Most bed bug treatment quotes you’ll receive in New York City are for chemical spray programs. That’s not necessarily wrong — but it’s worth understanding what chemical treatment can and can’t do before you commit to it.
Chemical treatments cannot reliably kill bed bug eggs. That’s documented science. Because eggs survive most pesticide applications, chemical programs require two to three visits spaced two weeks apart, with significant preparation required before each one.
Here’s the bigger problem specific to New York City: the bed bug populations in this city have developed documented resistance to pyrethroid-based pesticides, which are the most commonly used class of chemical treatment. Applying a product that the bugs have already adapted to is, at best, a partial solution.
Heat has no resistance problem. Sustained exposure at the temperatures we use kills every life stage, regardless of what chemical treatments have been tried before. For New York City’s pre-war apartments specifically — buildings with plaster walls, original wood framing, and dense interconnected building cavities — heat treatment isn’t just an option. It’s often the only method that actually reaches where the bugs are living.