If you manage any type of facility that houses sleeping residents or guests, you probably have a lot of details to worry about night after night. Are my residents comfortable? Are their beds sturdy and well-made? Is there any danger of elemental damage or bug infestation within their rooms?
One of the primary issues that sleeping facility managers or overseers face is the presence of bed bugs. Bed bugs are one of the most common and most harmful insects that can take up residence in bedding, mattresses, and carpets, and though they are difficult to see with the naked eye, they inflict incredibly itchy and painful bites around the ankles and feet of unfortunate sleepers. Depending on the local climate, you may face a variety of different issues when it comes to bed bugs and other pesky insects.
Can Bed Bugs Live in the Cold?
Some believe that extremely low temperatures are useful for warding off pests; however, when it comes to bed bugs, the truth of this statement is more complex than you might think.
Bed bugs thrive and reproduce more effectively in temperatures within the range of human and animal blood, which sits between 70 and 80 degrees. Bed bugs as we know them today are descended from an insect that once lived in caves, allowing them to adapt to cooler temperatures if they have to. They can survive and even feed and reproduce as normal in temperatures as low as 46 degrees. However, though these insects are resilient, they will die if exposed to below 0 temperatures for several days.
Removing Bed Bugs Through Freezing
A common tactic to remove bed bugs from a home or commercial facility is the use of freezing. A professional pest control company can safely freeze your infested items for a predetermined period of time, achieving the proper temperature and time under exposure to kill the bed bugs present.
Though some people facing bed bug infestations in residences choose to use their home freezer, it may be inconvenient or even unsanitary to store items from other rooms in the freezer for multiple days at once. Additionally, many common freezers are unable to reach the level of cold needed to kill bed bugs infesting an item; the center of the item must be able to reach 0 degrees for multiple days. Pest control specialists can freeze nearly any item in their industrial-grade freezers in addition to offering entire-facility treatment, preventing future infestations.
Freezing Bed Bugs: Does It Work?
Freezing bed bug-infested items does effectively kill bed bugs, provided that it’s done in a cold enough freezer for the proper amount of time. However, if the rest of the facility isn’t thoroughly checked for bed bugs, the likelihood of re-infestation after the frozen items are returned is extremely high. Other common ways to get rid of bed bugs once and for all are pesticide spray, professionally administered heat and steam, and the freezing of bed bugs using carbon dioxide. Since many species of pest have become immune to common pesticides, extreme temperatures are often the best way to eradicate them from your facility.
ESS Universal manufactures and supplies high-quality, cost-effective commercial grade beds, mattresses, and furniture to camps, hostels, shelters, dorms and more. View our entire line of furniture products including our popular waterproof foam mattress for institutional use, single metal bed frames, single over single bunk beds, single over double bunk beds, and triple bunk beds. Download our catalog for detailed information on our complete product line.
