Tips For Working With Your Moving Company To Prevent Moving Bed Bugs

Posted on: 15 January 2016

If you're preparing for a move in an area that's struggled with bed bug infestations, you need to be proactive about ensuring that you leave the bed bugs behind. While you might be able to spend a few months seeking treatment from a local bed bug exterminator before you move, you'll still want to ensure that you don't bring any residual pests into your new property. The best way to do this is by working with a moving company to fumigate the entire moving truck. Here are a few things you should know about moving truck fumigation to eliminate bed bugs before you move.

When Should You Fumigate a Moving Truck?

Fumigating everything you own inside the moving truck is an efficient method of eliminating any residual bed bugs that may have survived the original home treatment. To do this, you'll want to have the moving company arrive about two days ahead of when you're actually going to move. Load the truck right away and then have it taken to a fumigation site. Most companies can do the fumigation in about a day, but ask about it in advance so that you can be sure that you have enough time.

How Does the Process Work?

Moving truck fumigation works in much the same way as tenting a house. The entire cargo area is sealed so that it is air-tight. Then, a gas product is introduced into the cargo area to eliminate the oxygen in the air. Without oxygen, the bed bugs and eggs will suffocate. After the treatment is complete, you'll be able to unseal the truck and air it out. The gas product used will break down and dissipate, so there's no residue left behind on your belongings.

What Are The Steps Involved?

In order to be sure that the treatment is as effective as it can possibly be, there are a few things that you need to do. You'll have to ensure that the gas can reach every single pocket of air inside that truck.

Wrap your furniture in heavy plastic sheeting while you move it from the house to the truck. The plastic will keep any bed bugs contained while the furniture is moved so that none of them escape and spread the problem. Remove the plastic right before you fumigate the truck.

Leave any glass, plastic or metal containers open. That's the best way to ensure that the gas reaches all of those crevices and corners.

Keep your plants and any other oxygen-reliant items out of the back of the truck. Since the gas used will draw all of the oxygen out of the air in the truck, it would kill any of these items.

Secure your prescription medications and any toiletries in plastic storage bags so that they are all protected. Use clear bags so that the pest control company can look at them and validate that there are no bed bugs in them.

Place zippered cases on your mattresses and the box springs. That way, any bed bugs on them will be contained in the case. Unzip and remove the cases once everything is on the truck.

Make sure that everything you own goes on the truck. This is important, because bed bugs can sneak into nearly any crack or crevice. By ensuring that everything is fumigated, you can prevent spreading the bed bugs to another property.

These steps will help you to eliminate any errant bed bugs in your belongings during your move. By working with a moving company that offers complete fumigation services through a pest control agency, you can take an active role in protecting your new home from a troublesome infestation.

To find a professional company, reach out to locals like Wheaton World Wide Moving, and see if they can offer fumigation services. 

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