Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard to Kill?

When the National Pest Management Association asked pest control professionals what insects were the most challenging to exterminate, bed bugs were at the top of the list. Barely the size of an apple seed, bed bugs are able to squeeze into the tiniest cracks and crevices to escape detection. These blood-feeding insects prefer to remain close to their human food source and are typically found in bedrooms in or near beds. But their small size and slim profile allow them to slip into some unlikely hiding places. Bed bug exterminators say it is not unusual to find bed bugs hiding behind moldings, under carpeting, inside computer and iPod casings, inside wall voids and heating ducts, behind electrical switch plates, inside ceiling lights or inside electrical and plumbing conduits.

But size and hiding ability aren’t this insect’s only defense against extermination. Bed bugs have a hard protective exoskeleton that makes them difficult to kill. Complicating matters is the fact that many bed bug populations in New Jersey have developed a tolerance for the pest control chemicals typically used against them. Adding to the complexity of exterminating these insects is their varied response to chemicals at different stages of development. The pesticides used to exterminate adults usually have no effect on bed bug eggs, necessitating multiple treatments as successive generations hatch.

High temperatures are one of the few treatments found to be effective against bed bugs. Allison Pest Control’s expert bed bug exterminators use a steam heat treatment to exterminate bed bugs. Steam delivers the heat into insect hiding places where the heat kills them. The method is safe, pesticide-free and effective.