5 Reasons Why Most Bed Bug Treatments Do Not Work

Five Key Reasons Why Many Bed Bug Treatments Fail

1. Lack of Specialization in Bed Bug Extermination: Most companies offering bed bug treatments primarily focus on general pest control, like dealing with termites or mosquitoes. However, bed bugs are a unique challenge and need a different strategy and specific training and tools.
2. Ineffective Pesticides: Commonly used pesticides might work well for various household insects, but they fail against bed bugs. Unfortunately, there aren’t pesticides specifically made for bed bugs, which leads to many unsuccessful treatments.
3. Improper Preparation: Proper preparation is crucial in tackling a bed bug issue. This includes carefully packing up clothes and belongings for laundry or fumigation, and correctly setting up mattresses and box springs for treatment. Many companies overlook this step or leave it to the homeowner, which can lead to poor results. A thorough and professional approach is essential here.
4. Homeowner Involvement: There’s no magic solution for bed bugs. Effective treatment requires effort and cooperation from the homeowner. It’s important for the exterminator to clearly explain what responsibilities the homeowner has, and for the homeowner to be fully aware and involved in the process.
5. Lack of Follow-Up and Monitoring: After the initial treatment, it’s important to keep an eye on the situation. Properly installed monitoring devices and a follow-up visit within 2-4 weeks are key to ensuring the treatment is working and addressing any remaining issues. This follow-up step gives peace of mind to the homeowner and keeps the exterminator accountable.

The 3 biggest reasons why pesticides are not effective for bed bug extermination.

1. Every pesticide approved in the USA market under FIFRA ( Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ) and used for bed bugs, was specifically developed for insects other than bed bugs. Only when those pesticides’ patent protection was about to expire, bed bug use was added to the list of insects on the label to extend the patent protection effectively giving the product a couple more years. Bed bugs are unique in many ways beginning with feeding habits, resistance building, harborage, and reproduction to name a few.
2. Every pesticide on the market utilizes a deterrent component. The deterrent component simply alerts the insect to the existence of the pesticide sending a message to the insect “It is dangerous for you here. Go elsewhere “. So far no problems, as long as you are dealing with insects entering your house from the outside. You apply the product on the exterior walls and all is fine. Well, bed bugs don’t live outdoors and don’t crawl into your home through doors and windows. Bed bugs can be transported into our homes on our clothing, furniture, and potentially any item that is brought in by us or our visitors. Or, in a multifamily building setting or a hotel, they can travel from one unit to the adjacent unit.

Therefore, if you apply a pesticide in one area you will simply push the bed bugs into the other area of your home where the pesticide was not used practically spreading the infestation. If you apply the pesticide throughout the entire house, the bed bugs will look for shelter in wall voids, cracks and crevices that the pesticide did not reach into, making proper bed bug extermination far more difficult and expensive. Btw. cracks and crevices are bed bug’s favorite places to live as they love to feel pressure on both sides of their bodies.

1. Imagine for a moment there was a pesticide that was effective for bed bugs and safe for you, your family, and your pets. If somehow, the bed bug or bed bug egg was exposed to but survived the treatment with that pesticide, within 2 generations the offspring will be 100% resistant to that pesticide. That translates to around 150 days on the long side or as little as 30 days under some conditions. 

Hopefully, by now you realize why there are no effective and safe pesticides on the market and why pesticide manufacturers are not rushing to develop new products.

Here, at K&A Pest Control we recognized that 14 years ago and this is when we dedicated ourselves 100% to the safe, effective, and non-toxic treatment of bed bugs using mostly mechanical methods and a true IPM ( Integrated Pest Management ) against which bed bugs simply can not defend or adapt.