PCO recommendation/s in central Indiana « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug pest control firms (PCOs), Bed bug k9s, etc.

PCO recommendation/s in central Indiana

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CimexNotAgain

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 2

Posted 3 months ago
Mon Aug 10 2009 19:28:47
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I have (well, my house has) bedbugs.

Does anyone have suggestions for PCOs in Indiana? I will check Angie's List, but its categories are for general pest extermination so many of the comments are not relevant.

I know which company offers ThermaPureHeat; it appears that the other thermal treatments aren't offered here.

I do not know of any companies that use dogs (and would welcome hearing of them). Likewise, I am not sure if Vikane is available here (from someone who knows what they are doing),

Of course, if you also have a cautionary tale of a PCO here, I would want to know that. Perhaps you could pm me if you don't want to post those comments to a forum.

Many thanks, I am impressed by the thoughtfulness of posters on this site.

CimexNot
worrywart1

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Joined: Jul '09
Posts: 29

Posted 3 months ago
Mon Aug 10 2009 20:05:58
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I'm sorry, I know you're looking for help, and I'm just another Indiana resident looking for the same information. (I'm more in what you'd call north central Indiana.) I've been looking for a really competent PCO who is a bedbug expert. You mentioned you know which company offers ThermaPureHeat. I assume you mean Gold Seal, and I have been talking to the people there but haven't arranged for them to come to my home for an inspection since it is a couple hours' drive. Is there some reason you are not interested in using them?

Apparently there are no bed bug dogs in Indiana. I called a place in Illinois that has a bed bug dog, but they said it was too far. I am at the stage where I am still trying to determine if we have BBs. I seem to be getting bites, but so far haven't had any conclusive evidence of BBs. I had a local PCO come and inspect and he took about 15 minutes to look around the mattresses and couch and said he didn't see anything. I was not really satisfied with that. Some of the PCOs I've read about on this forum seem so thorough and competent. I would be willing to pay more for someone like that but am discouraged about finding anyone.

So I guess I have 2 questions: is there some reason you're not interested in Gold Seal? And if you do get any PMs pro or con about PCOs in Indiana, I would greatly appreciate if you would share the info with me.
CimexNotAgain

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Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 2

Posted 3 months ago
Mon Aug 10 2009 20:33:49
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The folks at Gold Seal have been quite informative and I am not ruling them out. I am taking seriously the posts which advise talking to more than one PCO. However, I don't want anything to think that my post is a criticism of Gold Seal--implicit or otherwise.
buggyinsocal

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Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,129

Posted 3 months ago
Tue Aug 11 2009 0:46:24
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I'm a few thousand miles away, so I'm not much help at all (except in the sense of being a few thousand miles west, and therefore inclined to be up "late" at night to people to my east.)

I just wanted to say that I don't recall, off the top of my head, hearing from other people in Indiana before. Not everyone lists their location, and my memory is far from perfect. But you may not be getting responses simply because there may not have been a lot of people from your geographical part of the world dropping by here before.

I can tell you that honestly, if you're sure you've got bed bugs and those are already confirmed, a dog may not be necessary. Dogs are most useful when someone's got a bed bug problem but can't track down the source of the infestation to get confirmation to start treatment. Your post makes it sound like you've found actual bugs and you're sure.

If you live in a single family home, then something like Vikane or thermal should (if done properly) take care of the problem in one go. In that case, so long as you ask the PCO before treatment exactly what kind of proof of bugs would be required in order to have a retreatment done while you're under warranty, as long as you're not one of the people who doesn't react to bites, and you don't have neighbors who might be infested, and you're not reinfesting yourself from someplace like work, I might hold off on the dog.

I'm sorry, it's late here, and I'm tired, and probably not making a ton of sense. What I'm trying to say is this. Dogs are useful for pinpointing the source of a hard to pin down infestation. Your description makes it sound to me like you're sure you've got bugs, which suggests that you know where they are.

The fact that you're considering a whole house treatment suggests that you're in a single family home. That makes stragglers from an infested apartment next door less of a worry.

Most PCOs who provide thermal or Vikane will offer a warranty of a certain length of time. You should absolutely ask in advance what kind of proof of bugs they will want in order to retreat during that time. If you're comfortable with that, I don't see much reason to have the dog inspect after treatment. And inspecting before treatment if you're already doing the whole house seems redundant.

At any rate, I wish you the best of luck finding a good PCO, and I, for one, would appreciate it if after you've had successful treatment and been bed bug free for a few months, if you'd drop back by and let us know how your PCO worked out so that other people in your area will have that as a resource. don't hesitate to come back by with more questions, esp. if any of my assumptions above aren't true.
Indybugs

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Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 7

Posted 2 months ago
Tue Sep 15 2009 17:45:59
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CimexNotAgain, have you discovered anything more or gotten any more recommendations? I am in Indianapolis and looking for a PCO.