If you are a resident in Dubai, you face many challenges and limitations that depend on factors like your location, the building’s hygiene, and its history. One of the most disheartening things is this: you call a pest control service for a complete bed bug treatment. They conduct the service, perform a few follow-ups, and you feel absolutely relieved. But then, after the entire process is over, you happen to see a bed bug again.
Many residents are staying in densely populated places, including flats that are quite old, which is a concern for bed bugs and cockroaches to thrive there. Their return is not a sign of bad service, but there are a few reasons for the bugs coming back even after a qualified pest control treatment. Let’s look deeper into the article to understand why bed bugs come back after treatment and how to prevent them. This blog from the Ensure team, a pest control company in Dubai, will unravel the mystery of why these pests come back and outline the definitive steps to ensure they don’t.
What are the top reasons bed bugs come back after treatment?
1. Incomplete inspection and missed harbourages: Bed bugs are tiny creatures who are experts in hiding. Even though their name is bed bugs, they will hide in sofa seams, behind electrical outlets, inside picture frames, under carpet edges, and even in screw heads. If a treatment only targets certain obvious places and misses these satellite infestations, a new population will quickly emerge.
2. Surviving Eggs: In most cases, treatment means just targeting the live bed bugs only. There is another side to this, where the eggs also need to be vanquished. These eggs are tiny, well-camouflaged, and protected by a sturdy shell. Many standard treatments are effective against live bugs but cannot penetrate and kill the eggs. The fact is, these eggs will hatch a few days later, and another generation of bed bugs is going to restart the cycle.
3. Resistance to common insecticides: Certain bed bug populations, especially in urban areas like Dubai, have developed a resistance to some of the active ingredients found in common sprays. Sometimes after spraying, the bugs will look as if they are dead, but they will gain even more resistance after a certain period. A treatment relying solely on these insecticides may knock down a few bugs but will leave the resilient colony to thrive and reproduce.
4. Re-infestation from neighbouring units: No matter how many times you have reached out for the best services, the problem can persist if your neighbouring localities are also facing a bed bug infestation. Maybe your unit is treated, but if an adjacent unit remains infested, the bugs will simply find their way back to you. This is a very common issue in Dubai’s interconnected living spaces.
5. Inadequate client preparation or follow-up: There are pest services in Dubai where there are no adequate follow-up services. Even the homeowners need to do some meticulous preparations, like removing the linens, curtains, and carpets, and decluttering the furniture. Bed bugs can easily hide in between these types of cloth materials. These hiding spaces become breeding grounds for the bugs. Therefore, certain preparations should be done by the homeowners. The treatment should not be limited to the direct places; in fact, it should extend to all corners as well. Similarly, a single treatment is often not enough. Follow-up visits are crucial to eliminate newly hatched nymphs before they can lay eggs.
How Does Our Multi-Step Method Solve the Comeback Problem of Bed Bugs?
Defeating bed bugs for a longer period requires a comprehensive, integrated approach. Nobody should rely on a single method; we use a combination of strategies to attack the problem at every stage. The methods are as follows:
1. The thorough Inspection: This is a process that starts with a detailed inspection, and each appliance and furniture is moved to other places, doing a treatment that reaches every corner and every platform. The team should use flashlights, magnifiers, and even canine detection teams for large properties to map the entire infestation, leaving no hiding place unchecked.
2. Integrated treatment method: There is a combined approach where different methods are used at the same time. It includes thermal remediation, steam treatment, and targeted insecticides. These are used depending on specific temperatures and other guidelines, and it is recommended to be handled by professionals. These products have a transfer effect, meaning bugs that come into contact with treated areas carry the product back to their hiding places, eliminating others.
3. The crucial follow-up: The main drawback of any treatment is the problem with strategic timing and follow-ups. When the follow-ups are not carried out in the right way, it allows the existing eggs to survive, which will lead to an increase in the reproductive cycle.
4. Community management: In most areas in Dubai and other Gulf countries, residential areas are managed by property companies. This is why a proactive, building-wide approach is the most effective way to prevent the ping-pong effect of re-infestation.
What is your Role in Prevention in keeping Bed Bugs Out?
Even after a successful treatment, vigilance is key. Here’s how you can protect your Dubai home:
- Be Cautious When Travelling: Inspect residential rooms and homes, headboards, mattresses, and luggage racks, inside furniture. Keep your suitcase on a stand away from the bed and walls.
- Inspect Second-Hand Furniture: Thoroughly check any pre-owned furniture, especially beds and sofas, before bringing it inside.
- Use Protective Covers: Encase your mattresses and box springs with certified bed bug-proof covers.
- Reduce Clutter: Clutter provides the perfect hiding place for bed bugs. A tidy home is a defensible home. Also, ensure a deep washing of clothes or use bulk laundry services, as clothes can harbor the laid eggs.
Conclusion
Don’t ever settle for temporary solutions. Bed bugs are complex, so tackle the problem by handling it with professional experts. Contact the Ensure team, your bed bug pest control in Dubai. It will be the best decision you ever make to invest in a permanent solution for treating bed bugs. Visit our website to know more about us.