Customers call me after treatment worried that it didn't work. Most of the time we sort it out with one question: is the bug alive, and where did you find it?
Step 1: Is it alive, or is it a leftover?
After a treatment, you may still find:
- Dead bed bugs. They don't disappear on their own, and they often turn up when you clean or move furniture back.
- Shed skins (cast skins). These are the empty, pale shells young bed bugs leave behind as they grow. They can be months old. See the bed bug life cycle.
- Old dark spots on mattress seams, the box spring or the bed frame.
None of those, by themselves, shows that bed bugs are still living in the home. A bug that walks, or a fresh, plump one, is what we need to look at. If you're not sure what you found, compare it to our photos in what do bed bugs look like, or send us a picture.
Bites alone aren't proof either. People react to bites very differently, and other things can cause marks that look similar [3]. See bed bug bites vs. mosquito bites.
Step 2: Where did you find it?
- In a treated room: that's the case our warranty is built for. Contact us.
- In a room or item that wasn't treated: a car, an office, a bag that was packed away, or a room that wasn't part of the treatment. Bed bugs can live for months without feeding [1], so they can wait in belongings and untreated spaces. Tell us where it was so we can check.
- Right after a trip, a guest, or bringing furniture home: bed bugs ride in on luggage, clothes and furniture [1][2]. A new bug can be a new introduction, not the old infestation. See how to avoid bringing bed bugs home from travel.
What's normal after heat treatment
Heat kills bed bugs and their eggs in the treated area during the visit. The space usually reaches temperature in about 15 minutes to 2 hours, and then we hold it for about 3 to 5 hours. See does heat treatment kill bed bugs.
Even after heat, you may see a few live bugs in the first week. We also treat the baseboards in heat-treated rooms, so a couple of stragglers sometimes crawl out and cross that treatment. They're usually dying off within the first week, and that's normal. If you're still seeing live bugs in a heat-treated room after the first week, contact us promptly. Under our warranty, live activity in heat-treated rooms is retreated with Aprehend at no extra charge when the prep and aftercare requirements were followed. Repeat heat treatments aren't part of the warranty.
What's normal after Aprehend
Aprehend works differently. It's a fungal treatment, and a bed bug has to walk across it, usually on the way to feed on someone sleeping in the room. That takes time, so seeing some live bugs in the first weeks after Aprehend doesn't mean it failed.
That's why our warranty asks you to wait 45 days before retreatment. If activity continues, we schedule retreatment between days 45 and 60. Keep reporting any sightings right away, even during the wait, so we have a record. And don't wipe, vacuum or disturb the areas where Aprehend was applied, because that can remove it.
Hybrid treatments
If you had heat in some rooms and Aprehend in others, each area follows its own rules: heat-treated rooms follow the heat terms, and Aprehend areas follow the Aprehend timeline.
What not to do
- Don't grab a store-bought spray, fogger, dust or essential oil. Using these in covered areas without our written approval can void your warranty, and they tend to scatter bugs instead of solving the problem. See why DIY bed bug treatments fail.
- Don't start moving beds and furniture into other rooms. That can spread bugs into rooms that are clean.
- Don't throw out the mattress yet. See do mattress encasements work.
- Do keep following the aftercare sheet you were given (laundering, handling, cleaning and reentry).
How to report a sighting to us
Call or email with:
- Your name and address
- The date you saw it
- The room where you found it
- A photo, if you have one (and the bug itself, taped or in a sealed bag)
Reports made before your warranty expires stay eligible even if the follow-up visit happens after the expiration date. The 6 months run from your initial treatment date. Read the full 6-month warranty.
Get a Free Quote
Not one of our customers yet and seeing bugs after someone else's treatment? We'll inspect and give you a straight answer.
- Richmond: (804) 346-5667
- Charlottesville: (434) 227-4402
- Fredericksburg: (540) 870-0254
- Hampton Roads / Virginia Beach: (757) 600-6073
Sources
- National Pesticide Information Center (Oregon State University), Bed Bugs: https://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug/
- U.S. EPA, Bed Bug Prevention, Detection and Control: https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bug-prevention-detection-and-control
- CDC, About Bed Bugs: https://www.cdc.gov/bed-bugs/about/index.html
- Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Tech, Bed Bugs: How to Protect Yourself and Your Home (ENTO-31): https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/ENTO/ENTO-31/ENTO-31.html
--- Steve Hastings, VA license 17040. The Bed Bug Experts, a Southern Pest Eliminators Corp company.
Key takeaways
- One bug after treatment does not automatically mean the treatment failed.
- Dead bugs, shed skins, and old spots do not prove live activity.
- Save a live bug, take a photo, note the room and date, and contact us so we can verify it.