How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Clothes

Bed bugs are tiny insects that feed off the blood of humans and sometimes your pets. The bugs can live without feeding for up to a year and inhabit different areas where humans live. No matter how careful and clean you are, you might pick them up in a hotel or at a friend’s house. Bed bugs prefer dark areas, including your closet. If you find bed bugs in your closet, you'll also find them living in your clothes.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic garbage bags

Instructions

1. Identify signs of bed bugs in your home, especially around your closet or other areas where you store your clothing. Bed bugs leave behind small black droppings, less than 1/8 of an inch long. Droppings and markings may be in the seams of your mattress, box spring and in other pieces of furniture.

2. Place your clothing inside plastic garbage bags and tie the ends tightly. Use fresh garbage bags and place all of your clothing in these bags, not just those in areas where you see bed bugs or those that are dirty. Bed bugs will live in any type of fabric.

3. Take the clothing to a self-service laundry away from your home to reduce the chance of bed bugs crawling from the trash bags into other areas of your home. Keep the bags tied tightly.

4. Load your clothes into a clothes dryer. According to Cornell University Cooperative Extension, a dryer that reaches at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit provides enough heat to kill bed bugs and their eggs. Heat the clothing in the dryer for at least 20 minutes.

5. Transfer the clothing into new garbage bags. Tie the top of each plastic garbage bag and keep the clothing inside until you finish treating your home for the bed bug infestation.

Tips & Warnings

• Treat your home for the bed bug infestation as soon as possible. Hire an exterminator to treat the mattress, box spring and baseboards with a spray designed to kill bed bugs.

• Apply specialty mattress and box spring covers before bringing back your clean clothing.

• Clean your carpets with a steam cleaner and treat with bed bug spray. Any bugs that fall from your clothing may take up residence in the carpet, according to the Ohio State University Extension.

• Bed bugs may become dislodged from your clothes and settle into the bottom of the garbage bag. Toss the used garbage bags into the trash. If you use them to carry your heated clothes home, you risk bringing living bed bugs back.

References

• Cornell University Cooperative Extension: Bed bugs are back! An IPM answer
• Ohio State University Extension: Bed Bugs