How are bed bugs treated:
There are three major types of professional bed bug treatment Des Moines options.  We will discuss each in detail here.

Option 1: Chemical Bed Bug Treatments
Option 2: Partial thermal remediation with chemical in un-heated spaces.
Option 3: Total thermal remediation (whole house is heated to lethal temperature)

Option 1: Chemical Bed Bug Treatments

Pro: 

• Chemical bed bug treatments are often the most inexpensive way to treat bed bugs.
• Chemical bed bug treatment can be effective on low level infestation.
• Chemical bed bug treatments have been an industry standard for many years

Con: 

• Chemical bed bug treatments take time to work.  According to best management practices, several visits are required to fully control bed bugs.
• The higher the infestation level (which may be hard to judge even with a trained inspector) the more product and time it will take to control bed bugs in Des Moines and around the nation.
• Bed bugs in Iowa and throughout the US have shown increasing resistance to modern professional grade pesticides.  Recent studies have found that nearly all bed bugs found in the wild (our homes) in the US show some signs of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides.

The wrap up:
While chemical bed bug treatments can be effective, they are often very disruptive to your home over an extended period of time and require a great deal of knowledge and experience by the pest control company.  Even the most experienced pest control technicians miss areas where bed bugs hid because bed bugs are cryptobiotic (they hid very well).  Not all surfaces can be treated with pesticides including bedding, clothes, electronics and surfaces humans commonly come in contact with on a regular basis.  Because not all surfaces can be treated some items may need to be thrown away to fully eliminate all the bed bugs in a home.

This process also commonly requires a great deal of preparation by the home owner to achieve the maximum effectiveness and kill ALL the bed bugs.  Not every bed bug is killed with one type of insecticide.  It is recommended that several different products be used to control bed bugs, there is no one “silver bullet” that kill every bed bug in your home.  With all treatments the possibility for re-introduction of bed bugs into your home exists.  The bed bugs found their way into your home once, they can do it again if your not diligent!


Option 2: Partial heat treatment with chemical in un-heated spaces

Pro:

• Items that can not be treated with chemical can be treated with heat to control bed bugs
• Portable heat chambers can be set-up almost anywhere

Con:

• Not every item can fit into the heat treatment compartment and therefore some items will still require chemical application.
• While bed bugs will harbor in furnishings they commonly are found under baseboards, behind door frames and in structural and aesthetic parts of the home.  These areas must be treated with a chemical option.  Gravid female bed bugs (pregnant) often move away from bed bug aggregation sites in order to escape the harassing males.  This means that lone females will often lay there eggs in places away from normal aggregation sites, this behavior can make finding and elimination the eggs and gravid female bed bugs difficult.

The Wrap Up:
Using a portable heat chamber can assist in controlling bed bugs but must be coupled with an extensive chemical treatment.  As we learned in the previous option (Chemical bed bug treatments) not all bed bugs are killed the first time they are treated with chemical.  Once the heat chamber is shut off and the items brought out,  bed bugs that survived the chemical treatment may can find there way back into the heated items resulting in the need for multiple treatment to fully eliminate the bed bugs.  In our opinion if your going to heat something, do it right, heat the entire space and kill all the bed bugs the first time.


Option 3: Total Thermal Remediation

Pro: 

• One treatment is usually all it takes to control bed bugs.
• Often the preparation for this treatment  is much less then a chemical application.
• No items will ever have to be thrown away when a total heat treatment is done.  These items are heated to a temperature that no bed bugs or there eggs can survive.
• Heat kills ALL life stages of bed bugs.  Bed bugs can not survive temperatures above 120 degrees
• The entire home is treated with heat allowing heat to penetrate deep into furnishings, stored items, beneath carpets, behind baseboards and door frames.  There is no place a bed bug can hide to escape our heat.
• Janssen Pest Solutions utilizes a hybrid system to kill bed bugs and keep them away for good.  Not only do we heat your home to lethal temperature but we hold the heat longer then our competition.  Then we employ a minimum of 3 chemistry’s to provide a lasting residual that helps keep bed bugs away for good.  Now that integrated pest management at it finest!

Con:

• Some preparation is required by the home owner or tenant in order to facilitate air flow throughout the home.
• The home owner or tenant will have to be out of the home for most of the day 7:30am – 5:30pm.
• Large equipment will be brought into the home.  This large equipment can make working in the space very difficult especially if there are a lot of items in the home and the preparation was not done properly by the home owner.  these conditions can increase the risk of damaging some items.  It is very important that the preparation sheet be follows in order to ensure no items are damaged.
• Your neighbors might become curious why there is a trailer in your drive way.  Janssen Pest Solutions use un-marked trucks and trailers to perform our heat treatments.  We value your privacy!
• Selection the right company and the right method of heat to control bed bugs can be confusing.  Janssen Pest solutions uses the Temp-Air electric thermal remediation system.  The Temp-Air system is superior to a forced gas system (a furnace in the trailer burns propane and blows the hot air into your home via ducting tube) because we never put a positive air pressure on your home.  Positive air pressure can cause bed bugs to follow the cold escaping air deep into hiding spots and survive the heat.  Our Temp-Air system recirculates the air inside your home and rather them forcing bed bugs into hiding spots, the heaters actually draws  bed bugs closer to them, before reaching lethal temperatures and killing them.

The wrap up:
Whole home thermal remediation is often more expensive then traditional chemical treatments but it is far superior in may ways.  Thermal remediation kills bed bugs, there is no resistance to the heat treatment.  Bed bugs exposed to temperature of 122 degrees are dead with in seconds.  As with the other treatment options re-introduction is a possibility. If bed bugs found their way into your home once they can do it again.  Combining the best of both worlds thermal and chemical treatment hybrid treatments, Janssen Pest Solutions offers an excellent bed bug treatment Des Moines experience that far exceeds the industry standards.  If you want to get rid of bed bugs thermal remediation from Janssen Pest Solutions is the best way to go!  When bed bugs are suspected in your home call Janssen Pest Solutions.  Janssen has the most effective and comprehensive bed bug treatment Des Moines and surrounding areas have to offer.

Why Termite Prevention is Important!
Termite prevention is a great topic for home owners in Des Moines, Urbandale, Johnston and central Iowa. Termites cause as much as 5 billion dollars worth of damage property damage each year in the United States, and most home owners insurance does not cover termite damage. In Des Moines and central Iowa eastern subterranean termites are active from late March to late October and generally cover an area of about an acre per termite colony.

What To Look For
Termite colonies spend the majority of their time underground foraging for cellulose like old tree stumps, fire wood and the 2×4 structures that support your home.  Termites are cryptobiotic meaning they hid very well and are often not discovered until a remodel occurs.  Worker termites dry out easily and are bright white, these worker termites build mud tubes to provide them with continued moisture and hide them from predators like birds and other insects. Images and some content provided by Dow Agoscience

SWARMING
Termites often swarm in warmer weather and after a rain shower to start new colonies. The swarming event can be brief, so even if you do not see flying termites, you are likely to see the discarded wings around window sills, doors, heating vents, bathtubs and sinks after a swarm takes place. Termite swarmers use their wings to move away from their original colony. Their wings break off and they pair up and find locations with a wood source where the male and female can begin a new colony. Whether you see the swarm or think there might have been one,call a professional immediately.

MUD TUBES
Foraging worker termites, the ones that eat wood to feed the rest of the colony, must stay in moist conditions and away from natural enemies like ants. To get across barriers between the soil and the wood above, termites construct small, meandering “mud” tubes from moist soil and excrement. The tubes are about the diameter of a pencil, though they can become wider. Tubes can be seen on foundation walls or inside walls, on plumbing pipes and spanning crawl spaces between the ground and the sub-floor. These termite highways are a sure sign termites are or have been in the home.

DAMAGING WOOD
Termites eat wood from the inside out along the grain, so damage often isn’t visible until it becomes significant. Termite inspectors often will tap to listen for hollow-sounding wall studs, baseboards and floors. If the wood gives way, it may reveal a hollowed-out honeycomb pattern. The wood also will include some “mud” similar to mud tubes, plus live termites.

Formosan termites are an especially robust, destructive species with large colonies. Walls of infested buildings may contain carton nests that hold enough moisture to allow the colony to live entirely above ground, sometimes causing bulging walls.

LIVE INSECTS
When building or remodeling in your home, keep an eye out for soft-bodied, light-colored insects about the size of a grain of rice. Termites avoid light, so they are seldom visible in open areas.

Where to Look
Sill Plates
Sill plates in the basement of a home offer a great area to inspect for termites. Termites often enter a home though cracks in the buildings foundation that are as small as 1/16th of an inch. Once inside termites often move up and begin attacking the sill plates of a home. Their distinctive mud tubes will give away the presence of termites in a home. Us a flashlight and a screw driver to inspect your homes sill plates for termite activity.

Garages and Out Buildings
Garages and out buildings are a common place for termites to attack and are often easy to find if the structure is unfinished.  again use a flash light and inspect behind and underneath stored items for the tell tail mud tubes.  Be sure not to store firewood, old boards and boxes on the floor as these can be inviting food sources for termites.

Stumps and Stored Firewood
Old stumps and firewood are a great source of food for termites in Des Moines.  Be sure to store firewood off of the ground and away from the home.

For more information about termite control Des Moines, Termite Control Ankeny, Termite Control West Des Moines or Termite Control Contact Us

Odorous House Ants (Tapinoma Sessile): 

Often referred to as “sugar ants” these small black or brown colored ants are about 2.5 to 3mm long and live in colonies around your home.  They are a “tramp ant” meaning they often have several queens in a maze of colony structures.  Odorous house ants often find there way into homes in the spring and early summer and can come in huge droves to carry off spilled sweets and other foods.  One minute there may be what seems like hundreds and the next you may only see a few but you can be sure they are always lurking around your home our business.

Citronella Ants (Lasius Interjectus) 

These bright orange ants are about 4mm long and when crushed smell like… you guessed it citronella.  They commonly build nest under tree stumps and logs and landscape timbers.  Cironella ants often make large dirt mounds as they excavate underground colonies.  Sometimes these large mounds can be found in basements and crawlspaces and can be mistaken for termites Des Moines. 


Carpenter Ants (Campontus Pennsylvanicus)

Carpenter ants are large (1/6-1/8 inch) black or Red and brown ants with distinctive hairs on the abdomen.  They are often found foraging in trees and or stumps and do not eat the wood but rather bore it out to live in.  If you see Carpenter ants or suspect you have Carpenter Ants call Janssen Pest Solutions for a free estimate to control Carpenter Ant treatments Des Moines.  These pests can do a considerable amount of damage to trees and to your home.  Carpenter ants often infest several areas around your home using “satellite” colony sites.


Winged Reproductive’s

Most ant species never have a winged reproductive.  These ants have wings and can fly, albeit poorly.  Their primary role in the colony is to leave the nest, usually in the spring, find a mate and start a new colony.  They are not interested in food other bait attractants.  If you are finding winged ants, you should call an exterminator Des Moines.  Trust Janssen Pest Solutions to find the source of the ant infestation and eliminate it! 
Some baits and sprays over the counter can be effective, but why risk mis-application of toxic products sold over the counter.  Trust a professional pest control company to make it easy for you.  Pest control companies have access to a wide variety of products and experiencing that help benefit their customers.  If your considering pest control West Des Moines and surrounding areas consider Janssen Pest Solutions.

Is Professional Pest Control Expensive?

If you factor in the cost to train an experience pest control technician, the variety of products available and volume of product used, you would discover that professional pest management is a real bargain.