When bed bugs spread everywhere, you need to have a professional bed bug treatment as soon as possible. When they are done getting rid of bed bugs from your house, the steep cost may surprise you!
So, why is bed bug treatment so expensive?
Well, apart from specialized and expensive equipment, bed bug treatment requires a lot of time with expensive pest products. Only a professional exterminator knows how difficult it is to get rid of such beg bugs.
Stay with me for a while and I will explain all the reasons in detail. I will also talk about low-cost bed bug treatment too!
Reasons Why Is Bed Bug Extermination So Expensive
To understand this, you need to know about what affects the bed bug treatment cost. Here is a list of them:
- Inspection cost.
- Expensive & specialized equipment.
- Pest products.
- Time requirement.
Let’s talk about those factors now to understand why the cost is not stupidly overpriced.
- Inspection Cost
You may not but a professional exterminator knows how easy it is to have re-infestation unless the treatment kills them all! The larvae of bed bugs grow really fast too!
So, a thorough inspection of the house is crucial to pinpoint their locations. Bed bug inspection is a headache even for the exterminator!
Out of many inspection types, visual inspection is the most common one. Through visual inspection, the exterminator looks for physical signs like life bugs, exoskeletons of bed, red stains, eggs and eggshells of bed bugs, etc.
Some exterminators also employ canine inspection for more thorough inspection where trained bug-sniffing dogs can pinpoint all the hidden locations.
Such complex inspection usually leads to high treatment expenses.
- Specialized Equipment
Bed bug treatments require various specialized equipment depending on the treatment. Such equipment is expensive and requires professionals to operate.
One common treatment that almost every exterminator use is heat treatment. They need specialized heaters that can raise the room temperature over 130 degrees to kill the bed bugs.
These are very complex and expensive heaters!
- Expensive Pest Products
Generic pest products won’t work against bed bugs. In fact, such bug control products are much more expensive because they are made carefully.
The manufacturers of these products make sure to make it safe to be applied on mattresses and other areas of living spaces.
But these bed-bug killing chemicals are still effective to kill bed bugs. This delicate manufacturing process leads to expensive bug control products.
- Requires Huge Time
It takes more time to eradicate bed bugs than any kind of bug problem. To give you an idea…
Let’s say it takes 30 minutes to perform a standard cockroach service. But a standard bed bug treatment will require at least 6 to 10 hours!
Apart from more time, it requires more technicians on the spot too.
Other Factors Affecting Bed Bug Treatment
Apart from the above-mentioned factors, there are other factors that can affect the cost of any professional bed bug treatment.
Let’s talk about those factors:
- Space To Be Covered
That’s natural. If the exterminator has to cover a huge space, he will charge you more and vice versa.
But if you have a smaller space with a huge infestation, you will be charged more. On the other hand, you will be charged less even the exterminator has to cover a huge space with low infestation.
Usually, professional pest service companies offer various packages. It could be a one-time deal too. You should focus on getting rid of the bed bugs from your entire house ONLY.
- Type of Your Home
Your home can be a slab house or pier-and-beam style. Home with the pier-and-beam construction has more hiding spaces than the slab houses.
Now, if the terminator has to cover more hiding spaces, the task will be a little more difficult and he will charge you more for that.
And if you have a large house, the charge will be relatively higher too as the exterminator has to cover more spaces.
- Infestation Severity
Once the infestation is widespread and goes beyond your control, it gets really difficult to completely eradicate the bed bugs.
Since the task gets difficult, it will require more time and resources. So, the exterminator will have to charge you more.
More delay for the treatment will lead to more infestation. So, time is the essence, and to keep the cost lower, you need to act fast!
- Your Location Determines Cost Too!
It’s like the old school of business. If there is more demand for a particular service, the cost will be higher too.
So, if your area has a higher demand for such extermination services, you will end up paying more.
Usually, people who live in a densely populated area pay more because they are more prone to bed bug infestation.
Choosing The Exterminator And Why
For smaller infestations, of course, you can take steps yourself to keep the spread in check. If unchecked, it takes only one or two bed bugs to infest the entire house within just 6 months.
So, while there are many DIY bed bug treatments available in the market, you need to think hard and fast about this. I have seen many people try to kill bed bugs using baking soda too!
There is a lot of evidence where DIY enthusiasts fail to determine whether it’s bed bug infestation or fleas’ infestations.
So, before the infestation gets widespread, you need to call the exterminator. I strongly recommend leaving it to the professional. He knows where those pesky insects might be hiding.
Now, how do you pick the right exterminator for the right service?
Well, when it comes to pest control service, the experiences of the exterminator play a great role. So, consider the experience of the exterminator first. How long have they been in the business?
These are the questions you should ask without any hesitancy. Only the experienced exterminator can truly address the problem and fix it once and for all!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Depending on the level of infestation and size of your house, it will cost you more than $1,500 or $350+ per room.
It depends on the size of your home and the level of bed bug infestation. But usually, over the period of 3 to 6 weeks, it may require 2 to 4 treatment sessions.
I prefer the heat treatment to kill bed bugs. Just pay the exterminator, he will use the heater to raise the temperature by more than 140 degrees and kill all the bed bugs!
Closing Remarks
You now know why is bed bug treatment so expensive and what factors influence the cost of this treatment.
People often look for low-cost bed bug treatment but I don’t recommend it. Bed bugs can re-emerge anytime if the treatment is not done right.
But to keep it lower, you can take action yourself as soon as the infestation is in the primary stage. Only then, the exterminator won’t have to go for thorough treatment.
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