In colder temperatures, however, these pests can survive up to a year without food, since they are cold-blooded and their metabolism can slow down. Under normal circumstances, bed bugs feed once every five to ten days. Bed bugs are most active about an hour before dawn, although they can feed anytime, if they are hungry.
Once a bed bug feeds, which usually takes about five minutes, it will retreat back to its hiding spot. Since our body heat is too warm for bed bugs and we move too much, these creatures are unlikely to hitch a ride on you or your clothing. These pests are more likely to make their way into your home on a backpack, briefcase, purse, suitcase, mattress or a used piece of furniture. In some cases, we can bring in bed bugs on clothing , so if you are concerned about an infestation, you can always launder items with hot water or dry them with high heat before bringing them into your bedroom.
Technically, bed bugs can live through a cycle in the washing machine. The truth is that while washing your clothes or linens will kill most of the bed bugs, the heat of drying your items is what will ultimately exterminate any and all remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat. There are, however, a few specific steps to consider when washing items to rid your home of bed bugs. For example, separate your clothes into colors, whites, delicates and so forth.
Next, place each category in its own plastic bag to transport your laundry to the washer and dryer; sealing the bags shut will prevent bed bugs from moving into other rooms in your home or the public laundromat. Before you begin washing, be sure to identify the washing instructions to know the highest wash and dry temperatures possible for each sorted pile.
This will make the entire process more effective. Just like treating your home from a bedbug infestation, preparation is also essential to make sure that the treatment will work. So for preparing your clothes prior to washing and drying, the following are some of the things you can do:. It is still necessary that you sort your clothes not only by color but also by material.
Delicate or dry-clean only items must go to the dry-cleaners or must be carefully heat treated to make sure that you only get rid of the bugs while not affecting the clothes. If you have a handheld vacuum cleaner, you can vacuum your clothes prior to heat treating them inside the washer and the dryer.
This can help in capturing any visible bugs and their eggs and make the entire process more effective. There are a few simple things you can do to kill bed bugs as well as their eggs using the dryer. All you need is two trash bags for every load of laundry, following this procedure:.
Once the cycle is done, simply place your clothing in the dryer and set it at the highest temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Do all of these steps and you can make sure that all your infested clothing will be free from bed bugs and save you from the paranoia of carrying them and spreading them anywhere.
Spray colorfast infested clothes with rubbing alcohol immediately upon identifying a bedbug infestation. The rubbing alcohol will kill live bedbugs on contact, however, it won't eliminate eggs or get rid of the infestation. For non-colorfast fabrics and items that must be dry cleaned, immediately place the clothes in a sealable plastic bag.
These items cannot be washed, but they can usually be put into the dryer on high heat to help get rid of the bugs. Sort your clothes as you normally would before washing a load of laundry. Sort them in the infested area to prevent spreading the bedbugs into another area of your home. Place each pile of clothing in a large trash bag and seal it.
Select the hottest water temperature recommended for the fabrics and the correct cycle for the fabric types. Take the bags to the washing machine, and tip them over so the clothes carefully spill into the machine. This is important in your home or a communal laundry room or laundromat. Dispose of the trash bag in an outside bin. Transfer the clothes from the washing machine to the dryer.
Set the dryer to run for at least 30 minutes on the highest possible heat cycle that won't damage the fabric. Properly store laundry. After washing laundry infested with bedbugs, store the clothing. Key steps in washing clothes to control bed bugs There are three main steps to think about when washing items to remove bed bugs.
Sorting clothes: In the infested area, pre-sort clothes as you would when you normally wash clothes and place each sorted pile into its own plastic bag. Make note of the washing instructions. This will allow you to set the highest allowable wash and dry temperatures for your clothes. Separate dry-clean-only clothes because these should not be made wet, but they may be placed in a dryer. Seal the bags prior to moving your laundry. This will prevent bed bugs from moving into other areas of your home or the Laundromat.
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