Bed Bug Control, by Marvel. We provide the Best, Affordable, 24hr Bed Bug Control Services in London & Hertfordshire.

Our Emergency Bed Bug Exterminator Service is second to none, our Rapid Response Bed Bug Exterminator will be with you within 2hrs of your call.

 

Bed Bugs

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How do you know if you have bed bugs?

Bed Bugs conceal themselves very well although visible to the human eye. They remain at most times undetected retreating into a range of cracks and crevices in its environment, your abode!

A very good method of gauging if you have bed bugs is applying a very sticky double sided carpet tape on all sides of your bed frame, thereby catching them or even as a temporary measure to help against immediate biting as the host sleeps.

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Signs of Bed Bugs 

• Bites - Bed Bug bites are often grouped together in a small area more often in small clusters around the top half of you "the host", and at times may occur in a line or a zigzag pattern which we call Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Bites normally look like small, flat or raised areas that may become inflamed, itchy, red or blistered. Bed Bug bite reactions don’t always appear immediately after you’re bitten and may take a few days to begin causing symptoms. However, not everyone reacts to bed bug bites.

• Blood stains on your sheets or pillowcases.

• Dark or rusty spots of bed bug excrement on sheets and mattresses, bed clothes, and walls.

 

Surprisingly bed bugs also hide under your carpets.

These insects need to be where a host is going to be, for an extended period. If in the bedroom, they will come out at night while the host is sleeping, from hiding places such as the bed frame and headboard of the, behind any loose or peeling wallpaper, cracks in woodwork or plaster, from behind wardrobes or bedside cabinets. In the lounge area, they favour soft furnishings and are often found around the arm joints of armchairs and sofas.

Adult bed bugs are 4–5 mm in length, wingless and uniformly mahogany brown in colour. They have long well-developed walking legs with efficient tarsal claws for clinging on to the host during feeding. Prominent antennae project from the head adjacent to the compound eyes.

You will be bitten! The initial warning of a growing infestation is from actually being bitten. The resulting irritancy of the anti-coagulant chemical around the bite site can be severe, particularly to people with soft sensitive skin. Scratching is difficult to resist but this can cause infection of the bite area. If this is a likely problem, you should consult a doctor or Chemist to obtain appropriate medication.

Bed bugs are more active at night, and infestations occur mainly in the bedroom and lounge areas. The bed bug feeds on you "the host" by finding a bare patch of skin, through which it forces the feeding tube of its mouthparts, whilst at the same time injecting the host with its saliva. The saliva contains a chemical that prevents the blood from clotting. It is this substance that causes the itch and swelling associated with the ‘bite’

The bite from this insect can be very irritating. If they are allowed to multiply unchecked, numbers could become such, that the host/s may become anaemic through blood loss, although this is rare.

They can hide in the tiniest gaps, only coming out at night to feed when you are asleep as they are attracted to your breath. They have developed very strong resistance to chemical insecticides. Bed bug heat treatment kills by denaturing the proteins and enzymes essential for the insect to survive. Heat treatment is the best way to tackle a bed bug infestation because they have no way of building up resistance to heat, which kills the bugs in all their stages, including vitally, the eggs.

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How to get rid of Bed Bugs?

A thorough inspection should be made to determine the extent and source of the infestation. Bed Bugs may be introduced via second hand furniture, been brought in by the resident or entered the building from adjoining premises.

Treatment for bed bugs is detailed and complex. Our initial treatment consists of an extreme heat treatment to the entire premises.

Before the treatment commences the residents are asked to vacate the premises and cannot return until advised by our extreme heat specialists.

Rooms are gradually super-heated using special mobile convection heaters. Hot air is then circulated around the effected rooms with powerful fans. This enables the heat to penetrate all the hard-to-reach places like cracks and crevices where the bugs like to harbour. Wireless sensors are placed in the most affected areas to ensure the heat penetrates fully. These are linked to our tablet/laptop so that we can monitor the treatment from outside and be certain all parts of the room have reached the required temperature for the required amount of time.

eradicating bed bugs with heat treatment is also an eco-friendly approach. Rooms can be habitable again within a few hours following a treatment.

Heat treatments for bed bugs are completed and the property habitable again within a single day. The length of time (and price) of the bed bug heat treatment will depend on how many rooms there are to be treated and the size of the property. 

Please be aware, the rooms do get very hot, and it is advisable that you vacate the property while the treatment is being carried out.

At Marvel Pest Control, we are so confident in our heat treatments that we are able to offer a 6month guarantee for residential customers. Subject to the preparation being carried out to a satisfactory standard (see below), and the advised number of rooms are treated, if live bed bugs are found within the guarantee period, we will return and treat the property again Free of charge.

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Click here to view our Heat Treatment Preparation Page