Bed Bug Exterminator

Bed Bugs

Meagher Pest Control provides bed bug removal to all homes and businesses in Southern Illinois. If you think you have bed bugs, contact Meagher now!

Bed Bug Treatments

During our bed bug removal service, Meagher’s pest technicians inspect your infested home or business and recommend the right treatment for you. We have the resources, expertise, and experience to provide a wide variety of bed bug treatments to suit any particular infestation.

Heat treatment uses direct heat to dehydrate and kill all bed bugs inhabiting a given space. A area heating plan is used to ensure that the entire infested area reaches the lethal temperatures required. Heat treatments may take 8 to 10 hours. Heat treatments are highly effective, but they may not be right for every infestation.

If heat is not a viable option, we may recommend a safe, non-toxic chemical pesticide treatment instead. Meagher’s chemical treatments reliably wipe out bed bugs at every stage of development.

Bed Bug FAQs

Bed bugs are insects in the Cimex genus that feed on human blood. These parasitic pests live near hosts and feed at night every five to seven days. Their bites don’t transmit diseases, but they could itch and trigger allergic reactions

Adult bed bugs are small (around 3/16” long), oval-shaped insects with flattened bodies. Before feeding, they’re brown or mahogany colored. They’re about the size, shape, and color of an apple seed. After feeding, an engorged bug’s abdomen fills with blood, elongating, becoming rounder, and turning reddish brown in color.

Bed bugs primarily spread by stowing away inside items people travel with or transport. When travelers bring luggage, boxes, bags, or even shoes into an infested area, the bugs naturally use them as a hiding place. Then, the traveler accidentally carries these hiding pests with them everywhere they go.

Cleanliness is not a factor in infestation. These pests are simply more likely to end up in any location a lot of people transport their belongings into and out of frequently. They tend to be a particularly common problem for hotels, apartment complexes, hospitals, and college dorms.

If you think you may have bed bugs, check for the following signs:

Bed Bug Remains: If even one live or dead specimen is found in your home, then you have an infestation. A single female adult bug can produce up to 250 eggs in her lifetime.

Bites: Bed bug bites are small, circular red marks that may itch or swell. They typically mark and bite an area on the body multiple times in groups or lines. Bites are common on any skin that is exposed while you’re sleeping.          

Stains: Bed bugs leave behind dark or rust-colored, greasy stains on surfaces when they’re crushed or when they produce waste. Look for small, dark, dirt-like smears or dot-shaped marks around the corners and bottom of your bed. They may also produce small, dot-shaped blood stains where they feed.

Shed skin: Bed bugs return to their hiding spots to molt after every blood meal. Shed skin is a translucent tan color and often becomes crusty, flakey, or hard. Check for the remains of shed skin around cracks and crevices near your bed and headboard.

Though any home can suffer infestation regardless of cleanliness, there are ways to minimize your home’s risk. Start by regularly taking the following steps:

Clean your Home/Business: A cluttered home or business provides great hiding places. The easier it is for bed bugs to hide in and around your home or business, the easier it is for infestations to grow and spread.

Wash Bedding & Clothing Regularly: Regularly washing your sheets and clothing won’t remove existing infestations, but it will eliminate any new eggs and reduce the number of future bed bugs. Hampers and other clothing containers are also a common place for the bedbugs to lay their eggs. Run all of your luggage through a dryer on a high heat setting to kill bed bugs clinging to it as soon as you get home.

Check Rooms When Traveling:When staying at a motel or hotel; check for infestation signs before you unpack your luggage. Pay particular attention to the bed and surrounding area. Check nearby picture frames, headboards, furniture, phones, and alarm clocks. Most bed bugs are found within 15 feet of the bed.

We are equipped and trained to solve all your pest problems and offer specialty services like termite treatments, rodent control and bed bugs. We also do commercial services as well. Meagher Pest Control is located in Southern IL and serve the entire area including Centralia IL, Mt Vernon, Salem IL, and Benton IL.