Bed Bug Washing Temperature

According to various scientific studies the temperature that is lethal for adult bed bugs is 118 94 f.

Bed bug washing temperature.

So ensure that you wash your clothes beddings and other washable infested items in the hottest water to kill bed bugs at all stages of development. Put an infested object such as bedding or pillows in a sealed plastic bag then put it in a freezer at zero degrees fahrenheit for about four days. Instead of washing delicate clothing or pillows in a washer use a clothes steamer. On the other end of the spectrum the temperature at which adult bed bugs freeze to death is 19 48 f.

Adult bed bugs die at 119 degrees fahrenheit and their heat resistant eggs require temperatures upwards of 125 degrees. Temperature that kills bed bugs. With a few common sense practices you can easily disinfest clothes and ensure these items do not become bed bug hiding places as you remove bed bugs from the rest of your home. Bed bugs don t live in clothes like body lice but they will hide in clothes or shoes.

Studies have found that bed bugs and their eggs cannot tolerate high temperatures. It s possible to eradicate bed bugs from laundered clothing bedding and household textiles like drapes and area rugs but it takes heat to do it. At 20 degrees they can live from 20 minutes to 2 3 hours. A similar process can be used with heat.

A sustained temperature of 120 degrees fahrenheit will kill all stages of the bed bug s lifecycle. Key steps in washing clothes to control bed bugs. You know that bed bug infestation is not just confined to bed area. The appropriate temperature for killing bed bugs using a washing machine is 140 f for a 30 minutes wash cycle.

Washing at lower temperatures will kill adults and nymphs but most bed bugs eggs will survive. If they are exposed to about 120 f they die within 15 20 minutes. Follow the instructions for the machine and cover every surface of the fabric to kill the bugs and the eggs. Miller of the department of entomology at virginia tech 113 degree temperatures kill bedbugs within 90 minutes but the bugs die at 118 degrees in only 20 minutes.

Temperature related bed bug control. The steamer temperature must reach between 160 and 180 degrees f. At what temperature do the larvae of bed bugs die. Although these can be tricky to achieve in a residential setting it isn t impossible.

They can be found all over the house. Washing will kill some of the bed bugs but it is the heat of drying that will kill any remaining bed bugs. If the temperature is 17 0 c the bug lives no longer than 24 hours but as a rule death occurs after 2 3 hours. What temperature do bed bugs die at.

For a 30 minute wash cycle. One hundred percent of bed bugs are killed when wash water is 140 f.