High Heat Kills Bed Bugs 100%
IS HEAT TREATMENT AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET RID OF BED BUGS?
01/29/2016
Wondering how to get rid of bed bugs? Learn more about bed bug heat treatment and whether or not it’s an effective way to treat an infestation.
Photo by: Shutterstock
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Bed bugs are parasitic, meaning they feed on the blood of a host, and they can be hard to kill. Mattresses, box springs, carpet and baseboards are hotspots for infestation. Bed bugs can even hide in something as small as nail indentations in the wall. Most bed bug infestations are within a couple meters of their human blood meal host (i.e., your bed).
Bed bugs can be a sensitive subject because they gather in places where one may not feel comfortable with traditional treatments or even talking about the infestation, for that matter. Bed bug heat treatment may be helpful in these situations.
?
The above-mentioned sites along with clothing, briefcases, computer bags and other items that may sit by the bed are good candidates for bed bug heat treatments. Success depends on early detection and correct treatment methodology.
What is bed bug heat treatment? It takes several forms depending on what is being treated. If you're asking, does heat kill bed bugs? Yes, it does, if hot enough. Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Here are a few methods that are proven to work.
HOT BOX
By placing items such as shoes, dry cleaning, blankets, bags of clothing or even luggage into a hot box, one can use sustained heat to kill bed bugs. Heat penetrates into small crevices that cannot be inspected. Lethal temperatures for bed bugs range from 117 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 F. The walls of hot boxes reach a higher temperature than the suggested lethal range in order to permeate belongings placed within, killing all bed bugs in all their stages. How the box is heated is important. The wrong or incorrectly used heat source can cause fires, so caution must be used with this method. Also, there are some items that may be damaged by the heat source if it's too close or too hot. Proper ventilation must be applied to some heat sources such as gas or propane for them to be safely used inside a building.
STEAM
Steam is another form of heat that kills bed bugs, larvae and eggs. Steam treatment is no more labor intensive than other methods, but it's not meant to penetrate materials deep enough to kill hidden bed bugs. Steaming works on items such as box springs, bed frames, blankets/sheets, curtains and pillows and can be used on several items without causing damage.
DRYERS
Clothes dryers can also destroy bed bugs. The washer alone with hot soapy water can actually kill them, but there are many items that cannot be washed but could be run through a dryer cycle without damage, such as stuffed animals, "dry clean only" items, etc. The heat of the clothes dryer alone will kill bed bugs, and it's recommended to dry items on high heat for at least 20 minutes. Be aware that some items cannot be put in the washer or dryer. Additionally, it's important to keep freshly cleaned items away from the infestation, as they can easily be contaminated again.
BUILDING/HOME HEAT TREATMENT
Heat treatment for homes and other buildings entails raising room temperatures to levels that are lethal for bed bugs at least 117 degrees Fahrenheit—in all areas the bed bugs can get to, including cracks, crevices, inside walls, etc. Professionals with proper equipment must administer this treatment. This is generally considered to be an effective but expensive way to eradicate bed bug infestations in all their stages, but when properly performed, can often provide control. It's common to still have bed bug activity after structural and whole room heat treatments, which is why these treatments are also combined with applications of pesticides.
Sources:
Top 10 Tips to Prevent or Control Bed Bugs. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Next > How to Identify Different Ant Types
- See more at: https://www.terminix.com/blog/science-and-nature/is-heat-treatment-an-effective-way-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs#sthash.nqWE6pRK.dpuf
Here is another resource for killing bed bugs with heat:
IS HEAT TREATMENT AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO GET RID OF BED BUGS?
01/29/2016
Wondering how to get rid of bed bugs? Learn more about bed bug heat treatment and whether or not it’s an effective way to treat an infestation.
Photo by: Shutterstock
D
Bed bugs are parasitic, meaning they feed on the blood of a host, and they can be hard to kill. Mattresses, box springs, carpet and baseboards are hotspots for infestation. Bed bugs can even hide in something as small as nail indentations in the wall. Most bed bug infestations are within a couple meters of their human blood meal host (i.e., your bed).
Bed bugs can be a sensitive subject because they gather in places where one may not feel comfortable with traditional treatments or even talking about the infestation, for that matter. Bed bug heat treatment may be helpful in these situations.
?
The above-mentioned sites along with clothing, briefcases, computer bags and other items that may sit by the bed are good candidates for bed bug heat treatments. Success depends on early detection and correct treatment methodology.
What is bed bug heat treatment? It takes several forms depending on what is being treated. If you're asking, does heat kill bed bugs? Yes, it does, if hot enough. Unfortunately, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. Here are a few methods that are proven to work.
HOT BOX
By placing items such as shoes, dry cleaning, blankets, bags of clothing or even luggage into a hot box, one can use sustained heat to kill bed bugs. Heat penetrates into small crevices that cannot be inspected. Lethal temperatures for bed bugs range from 117 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 F. The walls of hot boxes reach a higher temperature than the suggested lethal range in order to permeate belongings placed within, killing all bed bugs in all their stages. How the box is heated is important. The wrong or incorrectly used heat source can cause fires, so caution must be used with this method. Also, there are some items that may be damaged by the heat source if it's too close or too hot. Proper ventilation must be applied to some heat sources such as gas or propane for them to be safely used inside a building.
STEAM
Steam is another form of heat that kills bed bugs, larvae and eggs. Steam treatment is no more labor intensive than other methods, but it's not meant to penetrate materials deep enough to kill hidden bed bugs. Steaming works on items such as box springs, bed frames, blankets/sheets, curtains and pillows and can be used on several items without causing damage.
DRYERS
Clothes dryers can also destroy bed bugs. The washer alone with hot soapy water can actually kill them, but there are many items that cannot be washed but could be run through a dryer cycle without damage, such as stuffed animals, "dry clean only" items, etc. The heat of the clothes dryer alone will kill bed bugs, and it's recommended to dry items on high heat for at least 20 minutes. Be aware that some items cannot be put in the washer or dryer. Additionally, it's important to keep freshly cleaned items away from the infestation, as they can easily be contaminated again.
BUILDING/HOME HEAT TREATMENT
Heat treatment for homes and other buildings entails raising room temperatures to levels that are lethal for bed bugs at least 117 degrees Fahrenheit—in all areas the bed bugs can get to, including cracks, crevices, inside walls, etc. Professionals with proper equipment must administer this treatment. This is generally considered to be an effective but expensive way to eradicate bed bug infestations in all their stages, but when properly performed, can often provide control. It's common to still have bed bug activity after structural and whole room heat treatments, which is why these treatments are also combined with applications of pesticides.
Sources:
Top 10 Tips to Prevent or Control Bed Bugs. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Next > How to Identify Different Ant Types
- See more at: https://www.terminix.com/blog/science-and-nature/is-heat-treatment-an-effective-way-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs#sthash.nqWE6pRK.dpuf
Here is another resource for killing bed bugs with heat:
HEAT TREATMENT
Heat treatment is what you will likely do with most of your belongings. Heat treatment is extremely effective and properly done will kill 100% of bed bugs in all life stages (including eggs, nymphs and adults.) Home dryers on high heat reach bed bug killing temperatures so this is a great option for clothes, pillows, cushions, towels and any other items that you can put in a dryer. Make sure to run your dryer on high heat for at least 45 minutes. We highly recommend using the dryer when possible as it is usually faster than heat treating them another way, although the dryer does have limitations in what you can put inside.
- For belongings that are not safe to treat in your dryer like dry-clean only clothing, suitcases, books, shoes, etc. you can heat treat in the ZappBug. We offer three sizes of units so take a look and see what best suits your needs: ZappBug Heater, ZappBug Oven 2, ZappBug Room.
- Check out this video showing how to heat treat with your dryer.
- Debagging Your Items For Heat Treatment
- When you are removing your belongings from bags to heat treat them, it is very important to remember to follow proper protocol. We talked about this in Step 1 Establish a Safe Zone, but it is so important we repeat it here.
- The wrong method of debagging is to place your bagged belongings on the floor and then lift out the items for placement in ZappBug or the dryer. As you are lifting items out of the bag, bed bugs can fall off and spread.
- If you are using ZappBug, place the entire bag in ZappBug, before removing any items from it. This way if any bed bugs fall off your items as you are lifting them out of the bag, they will fall into ZappBug and be killed when you start the heat treatment.
- If you are using a dryer, be sure to upend the entire bag, into the dryer.
- After Heat Treatment: Storing Your Belongings
- Remember that after you heat treat your items you will want to store most of them in a sealed bed bug proof bag or container to prevent bed bugs from re-infesting them. This is especially true for your clothes, but it is also a good idea for other belongings.
- For this purpose, we love giant Ziplock bags. These are not the Ziplock bags used for food storage. These are much larger and are designed for storing personal items. They work extremely well because you can easily seal and unseal them to quickly access your belongings.
- You can also store your items in plastic bins, provided you take into account several factors. We explain everything you need to know about plastic storage bins in Bed Bug Proof Storage.
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