Bed bugs rarely announce themselves. By the time most people call, the bites have been blamed on mosquitoes or fleas for a couple of weeks, and the infestation has had time to spread from one mattress seam into the headboard, the nightstand and the baseboard behind the bed. If you are waking up with bites in rows or clusters on arms, shoulders and legs, strip the bed and look at the piping of the mattress, the corners of the box spring, and the crevices of the frame. You are looking for live insects the size of an apple seed, pale shed skins, and small dark spotting that smears if you wipe it with a damp cloth. Finding any one of those is enough to stop guessing and get an inspection.
A proper job starts with a room-by-room inspection, not a spray. We confirm the species, map how far it has travelled, and identify the harbourage points — because bed bugs live within a short distance of where you sleep, and the pattern of where they are hiding tells us how long they have been there. From there, treatment is usually a combination approach: a direct application to seams, voids, frames and furniture joints, a residual product along the travel routes they use between harbourage and host, and in heavier cases, targeted use of heat or steam on items that cannot be treated chemically. Encasements on the mattress and box spring trap anything left inside and make future inspection far easier.
One visit almost never finishes it. Eggs are protected from most products and hatch over the following days, so a follow-up is part of the plan, not a sign something went wrong. Any company that promises a single-visit cure on an established infestation is either overselling or planning to undertreat.
What you do before we arrive affects the result more than almost anything else. Bag and launder bedding and clothing from affected rooms on the hottest cycle the fabric allows and keep it sealed afterwards. Pull furniture off the walls so baseboards are reachable. Do not start throwing out mattresses and sofas — dragging infested furniture through the house spreads bugs into hallways and other rooms, and most items can be treated.
Price comes down to how many rooms are involved, how cluttered they are, whether it is a single-family home or a unit sharing walls with neighbours, and whether the infestation has moved beyond the bedroom into living room upholstery. Apartments and duplexes in Mandeville and the surrounding Northshore towns often need adjoining units checked, since bugs move through shared voids. We quote after looking, not over the phone, and estimates are free.
Palus Property Defense is licensed and insured, and the work is carried out by licensed contractors. We cover Mandeville along with Madisonville, Abita Springs and Baker, Monday to Friday, 8AM to 6PM, with same-day service available when the schedule allows. Work is backed by a satisfaction guarantee, and we accept several payment methods — ask when you call.
Before you book anyone, ask how many follow-up visits are included, what preparation they expect from you in writing, and whether they will inspect adjoining rooms or units rather than only the one you reported. Call us to arrange an inspection.