Bed bugs have been spreading across the country recently like wildfire, and unfortunately folks in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin know this first hand. At Wil-Kil, our Wisconsin exterminators have been working towards finding the best possible bed bug treatments available on the market. Fortunately for us, we live in a time where extensive research has been done on what is needed to solve the bed bug problem, so we have quite a few treatment options to choose from. But like most things, this has not always been the case, and although people have been dealing with these bugs for thousands of years, no fool proof pest control methods had ever been determined. Although the world has never lacked interesting bed bug treatment options!
Bed bug treatments have been changing throughout the years. In ancient times, some considered hanging a hare, stag or bear skin at the foot of the bed a good bed bug deterrent. They also thought that placing a vessel of cold water under the bed could keep bed bugs away. Since the ancient times, man has developed chemicals that could deter bed bugs. In the 1800s, bed bugs were deterred by beds made of sassafras wood, and doused with boiling water, sulfur and arsenic. Other non-chemical deterrents included moving the bed away from walls, and sitting the legs of the bed in little pots of oil, so that bed bugs couldn’t climb up into the bed. Unfortunately these methods did not provide long lasting relief from bed bugs and the critters kept coming back. Eventually the use of pyrethrum (an insecticide prepared with dried Chrysanthemum flowers) was initiated, and this was somewhat effective against bed bugs, but only small infestations when the problem was caught early on and the infestation was relatively well contained. Fumigation was also a popular method for bed bug eradication, but because the fumigant was cyanide and it was often applied by non-professionals, it was a dangerous method that often resulted in death for the person performing the fumigation.
Get A Free Quote
After the start of WWII, DDT became the primary pesticide used to kill bed bug infestations. DDT, also known as Dichloro-diphenyl trichloroethane, was first synthesized in 1874, but was still pretty much an obscure chemical compound until 1939 when Paul Muller, a Swiss scientist fully realized the chemicals insecticidal capabilities. This was considered the miracle chemical for long lasting bed bug control and was widely used throughout the US until bed bugs began to develop a resistance to it. These pests are known for building up resiliency to chemicals quickly, and that is why the professionals at Wil-Kil feel that although chemicals can be useful for bed bug control in some situations, a new and stronger bed bug control method was needed to control larger and more out-of-control bed bug infesations.
The new bed bug control method that is a favorite at Wil-Kil, especially for cluttered conditions, is the bed bug heat treatment. Bed bugs and their eggs cannot survive at high temperatures (anything over 120 degrees Fahrenheit) so heat is the perfect solution. For our bed bug heat treatments, we bring our portable heaters to your location and circulate heat into your infected rooms. This kills the bed bugs that may be living there, as well as any bed bug eggs. This is the perfect solution when a home or business needs bed bug elimination in a single treatment, has a heavy infestation with cluttered rooms, and the area to be treated is less than 2200 square feet. Bed bug heat treatments, also known as Thermal Remediation achieves results far quicker than conventional bed bug control treatments (fumigation and chemical applications). It eliminates all stages of bed bugs, from egg to adult, and it requires less extensive preparation for the resident than normal bed bug treatments. The resident can also return to their home the very same day!
If you have a bed bug problem in your Wisconsin home and you have been considering the treatment options, contact the professionals at Wil-Kil today for more information on all our treatment services, including our bed bug heat treatments. We want to be your Milwaukee exterminators; call us at {ap_snippet:global-toll-free-tracking-number} or you can contact us here for more information on our Wisconsin pest control services.