Fumigation should not be confused with foggers. Foggers should never be used for bed bugs. More on this later. In a fumigation treatment, the entire house is sealed under a vapor-proof tent and filled with a toxic gas, typically sulfuryl fluoride. Some companies skip the expense and hassle of a huge tent and just try to seal windows and doors with tape. This method is much less effective. After about 48 to 72 hours, the house is ventilated, and the gas dissipates into the atmosphere.

Pros

Fumigation will kill all pests within the structure if done correctly.

It leaves no residue behind after the gas dissipates.

You are not required to remove belongings from the house other than food, medications, and similar items, and items in the house will not be damaged by the gas.

Cons

Fumigation is one of the most expensive methods for eliminating bed bugs, which is the biggest barrier for most people.

Fumigation is not an option for multi-unit buildings unless the entire building is done at once.

You will need to be gone from your property for a few days.

Too many companies are cutting corners by not tenting, using less sulfuryl fluoride to save money, and fumigating for too short a time. The fumigation fails.

There is no residual protection, so reintroduction of bed bugs after treatment is very common. Along with price, this is one of the biggest shortcomings of fumigation. It is entirely possible to pay thousands of dollars for fumigation and have bed bugs re-infest the property afterward.

Sulfuryl fluoride is a potent greenhouse gas that is entirely man-made, and atmospheric levels continue to rise. One ton of sulfuryl fluoride traps as much heat in the atmosphere as 7,510 tons of carbon dioxide, and sulfuryl fluoride released into the air today is expected to take 30 to 40 years to break down, mostly after being absorbed by ocean water.

Bed bugs die at high temperatures. With heat treatment, the whole structure is heated with electric or propane heaters. A temperature of about 140 degrees is maintained for several hours, heating furniture and even walls all the way through. Heat is very effective in killing bed bugs. However, it is not without its drawbacks.

Pros

Heat remediation kills bed bugs at all life stages, including eggs. Eggs are very difficult to kill.

Once the house has cooled, no harmful residues are left behind.

Cons

As with fumigation, heat remediation is one of the most expensive methods of treatment.

A fair amount of prep work must be done, removing items that may be damaged by the heat. Heat can damage electronics, window blinds, photographs, and more. Any of us old enough to have had a cassette player in our car surely remember melting a tape or two in the summer sun. It is kind of like that. If any items removed from the house are harboring bugs or eggs, the pests will be reintroduced to the house when the items are brought back in.

If heat treatment is done for too short a time, or if the temperature is insufficient to eliminate all cool spots within the structure, the treatment will fail.

Heat treatment in multi-family housing or hotel rooms often pushes bed bugs into surrounding units, which is a bad idea.

Heat treatment leaves no residual protection, so the reintroduction of bed bugs is highly likely.

Bed bugs have developed resistance to most of the chemical pesticides that have traditionally been used to treat infestations. Many chemicals will kill bed bugs if you can directly saturate the bug. However, bed bugs are experts at hiding, and exposing them all is virtually impossible.

Many companies do multiple treatments with multiple chemicals, hoping that if one chemical does not kill the bugs, maybe another one will. A current industry trend is new synthetic chemical insecticide products containing multiple chemicals with multiple modes of action. These products can show better effectiveness for a while, but the effect is always temporary. Most chemicals work by disrupting the bed bug’s central nervous system, and there are continuous mutations going on in bed bugs’ central nervous systems. Bed bugs that survive chemical treatments pass on that resistance to their offspring, making chemical treatments less and less effective in subsequent generations. Bed bug populations are already showing resistance to the latest and greatest chemical treatments.

In addition to mutations in the nervous system, bed bugs also develop thicker cuticles. The cuticle is the bug’s exoskeleton, which is made up of three layers.

The Epicuticle

The epicuticle is a waxy outer layer that makes the bug waterproof and gives it the ability to retain moisture and keep it from dehydrating.

The Exocuticle

The exocuticle is a hard middle layer that provides armor.

The Endocuticle

The endocuticle is a flexible inner layer.

The thickening of these layers provides bed bugs with more protection from things they encounter in their environment, including chemical insecticides and diatomaceous earth. It is a bit like wearing a wetsuit over armor.

Another recent development is the production of enzymes within the bed bug’s bodies that metabolize the chemicals they absorb. Think of it as the ability to digest those chemical insecticides and pass them out of the body.

Pros

None.

Cons

Chemical treatments are ineffective and continue to make the long-term problem worse.

They expose you and your family to chemicals.

There are countless over-the-counter products and home remedies out there. In a nutshell, they are pretty much worthless. Claims printed on the packages are largely unregulated and unverified. I could drown some bed bugs in a glass of orange juice and make the claim, “Orange juice can kill bed bugs!” As mentioned previously, most chemicals are ineffective, and over-the-counter chemicals are much weaker than the ones used by pest control professionals.

Insecticide foggers are not only ineffective, but they often cause the bugs to scatter into a wider area, making them even more difficult to control. Why are there so many of these products on the market? Money, that is why. Unapproved pesticides, rubbing alcohol, and many other “I read it on the internet” remedies, in addition to being ineffective, can be very dangerous. Just do not.

Diatomaceous earth is made from the microscopic, fossilized shells of prehistoric plankton and algae called diatoms. D.E. has gotten a lot of attention as a treatment for bed bugs, but it has been more effective in laboratory testing than in real-world use. The quality and composition of diatomaceous earth can vary greatly. The more impurities there are in the D.E., the less effective it becomes. D.E. also contains crystalline silica, which can be a serious health hazard if breathed.

Most people do not know how to appropriately apply D.E. in order to get the most benefit from it. They can end up with a big mess and very little control, and its use can adversely affect products that really do work. You might find people claiming that essential oils can help with bed bugs. They do not. Table salt, baking soda, or boric acid do not work. Drinking alcohol before bed will not stop bed bugs. Insect repellents will not stop bed bugs. If all of those over-the-counter and do-it-yourself methods lived up to their claims, we would not have anywhere near the bed bug problem we have now.

Pros

There are few. Limited control may be possible with D.E. Read more about it in the drop-down menu under the Bed Bugs menu tab.

Cons

DIY products are often a waste of money and frequently make the problem worse. Just do not.