After leaving your home for extermination, did you asked yourself, “how long after bed bug treatment can I return home?”
Well, the overall treatment would last for about an hour or so.
But is it necessary to stay away from your home after its treatment?
The answer to that is yes.
Other questions would fill up your mind and add to your curiosity.
But don’t worry. We’re here to help you out.
So, read on!
Preparing For A Bed Bug Extermination
This treatment would cover a whole day.
So, you might want to take a day off if you’re going to get rid of these bugs.
You should prepare every room of your home before the actual treatment.
It’s unnecessary, but some household owners, especially your moms.
They want to reassure themselves that your house would be safe and prepared.
These homeowners would keep all valuable things inside closed cabinets.
And drawers in preparing for the treatment.
Sometimes, they also give enough access for exterminators.
Adjusting the position of the furniture about 1 foot from the wall.
These are some of the things you need to do before the exterminator comes.
If you want to know more, read on.
During The Treatment
After the exterminator has come, you certainly don’t want to stay during the treatment.
So, stroll somewhere, like in the park, or stay in a coffee shop.
Or you could invite your friends into a hangout/trip or something.
However, don’t travel to somewhere far for now.
You should wait for about an hour then go back to your house.
Collect your keys from the exterminator and double-check that all of your house or home’s doors are locked.
Check it out from the outside.
It would be advantageous if you avoided inhaling the chemicals sprayed on your property.
After this, you can now go on with your trip!
How Long After Bed Bug Treatment Can You Return Home?
The average time before you can go back to your house is approximately 4 hours.
But it varies due to different reasons.
So, we have gathered some of the factors to answer “how long after bed bug treatment can I return home?”
Factor #1. Chemicals
Are you curious why you should stay out of your house after the treatment?
This factor is the main reason why.
If you have an asthmatic family member.
You would want to stay out a bit longer because the chemicals would be detrimental to their health.
Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are some of the most common chemicals used in controlling bed bugs.
Almost all exterminators also use them.
Some bed bugs are resistant to these chemicals.
But, it will still force them to move into a new place after being affected temporarily.
So, inhaling these chemicals would cause harmful damage to your health.
It would help if you let them diffuse a bit longer to keep yourself safe.
Factor #2. The severity of the bed bug infestation
The higher the number of the bedbug population, the higher the volume of the pesticide.
So, if you can observe and suspect many bed bugs lingering in your furniture, you should inform your exterminator.
They will spray every corner and edge of your room with residual chemicals.
And if needed, exterminators would spray twice in your home to be sure.
The higher the volume and concentration sprayed onto your home would result in a longer waiting time.
It would take an additional two hours for this volume to diffuse onto the atmosphere of your house.
And the chemicals would need a longer time to penetrate onto your upholstered furniture, mattresses, and carpets.
Factor #3. Room ventilation
The ability of your house to become well-ventilated would also affect the amount of time you should wait before coming home.
And why is that?
Ventilation is the process that includes the equal distribution of outside air and the air in your household.
So, if your home has few windows, the room ventilation is flawed.
Since the air inside of your house will most likely get trapped and was limited to go outside.
This variable will decide how long you should wait before returning home.
Because the fresh air from the outside will take time to replace the air in your home filled with chemicals.
And it would take longer for the chemicals to diffuse.
Moreover, if you are living in an apartment.
There’s a higher chance that you’ll have fewer windows and have a much closer area.
Once you return home, you would still inhale the intensity of the chemicals from the treatment.
Factor #4. Size of your home
If your home is more extensive, it will take more than an hour for the actual treatment.
Exterminators spray every corner of your home.
And they are trained not to leave any part of your home unsprayed.
They aim to make your house bed bug-free.
As a result, if your home is more expensive, you should wait longer.
It would also take time for the outside air to be evenly distributed throughout the interior atmosphere.
Wrapping Up
And this is where the article has come to an end.
We have addressed your question, “how long after bed bug treatment can I return home?”
There are steps to consider in preparing for a bed bug extermination.
After you return to your home, you might want to open up your windows for ventilation.
If you want to know what to do after a bed bug treatment, check this out!
Thank you for reading!