There is a common misconception that preparation for bed bug treatment is extensive and labour intensive.
At Addison we do not require you to do extensive preparation, laundry, bagging or discarding.
Preparation for Addison’s bed bug remediation is only a few easy steps:
Step 1: Clean Up
- Remove all bedding from mattresses including covers, sheets, pillows, mattress covers, pillow-top covers, etc., and place in sealed garbage bags until they can be laundered.
- Gather any dirty clothing from the floors or hamper and place in sealed garbage bags until it can be laundered.
- Temporarily empty the contents from drawers of dressers or cabinets immediately next to the beds.
- Bag, seal, and throw out any garbage from the floor around and under the bed.
- Clear out storage bins or drawers underneath the bed and prepare them to be treated
Step 2: Laundry
- Launder any clothes or linens that you store within three feet of the bed on a HOT wash and a HOT dry cycle. This laundry should be done within a few days of the treatment.
- Any items that are not machine-washable (pillows, duvet, stuffed animals, slippers, etc) should be put through the dryer on high heat for a minimum of 30 min.
- Any items that are not dryer friendly can be taken to the dry cleaner.
Step 3: Vacating and re-entering the premises
- Occupants should plan to be out of the house for 4-5 hours while we perform the bed bug extermination.
- Pets: The treatment is safe for pets. All pets should vacate the home for the same time period as people.
- Cats: should be out of the treated area for a full 24 hours.
- Aquariums should be covered with plastic sheets or bags.
- Windows can be opened or closed.
- It is perfectly safe to sleep in your bed the very same night.
Step 4: Follow-Up and Prevention
- Do NOT wet mop the floors or shampoo the carpets for 3 months as this will wash away the residual insecticide and cancel the protection it offers.
- Sweeping, vacuuming, and cleaning up spills is OK – wiping the cooking area, bathroom, entryway, etc is OK – but you must avoid washing floors in the key areas, such as the bedrooms and the living rooms particularly around the beds, couches, and chairs.
- Launder your bedding once a week until the infestation is eradicated.
- Inspect your mattress, box spring, bed frame, headboard, and areas surrounding the bed and seating furniture regularly for signs of bed bugs.
- Do NOT use any store-bought bug spray or powder. This could counteract the high-quality residual insecticide we use as part of our treatment
- Do NOT use a zip-up mattress encasement after we have treated your bed, mattress, and box spring. By zipping an untreated encasement around your mattress after the treatment has been applied you are introducing an untreated surface into the bed area that the bugs may be able to freely infest.
- Do NOT Throw out your bed, box spring, mattress, couch, clothing or other infested furniture or fabrics. If you throw out your bed and get a new one it will not have the treatment on it and could be a place that bugs hidden in your apartment are free to infest.
