What the sources say
- Virginia Tech (2024): “Heat treatments do work! However, it is important to note that it is very common have a few bed bug survivors after a heat treatment,” and the company “needs to provide a follow-up inspection within a week.”
- OSU HYG-2105 (2020): infestations “often require more than one treatment.” The older OSU sheet’s rule for chemical programs: repeat “if bed bugs are present two weeks after the initial treatment.”
- OSU on timing: egg to adult takes “about 21 days at 86°F to 120 days at 65°F.” A quiet week proves nothing; a quiet month with empty interceptor cups proves a lot.
Our schedule
| Treatment | Follow-up | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Heat | Inspection within 7 days, booked before we leave | Re-check at 14 days if anything was found; residual dust already in the voids |
| Chemical | Visit 2 at about 14 days, booked at visit 1 | Visit 3 at 28 days if activity persists |
Your first two weeks
- Encasements on, and left on. Interceptor cups under every bed leg, checked every few days. How →
- Bagged clean laundry stays sealed until the follow-up.
- Do not rearrange furniture or bring in anything used.
- Photograph anything you find in a cup and send it; one bug in a cup after heat is normal, five is a reason to come back early.
When it is over
Thirty days with empty cups and no new spotting on the encasements. Keep the cups; they are the monitoring system for the next year.
Figures cited: Ohio State University Extension ENT-0103 (2025) and HYG-2105 (2020);
Virginia Cooperative Extension ENTO-583NP (2024); Kells & Goblirsch, Insects 2(3):412–422
(2011); Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County program pages (read 2026-10-08). Not medical advice.