Bug Masters Pest Control FAQs

Bug Masters is a family-owned company with roots going back to the late 1950s, when Buddy Childress founded Childress Pest Control in Des Arc, Arkansas. We incorporated under the Bug Masters name in 1988 when we opened our North Little Rock office. Now in our third generation under President Allen Childress, we’ve been serving Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana for over 65 years.

Our primary service area is Central Arkansas, including Little Rock, North Little Rock, Conway, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Cabot, Benton, and Bryant. We also serve commercial and specialty accounts throughout Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. If you’re unsure whether we cover your location, contact us and we’ll confirm.

We treat a wide range of household and commercial pests, including:

• Bed bugs (heat remediation)
• Ants
• Cockroaches
• Rodents (mice and rats)
• Termites, fleas, and ticks
• Spiders
• Wasps and yellow jackets
• Seasonal pests such as crickets and beetles

If you’re dealing with something not on this list, contact us. We’ll assess the situation and let you know whether we’re the right fit.

We serve homeowners across Central Arkansas through our residential pest control program and commercial accounts across the Southeast. Our commercial work includes some of the most demanding environments in pest control: food processing facilities, healthcare settings, hotels, restaurants, multi-unit housing, and warehouses. The same zero-tolerance elimination approach we bring to a food processing audit applies to every residential home we service.

Every job starts with a thorough walkthrough of your property to identify current pest activity, entry points, and conditions that attract or sustain infestations. We use a prescriptive approach, assessing what your specific property needs rather than applying a generic treatment. At the end of the inspection, we’ll walk you through what we found and what we recommend.

Our residential service plan runs on four visits per year. Three of those visits focus on extensive exterior application to stop pests before they enter the home. The fourth includes a thorough interior inspection along with any treatment needed inside. Between scheduled visits, if you see pest activity, contact us and we’ll address it. Our goal is total elimination, not just ongoing management.

We apply all products in strict accordance with their labels, and they are safe for your family and pets when used as directed. For bed bug treatments specifically, we use heat remediation rather than chemical application, which means no pesticide residue and no waiting period before you can return to the treated space. We apply the same cautious product standards we use in healthcare facilities and food processing environments to every residential home.

For bed bugs, we use heat remediation, not chemical sprays. For general pest control, we use EPA-registered products applied in accordance with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles, meaning we use the least-invasive approach that achieves full elimination. We keep chemical use to a minimum, especially in sensitive environments like healthcare facilities and homes with children and pets.

Bug Masters provides bed bug heat remediation on a daily basis and is one of the most referred bed bug providers in the Southeast. Other pest control companies routinely send their bed bug work to us because of our equipment and success rate.

Heat remediation works by slowly raising the interior temperature of the treatment area to a level that kills bed bugs, larvae, and eggs at every life stage. We sustain that temperature long enough to ensure complete elimination throughout the space, including inside mattresses, furniture, and wall cavities where chemical treatments often miss. You can return to the treated space the same day.

Chemical treatments often require multiple visits, leave residue behind, and frequently miss eggs and larvae hidden deep in furniture or wall voids. Bed bugs have also developed increasing resistance to many common insecticides, which means chemical-only approaches fail more often than most people realize. Heat remediation eliminates bed bugs at every life stage in a single treatment, with no pesticide exposure and no residue. That’s why 98% of our residential heat treatments are resolved on the first visit.

Call us before you do anything else. Do not throw out furniture, bag items, or move things to other rooms. Moving infested items can spread the problem to other areas of your home. Let us confirm whether you actually have bed bugs first. Not every bite or mark is a bed bug bite. If we confirm an infestation, we’ll walk you through exactly what to expect and how to prepare for treatment.

Pricing depends on the size of the property, the extent of the infestation, and whether it’s a residential or commercial setting. We don’t quote a flat rate because every situation is different. Contact us to speak with a specialist and we’ll give you accurate pricing based on your specific property.

We work to get you on the schedule as quickly as possible. We understand that waiting makes pest problems worse, especially for bed bugs, which reproduce fast and spread easily. If you’re dealing with an urgent situation, let us know when you reach out and we’ll do everything we can to accommodate you.

Cost depends on the type of pest, the size of your property, and the level of service your situation requires. A general residential quarterly plan looks very different from a heat treatment for bed bugs or a compliance-grade program for a food processing facility. We start with an inspection and build pricing from there. Contact us for a free estimate and we’ll walk you through exactly what your home or business needs.

Cost depends on the type of pest, the size of your property, and the level of service your situation requires. A general residential quarterly plan looks very different from a heat treatment for bed bugs or a compliance-grade program for a food processing facility. We start with an inspection and build pricing from there. Contact us for a free estimate and we’ll walk you through exactly what your home or business needs.

For residential customers, we offer a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with the results, we’ll make it right. For bed bug heat treatment, 98% of our residential treatments are resolved in a single visit. When that’s not the case, we return to confirm full elimination.

We service a wide range of commercial environments, including:

• Hotels and hospitality properties
• Healthcare facilities and assisted living
• Food processing and distribution facilities
• Restaurants and commercial kitchens
• Multi-unit residential and apartment complexes
• Warehouses and industrial facilities

We hold ourselves to the same compliance standards whether it’s a hotel guest room or a food processing floor.

Every commercial service plan includes onsite documentation, regular monitoring, and trend reporting. Bug Masters is routinely audited by AIB, Silliker, and SQF, and our services consistently meet or exceed those standards. Our documentation keeps your facility inspection-ready at all times, whether you’re facing a scheduled audit or a surprise inspection.

For hotels, healthcare facilities, and other large commercial properties, we can isolate and treat affected areas in stages while the rest of your operation stays open. Minimizing downtime is a core part of how we approach commercial accounts. We’ll lay out the full treatment timeline upfront so you know what to expect before we start.

We send trained technicians to assess the situation immediately, using digital imaging to evaluate the report and confirm whether bed bugs are present. From there, we apply heat remediation to affected rooms, treating one area at a time to minimize disruption to your occupancy. We also provide quarterly bilingual training to housekeeping staff on identifying bed bugs and other pests during routine cleaning, which helps catch problems early.

For general pest control visits, preparation is minimal. Your technician will let you know in advance if anything specific is needed based on your situation. For bed bug heat treatment, there is more preparation involved. We provide a detailed checklist when you schedule so the treatment area is ready. Following the prep instructions is important for the treatment to work as intended.

General pest control visits are usually completed within one to two hours depending on your property size. For bed bug heat treatment, most residential treatments are completed in a single visit, and the space is safe to reoccupy the same day. For commercial properties, timing depends on the size of the area being treated and whether we’re staging the treatment across multiple visits.

For heat remediation treatments, yes. You and your family will need to be out of the treatment area while temperatures are elevated. Your technician will give you a clear window for when it’s safe to return. For general pest control exterior treatments, you can typically stay in the home. If interior treatment is needed, your technician will let you know if you need to step out for a short period.

For residential customers, we offer a 90-day satisfaction guarantee. If pest activity returns within that period, contact us and we’ll come back to address it. For ongoing quarterly service plans, between-visit activity is covered. Our goal is full elimination, and we stand behind that.