Bed Bug Treatment Preparartion

How to Prepare for a Bed Bug Inspection

Proper preparation of a room for bed bug treatment will reduce the spread of bed bugs and help ensure a successful treatment.

You may see some bed bugs in the affected rooms after the initial treatment. If you see bed bugs after treatment to a specific room or area, please call us immediately for assistance.

Although we strive to eliminate bed bugs, please be aware they may be reintroduced to your facility immediately after we release the room to you.

• Rooms: Room(s) to be vacant and not to be reoccupied until Baxter releases room (usually 2-7 hours depending on what techniques were used) for reentry.
• Beds: Strip beds of all linens and place in plastic bags for immediate laundering. Always use hot, soapy water when laundering items.
• Mattress: If disposing of infested mattress and box spring, wrap in plastic before discarding.
• Box Spring: Vacuum seams and general surface area of mattress and box spring. DO NOT FORGET UNDERSIDE OF BOX SPRING. Remove vacuum cleaner bag and discard outside of the facility immediately.
• Curtains: Remove curtains and shades and place in plastic bags for immediate laundering. Always use hot, soapy water when laundering items.
• Walls: Detach, but leave in room all items attached to walls (pictures, mirrors, lights fixtures, outlet covers, switch plates, headboards, etc).
• Carpet: Loosen the carpet from tack strip at floor/wall junction around the perimeter of the rooms.
• Floors: Vacuum floors using crack & crevice tool under wall baseboard.
• Furniture: Vacuum seams and general surface area of all sofa and chair cushions.
• Sofa: If sofa contains foldout sofa bed, vacuum that as well.
• Cloth Covers: Remove cloth cover from bottom of box spring and chairs and discard. (Please Note: If cloth covers are still on, Western will remove and discard them during treatment).
• Clothing: Remove all clothing from drawers & closets and place them in plastic bags. Then, launder & dry at the hottest setting possible for the material. Do not remove from bags until room is cleared.
• Books: Place all books and other items from shelves and closets into plastic bags and leave in room.

What Happens After a Bed Bug Treatment
The room should be reset after Baxter clears it of bed bugs.

This includes:

• Carpet: Re-attaching the carpet to tack strip and plastic/carpet baseboard to wall.
• Furniture: Re-assembly and adjustment of furniture.
• Wallpaper: Re-securing loose wallpaper.
• Decorations: Re-hanging pictures, curtains, and decorative items.
• Cleaning: Generally cleaning the room prior to occupation.

The failure to complete these items will significantly hinder Baxter's ability to control bed bugs.