How to Treat Bed Bugs, and What Each Method Actually Does
Bed bugs are treated with several methods at once, because each one reaches only part of the problem. Heat from a dryer and steam kill bugs and eggs they touch, sealed covers trap the ones in the mattress, and a careful treatment of every seam and crack reaches the rest. Here is what each method does, and where it falls short.
- Steam has to reach at least 130 degrees F to kill bed bugs, the EPA says.
- A freezer at 0 degrees F needs 3 days to kill bed bugs in a sealed bag.
- The EPA’s preparation steps call for 30 minutes in a dryer on high heat.
- Total release foggers, the bug bombs, do not work on bed bugs.
- In a heated and cooled home, bed bugs can go 1 to 4 months without feeding.
How do you treat bed bugs?
Use several methods together, because no single one reaches every bug and egg. Run bedding and clothes through a hot dryer, steam or vacuum the mattress seams, seal the mattress and box spring in covers, and treat every crack the bugs hide in. Then check the bed at least every 7 days, as the EPA advises.
The EPA’s do-it-yourself bed bug guide says to keep checking for at least a year after you finish, to make sure every bed bug is gone. The University of Kentucky’s bed bug fact sheet says professional treatment means treating all areas where the bugs are found or likely to hide, and that follow-up visits are usually needed.
The table below sets out each method on its own. The ones that kill on contact do nothing for a bug they miss, which is why they are combined.
| Method | What it does | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Dryer on high heat | Kills bugs and eggs in anything that can take a hot dryer | Only reaches what fits in the dryer |
| Steam, 130 degrees F | Kills bugs and eggs it touches in seams and folds | Leaves nothing behind for bugs it missed |
| Freezer, 0 degrees F | Kills bugs sealed in a bag for 3 days | Slow, and only for small items |
| Vacuum | Pulls bugs and eggs out of seams and edges | Bed bugs can survive inside the vacuum |
| Mattress and box spring covers | Traps the bugs inside until they die | Does not stop bugs crawling onto the bed |
| Store spray | Kills the bugs it hits directly | Little effect once the spray has dried |
| Desiccant dust | Dries out bugs that walk through it, silica gel in tiny amounts | May take several months, and diatomaceous earth seldom helps much |
| Bug bomb or fogger | Releases spray into the open air of a room | Does not work on bed bugs |
From the US EPA and University of Kentucky Entomology. Each method covers a gap the others leave.
What kills bed bugs instantly?
Heat and steam kill bed bugs and their eggs on contact. The EPA says steam has to reach at least 130 degrees F, used with a diffuser so it does not scatter the bugs. The University of Kentucky says steam and freezing both kill bugs and eggs on contact, but leave nothing behind for bugs they missed.
That last point is the catch. Steam works on the seam you are pointing it at, and a bed bug tucked into the next joint of the headboard is untouched. The EPA guide warns against trying to heat the whole home yourself by turning up the thermostat or using a propane heater or a fireplace. The Kentucky fact sheet describes companies that heat whole rooms to about 120 to 130 degrees F with special equipment, which Pest Me Off does not do.
Bleach, rubbing alcohol and lighters are on the Kentucky fact sheet’s list of things that should not be used against bed bugs. A spray of alcohol on a bug you can see does nothing for the eggs in the box spring, and an open flame near bedding is a fire risk.
Does washing clothes kill bed bugs?
Washing helps, but the dryer does the real work. The University of Kentucky says to launder bedding and clothes at 120 degrees F or hotter, or use a dryer at medium to high heat for 10 to 20 minutes. The EPA’s preparation steps call for 30 minutes on high heat and say washing alone might not do the job.
Anything that can take a hot dryer can go straight in, dry, without washing first. The EPA says to store the clean items in a sealed plastic bag afterwards, so they are not picked up again by bugs still in the room. Carry the dirty laundry to the machine in a sealed bag too, so bugs do not drop off on the way. The bed bug preparation checklist on our service page walks through the laundry and the rest of the room.
Can you freeze bed bugs to kill them?
Yes, but it takes cold and time. The EPA says the freezer has to be at 0 degrees F, checked with a thermometer, and the items have to stay sealed in a bag in the freezer for three days. That suits shoes, books and small items that cannot go in a dryer, not a mattress or a couch.
The EPA tells you to check the freezer with a thermometer rather than trust the dial, because a freezer a few degrees warm will not do it in three days. A garage or a porch in a Collin County winter does not hold 0 degrees for three days straight, so leaving things outside is not the same as freezing them.
Do mattress covers get rid of bed bugs?
They trap the bugs already inside the mattress, not the ones in the rest of the room. The EPA says covers that seal both the mattress and the box spring trap the bed bugs inside, where they die. The University of Kentucky adds that a cover will not keep bed bugs from crawling onto the bed and biting someone.
A cover is worth having for another reason: it takes away the seams and folds of the mattress, so any bug that comes back has nowhere to hide on the surface and is easy to see. Bed bugs that live in the headboard, the frame, the nightstand and the baseboards are still there, which is why covers are one step and never the whole treatment.
Do bug bombs work on bed bugs?
No. The University of Kentucky says total release foggers, the bug bombs, are ineffective against bed bugs, and lists them among the things that should not be used. The EPA says to use a fogger only with extreme care, only if bed bugs are on its label, and never as your only method of bed bug control.
A fogger releases spray into the open air of a room. Bed bugs spend their time pressed into mattress seams, wall cracks and the joints of furniture, where the spray does not reach. The EPA also says that desiccant dusts used against bed bugs should be registered with the EPA as a pesticide, and that pool or food grade diatomaceous earth should not be used. Even a registered dust may take several months to work.
Why are bed bugs so hard to get rid of?
They hide in crevices no wider than a toothpick, they go months between meals, and many resist common sprays. The University of Kentucky says bed bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to pesticides, and that in a heated and cooled building they typically survive about 1 to 4 months without feeding, longer in the cold.
The same fact sheet says that at 55 degrees F or cooler they can last up to a year or longer, so sleeping somewhere else for a few weeks does not starve them out. Eggs are the other reason. A treatment that kills the adults leaves eggs that hatch later, which is why the EPA says to keep inspecting at least every 7 days, and why a professional treatment comes back after the eggs hatch.
How Pest Me Off treats bed bugs
A bed bug job in McKinney, Plano, Frisco or Allen starts with a free inspection of every sleeping area, not only the room with the bites, plus the couches and recliners. That confirms it is bed bugs and maps which rooms are affected before anything is applied, so you know the number of visits up front.
On the treatment visit, a licensed technician treats every seam, joint and crack where bed bugs hide, from the mattress piping to the headboard joints and the baseboards, and puts a barrier along the routes they travel to the bed. Nothing is fogged into the air, and product types are rotated between visits so resistant bugs do not bounce back. When our technician decides it is needed, we return 10 to 14 days later, after the next round of eggs hatches. Our bed bug treatment page has the full process, and the bed bug library page covers the bug itself. If you are not sure yet that it is bed bugs, start with how to tell if you have bed bugs.
Treated the bed and still getting bitten? Same-day pest control in McKinney and the surrounding cities when you call before noon.
We start with a free inspection, treat every seam and crack the bugs hide in, and come back after the eggs hatch when our technician decides it is needed. Nothing is fogged. No-contract options.
