As Neil deGrasse Tyson has reminded us in the revamped Cosmos series, natural selection is truly a beautiful thing. As Charles Darwin first asserted in the 19th century, the variations in the genome known as mutations are what give way to diversity in life, and ultimately lead to the evolution of new species with characteristics that them a particular advantage to thrive in their environment.
This process starts off as accidental, with many mutations happening randomly in the process of DNA copying. But the resulting changes in the phenotype – or outward physical appearance – can either be appealing or off-putting to potential mates; beneficial or a hinderance to their personal survival. Science is fascinating.
However, you might choose to utter a different F-word other than fascinating when you realize some household pests – like our old friend the bed bug – have evolved a resistance to pesticides. The EPA has cleared more than 300 different pesticides for use against bed bugs, yet these stubborn critters are still surviving a large number of approved chemical cocktails. Even when unwelcome biting bugs seem to survive your every attempt to poison them, there is still hope.
When pesticides have failed you, it’s never too late to try the most effective eradication method: heat remediation. When properly administered, exposure to high temperatures has been proven to exterminate bed bugs at every stage of the life cycle. Those clever little buggers would be hard-pressed to avoid death by heat!
While adults and nymphs die within 15 minutes at temperatures greater than 113ºF, it can take up to 60 minutes to kill eggs. To ensure the lowest chance of reinfestation, our team will expose affected rooms to temperatures beyond the thermal death point for several hours at a time.
Thanks to the miracles of science, pesticides are yielding a lower and lower success rate when combating bed bugs. If you are at your wit’s end with bed bugs, don’t give up – call Bed Bug Solutions and we’ll turn up the heat!