Identify
How to get rid of bed bugs
Getting rid of bed bugs takes weeks because eggs hatch later. Confirm live insects, encase the mattress, pull the bed from the wall, and run fabric on high heat for 30 minutes.
A fogger that smells strong tonight is not gone. Typical US ranges, not a bid.
Key takeaways
- Confirm the insect in the seam. Bites are a weak start.
- Encase the mattress. Pull the bed from the wall. Interceptors under the legs.
- High dryer heat for 30 minutes kills bugs on fabric. Washing alone often does not.
- Foggers, oils, and sleeping on the couch waste the week. Eggs still hatch.
- Bugs in the nightstand joints usually need a licensed return visit.
EPA: treatment can take weeks to months. Eggs are stubborn. You may have to repeat the same work. Success depends on how many bugs you have, how much clutter they can hide in, and whether everyone in the house will do their part.
Start on signs of bed bugs. Bag a specimen. A county extension desk will often name it at no charge.
Island the bed first
Do this before you buy a can.
Encase the mattress and box spring so they zip shut. Pull the frame from the wall. Keep sheets off the floor. Put interceptors under the legs so bugs walking in fall into a dish. Rutgers: pitfall traps under furniture legs beat a flashlight for finding what is left, and they cut bites while you work.
Sleep in that bed. Moving to the couch takes them with you.
EPA: do not panic and throw the furniture if you can treat it. A new mattress in an untreated room refills. If you do discard something, wreck it and mark it so the next person does not haul it home.
Fabric goes in a hot dryer
EPA IPM: high dryer heat for 30 minutes kills bugs on bedding and clothes. Washing alone often does not. Bag dirty laundry until it goes in so you do not walk them to the kitchen.
Items that cannot go in a dryer: EPA wants about 120°F for 90 minutes, or a freezer at 0°F for several days with a thermometer in the bag. Cranking the house thermostat, a propane space heater, or a fireplace does not do that job and can start a fire.
What wastes the week
| Move | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| Fogger / bug bomb | EPA: the mist has to hit the insect. Cracks do not get coated. Not a sole method. |
| Essential oils, dryer sheets, mothballs, ultrasonic plugs | Rutgers lists these as money-wasting. |
| Sleep in another room | You spread the map. The original bed stays a nest. |
| Food-grade or pool diatomaceous earth | EPA: that dust is the wrong particle size and can harm you if you breathe it. Only an EPA-registered pesticide desiccant belongs on a floor. |
| Alcohol, kerosene, gasoline | EPA: fire risk. Skip it. |
| Most store sprays used alone | Rutgers: most consumer sprays sit with foggers on the waste list. Eggs still hatch. |
Vacuum seams if you can, then bag the dirt and take it outside. That removes some insects. It does not finish the hatch.
When the joints need a licensed visit
If you are still catching live bugs in interceptors after you have encased, laundered, and cleared clutter, the remaining insects are usually in furniture joints, baseboards, or a second room. That is a return-visit chemical job or a heat hold, not another can from the hardware aisle.
Compare bed bug treatment cost and heat treatment cost. Which invoice fits this house: heat vs chemical. Confirm insects before you buy either paper: bed bug inspection cost. A fuzzy larva in wool is often carpet beetle, not bed bug.
If you rent, the wall you do not own is a different sequence: how to get rid of bed bugs in an apartment.
Log dates and rooms in the sighting log. Contact for a local operator.