If you've found bed bugs in a Montana home, the job is a careful inspection of every sleeping area, a targeted treatment of beds, furniture and the cracks around them, and a follow-up visit to catch any that hatch afterwards. Bed bugs don't come from dirt, and they're not a sign of a bad home. They're hitchhikers, and they can turn up anywhere people bring things in.
How bed bugs reach Montana homes
Montana has a lot of movement. People buy into new complexes, rent out units, move in and out, and furnish new homes, sometimes partly with second-hand pieces. Each of those is a chance for bed bugs to arrive. The most common routes we see are:
- A second-hand bed base, mattress or couch
- Luggage after a trip, especially from a hotel, guesthouse or overnight bus
- A rental unit where a previous tenant had them
- Visitors staying over, or children's sleepovers
- Moving boxes from a previous home that had an untreated problem
In complexes, bed bugs can also travel between units through gaps around plug points and pipes, though that's slower and less common than people fear.
How to tell it's bed bugs
The bites alone won't confirm it. They look similar to mosquito or flea bites and some people don't react at all. What you need is physical evidence. Check along the seams and piping of the mattress, behind the headboard, in the joints of the bed base and in the slats. You're looking for:
- Small rust-coloured or black spots, which are droppings and blood marks
- Pale, empty shed skins
- Tiny white eggs stuck in crevices
- The bugs themselves: flat, oval, reddish-brown, about the size of an apple seed
If you're getting bites but can't find any of this, it may be something else. Our page on biting insects in Montana looks at the other usual suspects, and Montana flea control is worth reading if you have pets.
Our bed bug treatment
Bed bug work is detailed. We inspect every bed and couch in the home, not just the room where bites happened, along with skirting, curtain rails, picture frames and plug points near beds. We then treat the infested furniture and the hiding places around it with registered products suited to bed bugs. Because eggs are harder to kill than adults, we come back for a follow-up treatment to catch the next generation. We'll give you a short preparation list before we arrive: what to wash on a hot cycle, what to bag, and what to leave in place so we can treat it.
For landlords and managing agents, treating between tenants is the best time to do it, while the unit is empty and easy to inspect properly. Managing agents with several units can see the other services we offer locally on our pest control page for Montana.
What people get wrong
Moving to the spare room or the couch to escape the bites. Bed bugs follow the person, so all this does is spread them to a second sleeping area. The other big mistake is throwing out the mattress straight away. If the bed base, headboard and surrounding cracks aren't treated, the bugs simply move onto the new mattress. And please don't drag an infested mattress through the complex to the bins without wrapping it first, or you may hand the problem to a neighbour.
A tip for Montana buyers and renters
Before you bring second-hand furniture into a new home, check it outside in daylight, especially seams, joints and the underside. For a bed or couch, a torch and a credit card run along the seams will turn up most signs. If you're moving into a rental, look at the bed base and headboard on day one, before you unpack.
What does bed bug treatment cost?
It depends on how many rooms and pieces of furniture are affected, how established the infestation is and the follow-up visits needed. A single bedroom caught early is quite a different job from a whole house where bugs have spread into couches and other rooms. We'll inspect and quote. Honestly, bed bugs are one of the few pests where DIY rarely works, because shop sprays don't reach the eggs or the cracks they hide in.
For a step-by-step look at what you can do, read our guide on how to get rid of bed bugs. For the wider service, see bed bug control in Pretoria, and we also treat bed bugs in Lynnwood.
We're SAPCA registered and have been doing this for 25 years. Our treatments come with a 3-month guarantee: if the bed bugs come back within three months, we come back. Call 012 012 5526, or WhatsApp us a clear photo of what you've found on the mattress and we'll tell you if it's bed bugs.
Questions we get asked
Can I get bed bugs in a brand-new Montana house?
Yes. Bed bugs come in with people and furniture, not with the building, so a new house is no protection.
Do I need to throw away my mattress?
Usually not. Most mattresses can be treated. Replacing it without treating the bed base and room just gives the bugs a new home.
How many treatments will I need?
Most homes need at least two visits, because eggs survive the first treatment and need to be caught once they hatch.
Can bed bugs spread between units in a complex?
They can, through gaps around pipes and plug points, but most spread is through people and furniture.
Should I tell my landlord?
Yes, as soon as possible. Early treatment is quicker, and in rentals the unit may need treatment between tenants.