Bed bug steam generator — efficiency and how to use

Everyone who at least once in their life has been in a room that was occupied by bedbugs will never forget their impressions. Parasites may not even be visually visible, but a terrible smell betrays their presence with a head. It is generally accepted that the presence of bedbugs in a residential area is a sign of trouble. But this is absolutely not the case, trouble can happen to anyone, even quite respectable people. These insects feel equally good both in an old rural house and in a modern apartment with European-style renovation. Parasites, unlike many other unwanted insects, do not feed on human waste, but on blood. Therefore, they take root equally well in almost any premises, regardless of their sanitary condition. The parasites don’t care if it’s clean, the room is clean or not, there are food crumbs or organic food leftovers from the garbage can, they don’t care where they breed — in an untidy barracks or an elite multi-storey building. And getting rid of them is extremely difficult.

To stop this unpleasant neighborhood for good, you need to destroy the nests of bedbugs, adult parasites, their larvae and eggs. Bedbugs multiply incredibly quickly, restoring the population. If several individuals or egg laying are skipped during the processing of the premises, after a few months the insects will re-occupy your house.

What are dangerous bed bugs in a residential area

If you suspect that you have bed bugs in your apartment or house, do not put off solving the problem “on the back burner”. The presence of such neighbors can harm health, both physical and psychological. Why are they dangerous and what damage can they cause:

1. In the process of life, the bugs emit a terrible smell, it is very unpleasant to be in the room.

2. Where bedbugs live, there is no question of compliance with sanitary standards. If the parasites move to your neighbors (which happens sooner or later if the victims live in an apartment building), there will be problems with the sanitary and epidemiological station.

3. Bedbug bites are very painful, and the itching is just crazy. Since the parasites are active at night, people in the room have trouble sleeping, in some cases the number of bites in an infested room reaches 500 per night. In a short time, this negatively affects the general state of health, the functioning of the nervous system, working capacity, mental and psychological state.

4. Bedbugs are not officially considered carriers of any diseases. But at the same time, through the bite of this insect, you can become infected with hepatitis B and plague, get a terrible skin rash and allergies. Doctors also do not exclude the possibility of human infection with microorganisms that cause tularemia, brucellosis, typhoid fever, anthrax, smallpox and tuberculosis.

5. Thanks to their sense of smell, parasites easily detect a person’s everyday clothes and hide in them. You can infect with these insects all the places you visit.

Also, do not forget that parasites cause damage to property. Where bedbugs organize their nests, furniture and things, books, household appliances become unusable. Parasites hide in them during the day and pollute them with their feces thrown off by chitinous shells.

Bedbug habitats

To get rid of all bedbugs with a steam generator, you need to know where they live. Usually they settle in dark, dry and warm places, secluded corners closer to the «food», that is, to the sleeping place of a person. Chitinous shells shed during the molting process, black dots from excrement, a characteristic unpleasant odor clearly indicate where the bugs live. As a rule, they can be found:

1. In the joints of furniture, between sofa cushions, at the bottom of sofas, beds, armchairs, in wardrobes.

2. In clothes.

3. On the bookshelves.

4. In picture frames.

5. Behind skirting boards and in cracks in the floor.

6. In outlets.

7. Under wallpaper.

8. Under mattresses and pillowcases, duvet covers.

9. In the cages of birds, domestic animals.

Most of these areas can be treated with a steam generator.

Is a bed bug steamer effective?

The steam generator is uniquely effective in the fight against bedbugs, as it produces high-temperature steam. And although these parasites are quite thermophilic, if the ambient temperature rises above 45 degrees, they become uncomfortable and can only live for 45 minutes. And by adding another 5 degrees, bedbugs at any stage of development can be killed almost instantly. If you use steam at 90-150 degrees where possible, you will be able to disinfect surfaces and things.

The advantages of a steam generator from bedbugs, comparison with other methods

We list the advantages of a steam generator as a device for getting rid of bedbugs:

1. In 100% of cases, high temperature steam kills insects that it comes into contact with.

2. Parasites do not develop immunity to this type of exposure, unlike chemicals. Some drugs do not kill insects at all, but only scare them away for a short time. But chemistry in most cases is harmful to humans, especially for such vulnerable groups of people as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and allergy sufferers.

3. Steam is environmentally friendly, does not have an unpleasant odor, it does not stain clothes and furniture. In general, steam does not cause any harm to health and property, if used correctly. Therefore, at the time of processing, residents, including children, animals, do not need to move to another room.

4. Using a steam generator, you can disinfect surfaces, destroy pathogenic microflora.

5. Possibility of processing hard-to-reach places, such as cracks and joints.

Also, the advantage of the steam generator is that it can be transported without problems to where bedbugs or other parasites have started, for example, to the country house.

Now let’s talk about the disadvantages of fighting bedbugs with a steam generator:

1. The high cost of the device. But this is a relative minus, since the steam generator is multifunctional, it is purchased for years, so such a purchase will definitely pay off. And if you already have it, then the cost does not matter at all.

2. You need to choose a model that comes with a nozzle with a narrow spout.

3. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions for processing surfaces and things. First, each zone must be exposed to steam for at least 15 seconds. Secondly, a strong jet of steam directed at the laying of eggs can simply blow them away. The offspring of bedbugs in this case will survive, everything will start all over again.

4. High temperature steam can damage wallpaper, furniture, books, and should not be directed to a power outlet or electrical appliances.

5. Working with high temperature steam is a risk of thermal burns.

Also, despite the high efficiency of the steam generator in the fight against bedbugs, it still does not give a 100% guarantee of getting rid of parasites. There is a high probability that you will not be able to carefully process all the places where insects are (live or temporarily hide). Steam treatment, unlike chemicals, does not produce a residual effect. Having missed a couple of individuals, you will be forced to re-treat, and maybe more than once. Is there an alternative? Yes, for example, if you invite a pest control, he can treat the entire room, even the entire apartment, with a special gas that will penetrate absolutely all habitats of bedbugs, soak all things, fill all the cracks, leaving no chance for parasites. But this method of influence has its drawbacks, for example, you need to prepare the premises, evict the tenants for a while, then clean up, etc. Therefore, before buying a steam generator or ordering a pest control service, weigh the pros and cons.

How to use a bed bug steamer

First you need to prepare the room — take fresh flowers out of it and everything that cannot be steamed, take animals out, ask people to leave. Then you need to move all the furniture away from the walls. Turn tables, chairs, beds, bedside tables and other small items upside down. The contents of all drawers are removed, the drawers are pulled out. Curtains can be removed and boiled if the material allows. Prepare an extension cord, as you will need to process every corner of the room. After that, you can start to poison the bugs with steam. The recommended temperature is not lower than 50 degrees, preferably higher. The tip of the steam generator should not come closer than 25 cm to objects that may be affected by steam. If it is too wide, you can pull a piece of cloth over the tip itself so that the jet dissipates and does not knock down parasite eggs, but kill them. It is necessary to process all surfaces and hard-to-reach places. Pay special attention to the seams and corners of bed linen, clothes, mattresses, in which bed bugs often lay their eggs. Carpets, all textiles in the room must also be processed. Be sure to wear gloves before starting the procedure to reduce the risk of steam burns. After treatment, ventilate the room to reduce the level of humidity.

Remember, if no chemicals are used, there is no guarantee that absolutely all insects will be destroyed using a steam generator. It is recommended to carry out a similar procedure several more times, taking breaks for a week. Some users advise filling the device with a mixture of water and vinegar, bleach, ammonia, so that in addition to thermal burns, bed bugs receive severe chemical burns. But in this case, you need to understand whether these substances can be used when refueling an existing device, and also whether such a solution will harm the property.

How to choose the right bed bug steamer

The main criteria for choosing a steam generator are the power and temperature to which it heats the steam. If a household clothes steamer can produce steam of 50 degrees or more, and also if it has a special narrow nozzle, then it is quite suitable for such a purpose as killing bedbugs. But still, it is better to opt for home cleaning devices (steam cleaner, steamer) with a power of 1500 watts or more. The devices of the manufacturers Karcher and Philips, Laura Star, Bork, Bosch, Kitfort have proven themselves excellently.