infestation that may not seem very funny right now — but I think it’s hilarious.
That could be because I’m a bed bug veteran, which isn’t to say that I get infested with bed bugs a lot, but the opposite.
I’ve gotten bed bugs twice in my life, in different homes, and as a result, I’ve had to learn a lot about them, but most importantly, how to get rid of them and make sure that they don’t come back.
Here in Arlington, bed bugs are a fact of life — but they’re not invading my home, and even if they were, I know how to deal with them.
The first step towards a long-term solution if you’ve got bed bugs in your home is always to call a professional. This isn’t the type of problem that you can fix on your own.
The problem is — how do you find the right professional, and how do you make sure that they do a great job? The only ones that know for sure are the bed bugs, and if the job is done right, they aren’t talking.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to hire a certified, trained, and skilled professional for this job, because you’re putting your house and family into their hands.
You do not want some unqualified, uneducated, and uninsured fellow, who just happens to own a pesticide sprayer, loose in your house.
So that begs the question, what should we look for in an expert, how do we pick the best ones, and what should we expect from them?
I know I’ve only gotten bed bugs twice, but I’ve also helped several friends and family members to deal with similar problems, and I went all the way down the rabbit hole along the way.
There’s a lot of information about bed bugs and treatments out there, but I’ve boiled it all down to 4 solid, simple, and actionable strategies that should make the process easy.
Here’s what I would do.
1. Don’t Skimp On Expertise
This point cannot be stressed enough. Pest control can be dangerous when it’s not done by a professional, don’t risk it.
In my area alone, we’ve got several super experienced pest control options, the big names, and they’re worth every penny.
Think about it this way: you’re hiring someone to use poison or similar deadly techniques inside of your home… do you really want a newbie doing it?
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It’s worth hiring one of the top reputable companies in your area, or if you’re going with someone less well-known, be absolutely sure to check that they’re licensed, insured, and experienced.
2. Expect More Than Extermination
Answer this question for me: what happens if you step on all the ants in your yard, every single one?
What happens is, next week you have all new ants in your yard, moving into the homes of the old ants. You’re not really solving anything.
The same goes for exterminating pests in your home. If all your exterminator does is kill them, they’re probably going to come back again.
Instead, look for an expert who will help you to prevent another infestation by showing you how they likely got inside to begin with, and how you can prevent it.
In my opinion, any pest control service that doesn’t do this is just waiting for you to get infested again, so they can go another round.
3. Fast Response, Fast Action
Bugs breed fast, and they cause damage to your home and possessions at an ever-increasing speed as they do. You need to act fast.
Unfortunately, that means your pest control team needs to act fast as well, and that’s not always as easy.
If you call up an expert and they say they’ll see you next week, my advice is to call another local expert and ask them to show up sooner.
They may not always be able to get there today, but they should be able to show up by tomorrow — and if they can’t, call someone else.
Getting the fastest response and the fastest extermination will help to prevent more bugs, more damage, and more costs.
4. Reviews & Guarantees
If you’re concerned about getting the job done well — and who isn’t! — the best place to look is in the reviews and guarantees.
A top-tier pest control service should have lots of happy customers, and part of the reason for that is that they should offer a guarantee with their service.
If they miss something, and the bugs never actually vanish, then they should come back and correct the problem without costing you more than you already agreed to.
Obviously there’s a limit here, and if you get re-infested later, that’s going to cost, but that’s why I recommend also working with a team that offers preventive strategies when they visit.
The best pest control pros aren’t necessarily the cheapest or fastest on paper, but they certainly are in the long run.
This is an area where quality counts, and paying a little more for a real expert with the proper training, insurance, and equipment will serve you well in the long run.
They won’t just get rid of the pests you’ve got, they’ll help you to prevent more from showing up in the future.
Except your in-laws… I asked my pest control expert if there was a trap or bait that could prevent them from getting in, but no such luck. I guess they don’t have a spray for that.
