The manual’s table
The Michigan Manual for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs, written by the state health department with MSU Extension and the pest industry on the working group, compares treatment methods in a pros-and-cons table. On whole-unit heat, which the dead 2019 bill would have defined as “thermal remediation” (“using intense temperature to eradicate bedbugs”), the manual says:
| Heat: pros (manual’s words) | Heat: cons (manual’s words) |
|---|---|
| “Kills all bed bug stages including eggs” | “Can fail if all locations in unit do not attain upper lethal temperature (~120F)” |
| “No chemical residue” | “Typically costs more than other methods of treatment” |
| “When properly used, effectively treats the whole unit at once” | “NOT a ‘do it yourself’ method. Untrained staff should not attempt thermal treatments.” |
| “One of the only bed bug management methods that has potential to be used alone” | Recommendation: a “trained PMP must monitor for appropriate temperature and time requirements” |
On pesticides, the same table: “Bed bugs are becoming resistant to many commonly used pesticides,” and “Pesticides used alone will not be effective in eliminating a bed bug infestation.” Elsewhere the manual reports a national study in which 80% of populations were resistant to pyrethroids in some degree and “several samples from Michigan bedbug populations were found to be highly resistant.”
The line that decides it
“Pesticides used alone will not be effective.” A chemical program is a program: products in the right places, encasements, a follow-up visit, and prep done twice. MSU Extension’s after-treatment article explains the follow-up: “If the PMP used conventional treatment, there may be some surviving eggs that will hatch. ... A conventional chemical treatment program will usually require at least one follow-up treatment two weeks later.” Heat kills the eggs on the day, which is why it is “one of the only” methods with the “potential to be used alone.”
The temperatures
The manual: “Their upper lethal temperature is 120° F causing death within minutes, but longer exposures to temperatures above 113° F are also lethal.” The peer-reviewed figures we treat to are stricter for eggs: Kells and Goblirsch (2011) found 99% of adults dead at 118.9°F but needed 130.6°F for the same result on eggs, and at 113°F eggs survived seven hours. Grand Rapids heat operators advertise rooms at 140 to 145°F; the room is not the problem. The box-spring corner and the sofa frame are, and that is what the manual’s first con is about.
Where chemical is the right call
- A single room caught early, with evidence confined to one bed. Heating a whole house for one headboard is the “typically costs more” case.
- Buildings treating in rounds where units cannot all be vacated the same day. The follow-up is scheduled at booking, not when someone calls back.
- Where heat-sensitive contents cannot leave and cannot be protected.
Where heat is the right call
- Anything established. Multiple rooms, upholstered furniture, clutter. Heat treats the clutter in place; chemical needs it bagged, and MSU’s prep list for chemical is long.
- Resistant populations, which in Michigan is the default assumption.
- When one day matters: a turnover, a move, a tenant who cannot prep twice.
Cost, honestly
Nobody in Grand Rapids publishes a price for either method, us included; the inspection sets it. The reference figures are national: HomeAdvisor’s cost guide puts heat at $1–$3 per square foot and chemical at $2–$5, which surprises people who assume heat is always dearer. Per visit, chemical is usually less; per job, with the return visit and the second prep, the gap narrows. The estimator →
What neither method is
A spray from the hardware store. The manual: “Bug bombs ARE NOT effective against bed bugs and should not be used.” Cold is a real third option only for items, not rooms: “freezing bed bug infested items at <0°F for two or more hours is effective,” and 0°F is “colder than most household freezer compartments.”
We will tell you which one you need
Inspection first. Call (616) 585-0120 or send the quote form.
Call (616) 585-0120