It is an undisputed fact that at elevated temperatures, heat will eventually kill a living organism. Animals, humans, insects, viruses and spores are all susceptible to the repercussions.
With this idea in mind, many pest control companies, like Jon Nelson’s business — Precision Environmental in California — have turned heat destructive agents into their biggest line of defense. As an alternative to chemical fumigation or costly demolition, heat is widely used to exterminate pests such as termites and bed bugs, and to remove mold and bacteria that rats and mice may have left behind.
The first thing that any extermination company needs to determine is the time and temperature ratio that it takes to eliminate the specific problem they are looking to treat. This equation also determines which organisms cannot be extinguished from this process, because although heat kills all organisms, there does come a point where elevated temperatures left for too long could harm a home or building’s structural elements. And that outcome is to be avoided at all costs.
But, there really is no need to worry. Companies such as Precision Environmental have been able to carefully pinpoint the exact temperature and duration it takes so that only the pests and bacteria are harmed and not your home’s structure or your belongings.
For example, says Nelson, his team uses a temperature of 130 degrees to get rid of bed bugs and 150 degrees to kill most strands of bacteria. And, besides clearing your home of these hazards, heat also has a number of other benefits including:
- Ridding the air of allergens that gather on curtains, bedding, carpets, and other areas
- Drying walls, floors and ceiling of any moisture that could potentially lead to mold.
- Deodorizing the air in your home.
- Raising air quality in your home.
For excessive contamination, such as high levels of mold or the presence of mice, heat may not be enough to successfully complete the job. Still, says Nelson, it is always a smart idea to ask the company who performs the extermination to follow up with a heat process, such as ThermaPureHeat, because more traditional processes (those not involving heat) typically use harsh chemicals, leave behind a foul odor, and are ultimately unsuccessful at ridding your home of all harmful bacteria.
The bottom line is that heat is a toxic-free method of eliminating harmful organisms from your home. And, whether the heating process is used on its own or in conjunction with another method, your home and the air you breathe will be much cleaner as a result.
