How to Heat Up the Room to Kill Bed Bugs

Keep your bed free of bed bugs.

Waking up with big red welts on your arms and legs that itch like no other are not due to mosquitoes getting in your bedroom, but are most likely because of bed bug infestation. One of the harder and most unpleasant pests to get rid of, bed bugs are small, brownish-red, flat insects that feast on human flesh during the night. They hide out between mattresses and box springs, in pillows, blanket folds and among crevices in upholstered furniture, and inject a toxin into flesh that numbs it while they feed. Get rid of these pests through meticulous cleaning as well as hitting them with heat, one of the more effective methods for controlling bed bugs.

Things You'll Need

• Space heaters
• Room thermometer
• Steam iron
• Washer and dryer

Instructions

1. Raise the temperature of the room that contains the bedbug infestation to at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit through your thermostat or by turning up your furnace. Close the door to keep the heat in the room, and make sure all windows are shut completely to avoid losing heat. Adult and nymph bedbugs must be in a room that is over 113 degrees F for 15 minutes to kill them, while eggs take 60 minutes to die at this temperature. If you are concerned about overheating your entire home, use space heaters to up the temperature in the room with the infestation. Check the temperature of the room with a room thermometer.

2. Keep the temperature raised as long as possible, preferably for three hours if not longer. Add space heaters to the room to further raise the temperature if desired. Check your thermostat regularly to ensure the room temperature remains the same.

3. Remove infested bed sheets and comforters and wash them twice in hot water, or at 248 degrees, for at least 20 minutes. Dry sheets and comforters on high heat as well.

4. Go over both sides of your mattress with a steam iron to kill bedbugs.

Tips & Warnings

• Check your box spring for black marks, or bedbug excrement, which indicate infestation. Small white sticky ovals are bedbug eggs, another sign of infestation.

• Vacuum frequently, including places that are hard to reach, to control infestations. Throw out vacuum bags to avoid re-infestation.

• Throw out old upholstered furniture that contains infestations, or cover them in plastic bags and leave them in the sun for a day or two.

• Check your furnace's manual to determine how high you can safely set it.

References

• University of Kentucky College of Agriculture: Bed Bugs
• What Do Bed Bugs Look Like: How to Kill Bed Bugs with Heat

Resources

• Dateline NBC: What You Need to Know About Bedbugs