Monday, March 14, 2011

How to Move Without Bringing Bed Bugs With You.

Deciding to move away from a bed bug infestation in a personal decision that could involve the fact that the landlord is not supportive of your bed bug problem or your next door neighbor has them and won't do anything about them and you keep throwing good money after bad trying to get rid of them in your own home. What stories I do hear more and more these days are stories of moving, thinking you have resolved the problem, and waking up in your new home with bites. That is right, uprooted your life and brought the bed bugs with you. So how do you avoid transferring bed bugs with you to a new location if you are moving?

Start with your new location. Hire a bed bug canine to inspect the new location before signing any leases or mortgage papers. Ask your new neighbors if there has been any problems. Once you know the new place is clear, then you need to make special arrangements with the moving company. Let them know that you want to fumigate the truck contents before moving them into the new location. This will require 24 hours of storage in a secure location. Most larger pest control companies like Western Fumigation or any fumigation company at this point will work with you and the moving company to get this accomplished. It's a little pricey, but worth the money. Another option is to hire a few moving pods and have the pods fumigated if the moving company is nervous about the fumigation in the truck.

The other way to go is to hire a "heat truck" to move your items. These trucks are usually smaller in comparison to moving trucks, so it may take a few days to move all your items and several heating charges. Basically the items are placed on the truck, moved tot he new location, and heated for several hours to kill any bugs inside.

What not to do is have your items moved to an off site location to be unloaded into a heat or fumigation chamber, then once heated or fumigated, placed back on the truck to be taken to your new location. What if bugs fell off of the items onto the truck floor while moving the stuff? You are back to square one at that point.

I never said it is easy to move away and leave the bugs behind, but it can be done if you are smart and methodical.

1 comment:

Pest Control Products said...

Another great post. Bedbugs are a huge problem and many people are unknowingly bringing them back home whilst returning from holiday. Check your suitcases carefully whilst packing to ensure you don't take them back with you.