Why?

Because heat is a very effective bed bug killer — it can kill all stages of bed bugs including eggs. And you can use heat to treat personal belongings that are otherwise difficult to treat. The PackTite makes the whole process safe and simple. Read the article for more information.

That being said, it could be a good idea to vacuum your mattress and take a look at what turns up in your vacuum bag or canister. In this respect your vacuum is another handy bed bug detection tool. Don’t look at it like a one-stop solution to your bed bug problems though. And make sure you carefully dispose of your vacuum bag right away. Especially if you are vacuuming after you’ve already had an infestation. If there are bed bugs living inside your vacuum, you could re-infest your home.

Consider termites for a moment. They eat the cellulose in wood and other fibrous materials. To kill a termite, simply treat their food source with pesticides. The termites ingest the poison when they eat and they die.

Many insects are similar in that their food sources can be made poisonous or damaging to them. But bed bugs penetrate our skin to feed on our blood — their food source is us. So there is really no way to poison them that is safe to us.

The other problem is that bed bugs have an extremely tough exoskeleton, much thicker than other insects. Most of the currently available pesticides won’t penetrate this exoskeleton. That means that exterminators have to rely on other methods (steam, diatomaceous earth) which are tricky to implement and have limited effect.

Read more at Ohio’s Section 18 Emergency Exemption Testimony. You can also read more about what is causing the current bed bug resurgence

It just might be the solution to the bed bug infestation that’s exploded in the city the last couple years. And what’s more, you can do it yourself. And the cost? Less than 20 bucks.

So what is this solution? It is similar to the NightWatch Bed Bug Monitor Trap. Scroll half-way down How to trap bed bugs for more information on the NightWatch. Essentially, it uses carbon dioxide to entice bed bugs into a contraption they can’t escape from. It is smart, cheap and easy enough for anybody to make.

But is it a solution to a bed bug infestation? That’s a little hopeful since traps like this have been around and in use for a while. They are thought of more as ways to detect infestations and possibly gauge how severe they are — not as a complete solution.

Dr. Wang believes this system, which works principally as a monitor to detect bed bug activity, can eventually get rid of 80% of bed bugs. He cautions it works best with smaller populations. But, when confronted with large infestations, it may have to be combined with a professional pest control service to wipe out the problem completely.

Still, it is something to consider. The short video is worth watching as you can see how the trap is made.

While this tactic won’t work for large items, it could be a practical (and cheap) method of treating smaller items that are infested with bed bugs. Items like certain electronics, books, clothing and accessories that can’t be washed and children’s toys.

You will have to use good judgment. But this could be a workable piece of a larger bed bug extermination effort.