As we slept, little did we know that we and our dog were being bitten by bed bugs. My husband and I had no reaction to them feeding on us. Our dog is plagued with allergies, so we thought his sores were related to food and other environmental factors we had been discovering, so we didn’t know he was the bug’s dinner, too.

Two weeks ago, we found a couple bugs on our comforter. My first thought was that it was a tick, but having never seen one, I started looking at pictures and soon discovered it was a bed bug. What was worse was I had seen one about a month prior, but didn’t connect what it might be until there was another sighting that morning. We had stored a few things under the bed, so we quickly started removing the items, only to find a nest of them in a duffle bag. There were all sizes, including several babies the size and color of sugar granules and larger ones, the size of watermelon seeds.

After we did this we lifted the mattress and found that they had been living in 6 different spots on the box spring, at each post of the frame. In between the mattress they weren’t initially apparent. We vacuumed the mattress and left it standing straight up. Within a few minutes several baby bugs started coming out of the bottom the mattress. In horror we hauled out the entire bed, all the bedding and the Christmas presents we had been hiding underneath, and immediately took it all to the dump.

While my husband was disposing of our belongings, I started looking for an exterminator. Fortunately for us I quickly came across the NW K9 Detectives and saw the picture of Magic. I read testimonials on both this website and another and saw that Susan, Magic and her team had earned the highest rating. There was something about what I read from others that encouraged me to read more. I really liked knowing that the treatment was heat rather than chemicals.

When Susan called me back, she was professional, friendly and reassuring, and I quickly felt her help. It didn’t take long for me to trust that she and her team were folks we could trust to do the job well and to be alone in our home. She listened to our situation and helped us decide what the best option might be. Susan gave us several choices and never pushed us to the more expensive ones. She guided us on what we needed to do to stop the spreading of the bugs and also how to prepare the house, in case we went with her company. Never once did we feel pushed.

Even though she was booked, she fit us in that weekend. She thoroughly prepared us for what was going to happen and what we needed to do to project our belongings from the extensive heat. She communicated often. Bright and early the men showed up. They, too, were friendly and respectful. Before they started heating the house, they went through to make sure there was nothing that could get damaged. When the process was over, they called us and we returned. Because it is heat there is no smell and residue. It was safe for us and our dog to return and sleep there right away. Other than it being quite hot, we only needed to spend a few minutes putting things back.

About an hour later, we received a follow up email from Susan. She guided us through the next stage, which was prevention. Because we can’t tell if they are back, as we don’t know if we have been bitten, we learned how to protect ourselves and started bug proofing. This week she comes back out for a follow up and will treat in the cracks to give us yet another layer of protection.

I wanted to write a testimonial because at a time like this, it is hard to make an emotionally sound decision. You want so badly to get these things out of your house. In many ways it feels like a violation. You don’t know where they came from, how long they have been there, if they are gone and if and when they are coming back. Our bed was gone, our belongings were all in bags and there is great loss…you just want it all to end. Susan and her team were there for us.

The whole thing is creepy, unnerving and a bit embarrassing. We were happy they didn’t show up in a white truck with a big bug on top of it! The guys came and left without much attention, and we instantly began sleeping more soundly, knowing the bugs had met their demise.

Thank you NW K9 Detectives.