Before the technician arrives: your prep window
Complete prep the evening before treatment. Review the [full prep checklist](/guide/how-to-prepare-for-bed-bug-treatment) for heat treatment. Key morning-of actions: ensure pets are removed, plants are staged, and heat-sensitive items (vinyl records, candles, lithium battery devices you've elected to stage) are in a cool area outside the treatment zone. Pull furniture 30 cm from walls. Leave your key or access code with the technician instructions.
| Time window | Phase | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| Hour 0–1.5 | Arrival & setup | Technician brings in heating equipment (propane or electric), fans, and temperature loggers. Heaters are positioned to provide even circulation. Temperature loggers placed at mattress level, wall-adjacent floor, and any monitored harborage sites. |
| Hour 1.5–2.5 | Heat-up phase | Heaters activate. Room temperature climbs from ambient (~20°C) to target (50–55°C). Fans circulate heat to all surfaces. The technician monitors logger data remotely or in person. |
| Hour 2.5–8.5 | Hold phase | Temperature maintained at 50–55°C for 4–6 hours. All bed bug life stages — including deep harborage in mattress seams, headboard voids, and wall cavities — reach lethal temperature. Temperature loggers confirm the hold duration at each monitored point. |
| Hour 8.5–9 | Cool-down | Heaters are turned off. Fans run for 30–45 minutes to return the space to a safe re-entry temperature (below 35°C). Technician performs a post-treatment inspection of primary harborage sites. |
| Hour 9+ | Re-entry | Technician confirms temperature is safe, inspects treatment area, deploys post-treatment monitoring devices (interceptor traps), and briefs you on the monitoring protocol. You can return to the home. |
What the temperature loggers actually confirm
Temperature loggers placed throughout the treatment zone create a documented temperature record at each location. This is important for two reasons: quality assurance for the client (you can review the log and confirm the target temperature was reached for the required duration at each monitored site) and documentation for any strata council or landlord requiring proof of treatment. Wild Pest provides a temperature log summary as part of the post-treatment report for all heat treatments.
What to notice on re-entering the home
- The home will smell slightly warm and possibly slightly dusty — heat treatment doesn't introduce chemicals, but it circulates settled dust.
- Mattress seams and headboard surfaces will look the same — dead bugs remain in harborage until vacuumed out.
- Interceptor traps will be deployed under bed frame legs — check these on the schedule provided (day 7, 14, 28, 42).
- Any dead bugs visible on surfaces are expected — they're not a sign of treatment failure, just bugs that died in the open harborage areas. Vacuum them up.
- No re-entry restriction after cool-down — heat treatment leaves no chemical residue and no exclusion period applies.