This is such a creepy subject, I fain to write a review, but I am in hopes that someone else is…read moreencouraged by my experience.
Perhaps you may have heard that their is a current bed bug epidemic in the western world. As an international traveler, frequent visiter to New York City, and hostess to friends from the Big Apple, I was well aware of the infestation. Regardless of my due diligence to prevent their appearance, (deep breath, deep breath), those nasty buggers found their way into my home.
As can be expected, I went bizzurko! Clearing clutter, vacuuming, spraying over-the-counter pesticide, purchasing mattress and pillow protectors, sprinkling Diatomaceous Earth in every crack and crevice, tossing out unnecessary stuff...you name a home remedy, I probably tried it. I devoured everything I could find on the Internet to be rid of this nuisance and hours and hours of my time was consumed with annihilating it from my home.
You can't underestimate the amount of anxiety and lost sleep this pestilence pestilence creates in your life.
I battled it for nearly a year and half, with brief periods of reprieve, whenI finally thought I'd overcome. Finally, I acquiesced to the fact: professional help was needed.
I called four companies that specialize in bed bug treatment. Out of the four, Rochester Exterminating was by far the most informed. The employee I spoke with, Patty, was thoroughly knowledgeable on the subject, spending more than 20 minutes with me on the telephone, competently answering all of my questions.
Rochester Exterminating was the only company that offered both the conventional treatment (sprays and powders), and the heat treatment, (special heaters brought to the house to bring the interior temperature to a point that "cooks" the bugs). The heat treatment was extremely interesting to me, since I have pets and was very concerned about the impact of strong pesticides in the house.
An appointment with Ray was scheduled for the following day.
The meeting with Ray was surprisingly pleasant. He was good-natured, EXTREMELY knowledgeable, and truly sympathized with my situation. He spent more than an hour and half at my house looking at my mattress, box springs and other furniture. As life would have it, he could not see any evidence of bed bugs (chalk that up to my obsessive at-home treatments). Possibly I eradicated them, possibly they have just learned to become very good hiders, possibly the irritation on my skin could be from some other home invader.
Ray was genuinely interested in my plight and was not flippant about the financial investment required for extermination. Regardless of my panicky response of: "maybe we should treat the house, just to be safe," Ray set-up little sticky boxes around the house to "catch" evidence. I am to call him next week and report what I found. In the meantime, he said, relax, live life, and understand that this problem will go away. "We have studied bugs for years and years. Eliminating them is a science that we understand."
So, while in truth, Rochester Exterminating has not done any exterminating for me, yet. I know this is a trustworthy company. If, and when I do need an exterminator, they will be the ones I call. Are they the cheapest? No. Are they the most honest and competent? Absolutely!
