“Thinking” Like Bed Bugs Will Help You Kill Them Effectively

One of the things that our customers bring up to us the most when calling in for orders is the question: “How do I eliminate bed bugs completely?” The answer: “It’s not easy.” To rid your home of bed bugs once they’ve arrived, you need to make sure you use the right tools and employ the right methods.

An article in Pest Control Technology magazine written by Dr. Michael Potter of the University of Kentucky recently pointed out that people need to “think like a bed bug” in order to try to prevent and kill bed bugs. It provides some tips to help us to determine some best tactics when fighting bed bugs. As Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist widely credited as the author of The Art ofWar, stated around 512 B.C: “to defeat the enemy, you must know the enemy.”

Like a lot of things in life, getting the proper perspective is important in being able to get a handle on how to address a situation. In this instance, it was about how to learn more about bed bugs and how to better control them.

Dr. Potter’s article discussed tracks of individual bed bugs in a laboratory test arena. Bed bugs cover a lot of ground at night even when not stimulated by a host (top image). Note how they tend to follow the edges of the test arena. Movement is more directed when a heat source warmed to human body temperature is provided (bottom image). (Haynes et al. 2008, PestWorld)

What does this mean when treating for bed bugs?

It means that treating the edges, joints and seams offers you a better chance to kill bed bugs than simply treating the surface. Some typical areas that need to get sprayed: baseboards, carpet edges, joints, seams and edges of sofas, chairs, mattresses and bed frames.

Once bed bugs find a host, they tend to move directly toward it because they know there’s a meal. So spraying around sleeping areas 1-2 hours before bed time will reduce issues of biting and kill more bed bugs. Treat around your mattress, along the legs of bed frames, and anywhere your bed touches the floor … that will increase the chance that bed bug getting in contact with EcoRaider liquid, which is the key to kill them.

EcoRaider is a proven green product that had the best performance against bed bugs of all natural products tested, according to an independent study done by Rutgers University. Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) are trained in how to kill bed bugs, but for consumers, you need to “think” like bed bugs.

There is another short cut, that is to download the treatment instruction and watch the demonstration video before treatment. Both are available by clicking here.

To read Dr. Potter’s full article, click here.