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Category: Bed bugs

Bed Bug Prevention and Treating in Winter

Posted on by john

While winter can provide a welcome respite from many pests, bedbugs, unfortunately, aren’t one of them. Although they can temporarily survive when the weather drops to below freezing, bed bugs tend to prefer the same temperature range as humans. Once they have established themselves in your home, they won’t be seasonally affected like other insects. Bedbugs can enter your home at any time of the year from outside, or be brought in on luggage, used furniture, and clothing. Read on for signs of a bed bug infestation, treatments, and preventative strategies. 

Signs of Bed Bugs

While bed bugs can be difficult to see with the naked eye, these pests leave several telltale signs when they have made a home in your sheets. Bed bugs feed on blood and come out at night to bite. Their bites aren’t poisonous, but they cause raised itchy red welts. The bites are most commonly found on ankles or any skin that is not covered by clothing.

If you’re not sure if bites are the result of bedbugs or other insects like mosquitoes, examine your bedding for bloodstains, an unpleasant musty odor, shed skins, eggs, or the bugs themselves. Bedbugs can also live on bed frames, in closets, carpets, and electrical outlets, so be sure to thoroughly check the entire room.

Bed Bug Treatments 

Once you’ve identified a bedbug infestation, you’ll need to take steps to kill the adult bugs and remove their eggs. It’s recommended that you call a professional pest control company as soon as you notice signs of bed bugs. In the meantime, there are steps you should take prior to the pest control company’s arrival.

First, wash all of your sheets, clothes, and bedding in hot water and dry on the hottest setting. Vacuum the bed, mattress, carpet, and surrounding areas. Clean up any clutter around your bed and in your closet, and do a few home repairs to fix peeling paint or cracks that bed bugs may be able to hide in. Once the professionals arrive, they will identify the source of the bedbugs and use safe chemicals to completely eliminate them. 

  • bed bug

Bed Bug Prevention 

As the old adage goes, prevention is the best cure. There are a few simple precautions you can take to help prevent these unwelcome guests. Carefully examine any secondhand chairs, beds, or sofas you’re considering bringing home for signs of bed bugs. To keep bed bugs from infesting a mattress, purchase a clear plastic cover for your mattress and box spring. Bed bugs are also repelled by certain scents like peppermint, lavender, and tea tree oil, so try spraying essential oils on or around your bed to naturally keep pests away.

If you’re careful when traveling, you should be able to prevent bugs from hitching a ride back with you. Upon returning from a trip where you may have been exposed to bugs, wash clothes in hot water and vacuum out your suitcase. 


Whether you need to treat an infestation in your home or you want to prevent one from happening, our experts at Exclusive Pest Control can help. Schedule a consultation today to keep your home bug-free this winter.

Heat – The Solution For Bed Bugs

Posted on by john

Bed bugs. They’re creepy, crawly, and they’re coming for your blood. And worst of all, they are difficult if not impossible to completely get rid of. Here at Exclusive Pest Control, we have the answer to your pest problem. That answer would be heat.

The Heat is On for Bed Bugs

Of all the methods used to kill bed bugs in all stages of their life cycle, heat is the single most effective way to kill bed bugs dead. It kills the eggs as well the bugs. And all it takes is twenty-four hours. You will even be able to keep your furniture. It’s that effective. Plus, it will not damage any of your furniture or any part of your residence. Application of heat to kill bed bugs will not leave any chemical residue. It’s completely safe for your family and any pets.

Using equipment and training provided by Convectex, the most effective equipment available, our technicians know how to best employ heat so that it penetrates to all the places where bed bugs might hide―the mattress, box springs, even your living room furniture and the walls. No matter how big your residence and no matter how big your infestation, all it takes is just one treatment and your problem is dead.

The Number One Choice

Exclusive Pest Control is the leading pest control company in the area. Our technicians have years of experience as well as extensive training. Plus, our technicians will always be on time for their scheduled appointments, will always be courteous and have a professional appearance. We’ve been in the pest control industry for years. Our focus is on making you, your home and your family as comfortable and safe as possible.

We can heat one room or a whole structure, depending on the size of the structure to be treated and the severity of the bed bug problem. If you ever need us again, for bed bugs or for any kind of unwanted pests, we are just a phone call away.

Whether it’s a one-time call or a long-term control solution you need, we can be your pest control solution. No matter what kind of pest problem you have, we have the training and experience to deal with it. We will provide you and your family with superior protection, with a customized service plan in place for every customer we service.

Best in the Business

Our techs have years of experience and all the latest training at their disposal, so they know the safest way to get rid of your bed bug problem. They are hired to be trustworthy, will always show up on time to a customer’s residence, and will always have a professional appearance and demeanor. They will always be willing to help you get rid of your pest problem.

For more information about our heat treatment, contact us online or give us a call at (843)461-5169.

Bed Bug Treatments

Posted on by john

Despite the saying, “Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite” no one sleeps tight knowing there’s unwelcome bedfellows. Knowing when to treat for bedbugs (as soon as you see one) is a no-brainer, but there may be more to identifying bed bugs than you know. With proper identification of your target pest being your fastest ticket to effective bed bug treatments, it’s important to rule out other pests that may be posing as bed bugs.

Fleas, Ticks, and Bed Bugs, Oh My!

When inspecting your home to determine if you have bed bugs, there are characteristics of these creepy little pests that distinguish them from similar household pests, such as fleas and ticks.

  • Length: approximately 3/16 to 1/4 inch long, similar in size to an apple seed
  • Brown coloration
  • Flat, oval body when unfed, balloon-like and longer in length after feeding
  • Active mainly at night
  • Sweet, musty odor, especially in large populations
  • Prefers human blood to pets
  • Susceptible to temperature extremes, will die at 113 degrees

Although bed bugs don’t carry diseases, bites from them can cause considerable discomfort and itching, as well as one of the most unsettling feelings known to man. Fleas and ticks on the other hand, can spread various serious or life-threatening diseases.

How to Begin with Bed Bug Treatments

After definitive identification, the first step in treating for bed bugs is inspecting your entire home to assess the size of your bed bug population and where they are the most concentrated. This is done by a professional pest control company for the most thorough inspection to ensure that all bases are covered when treatment is performed.

Although bed bugs are found anywhere within 8 feet of where a person commonly rests or sleeps, their populations can sprawl into other areas of your home. Prominent bed bug havens include:

  • Bed linens, mattresses, box springs
  • Curtains, behind peeling wallpaper
  • In and under carpeting
  • Cracks in wood, such as furniture or hardwood floors
  • Piles of clothing

Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs

There are plenty of home remedies for bed bug treatments floating around the web, from mint leaves to rubbing alcohol, and baking soda to boric acid. You don’t want to rest on your laurels with bed bugs, however. They can rapidly infest your home while you test out ineffective treatments before finding one that really works. Your best bet for killing bed bugs for good is to seek the help of a professional pest control service.

One simple, but innovative method for getting rid of bed bugs is the use of extreme heat and is offered by the best pest control Charleston has to offer. Exclusive Pest Control Charleston provides heat treatments that will kill all the bed bugs Charleston, SC has to offer within hours, as well as their eggs, and can reach into areas that chemicals can’t. Additionally, 95 percent of the time, you won’t need a second treatment and can keep your mattress and furniture with peace of mind. For more information about how to get rid of your bed bugs, contact us to schedule an inspection.

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