Things You Should Do after Bed Bug Extermination

Washing machine If you have bed bugs, you’re probably counting down the seconds until a bed bug exterminator in St. Louis, MO, can treat your home or office and eradicate them. Your professional exterminator will walk you through the steps you need to take to prepare for the heat remediation process. Those steps will include things like washing and drying all of your clothing; placing your clean clothes in clear, sealable plastic bags; removing all linens from bedrooms; and removing the covers from all light switches and electrical outlets. Your bed bug professional might recommend throwing away some items, such as alarm clocks, makeup or books,  that you keep near your bed, and he or she will mostly likely recommend you move all of your furniture to the center of the room.


The good news is that heat remediation is one of the most technological advances in bed bug extermination, and afterward, you can take comfort knowing the process allows you to salvage almost all your furniture and clothing. The whole process takes several hours, but once technicians have provided a lethal dose of heat to your interior, your home or office will be bed bug-free.


That said, the final steps in the eradication process require some small efforts on the part of the home or building owner. Here are a few things you’ll need to do to ensure the extermination was total and complete.


Start Washing

Thermal heat should kill all bed bugs and any eggs in your walls and in any nooks and crannies in your home or office, but you’ll still want to wash all linens and clothing in the building after the process is complete. Wash items in as hot as water as possible and dry on as hot a setting as possible.


Replace Outlet Covers

Next, you’ll put your house back together, moving furniture back where it belongs and replacing those light and electrical outlet covers you removed to prepare. Many pest control experts also recommend vacuuming out empty drawers and closets.


Vacuuming floor Vacuum

Heat treatments kill bed bugs and their eggs, and that can leave behind microscopic evidence that they were in your home and office. While the eggs aren’t visible to the naked eye, the bugs themselves are big enough to detect. Vacuuming, coupled with re-laundering sheets and clothing, is the most effective way to eliminate dead bed bugs and their eggs. Be sure to run the vacuum over crevices and along baseboards. It’s also a savvy move to run the vacuum over sofas and chairs and other upholstered items in your home.

Other Surfaces

Your bed frame, night stands, floorboards, and furniture that isn’t upholstered will benefit from a good wipe down, too. After thermal heat treatment, the bed bugs should all be gone, but a thorough cleaning eliminates what’s left behind.


Thermal heat treatments are typically successful on the first attempt at bed bug extermination. Still, for the first three weeks after the extermination, you should carefully check for bites or live bugs. This is precautionary, but wise. Most experts recommend the installation of encasements on your mattresses and box springs. Encasements will make it difficult for bed bugs to infest other parts of the house, in the unusual event that you see a second infestation. Some professionals may also suggest adding interceptor traps on the legs of your bed, chairs or other furniture. Interceptors can make it easier to tell if you have bed bugs. They can also trap some bed bugs, making it difficult for them to access their food source: you.

If you have bed bugs, you should hire a bed bug exterminator company to eliminate them. Contact Gateway Thermal Solutions today to see how they can help you.