If you’re sure beyond a doubt that you have bed bugs, you’ve come to the right place to find out how to kill them.
Bed bugs are killed when exposed to high heat, freezing cold, steam, dessicant powders and insecticide sprays for bed bugs. They also drown in oil or soapy water. Each method kills bed bugs within minutes or a day, but methods need to be combined and repeated for the best results.
Bed bugs are tough little pests that breed and spread rapidly. It usually takes a few rounds to kill them all because you probably won’t get them all at once, different methods kill bed bugs in different hiding places, and sometimes bugs survive depending on where they are in their life cycle.
In this article, you’ll get 9 ways to kill bed bugs quickly and easily.
Before starting any bed bug treatment, make sure you have bed bugs and not something else:
Here are all the signs to confirm you have bed bugs
Here’s how to tell the difference between bed bugs and fleas
Kill bed bugs with heat
Bed bugs die when exposed to temperatures of 115°F (46°C) and up. It can take up to 8 hours to kill all adult bed bugs, larvae, and eggs by heating the room or putting items in the sun. But concentrated heat can do this much faster, like 30 minutes on a hot setting in the washing machine or using a bed bug heater.
Heat treatments are best for killing bed bugs in furniture, beds, rooms, an entire house, walls and ceilings, and material items, such as clothing, bedding, soft toys, etc.
Use heat to kill bed bugs by:
- Washing material items in the washing machine and then drying on high heat for at least 30 minutes.
- Hanging items out in full sun between midday and 2 p.m., if you live in a hot climate.
- Sealing items in a black plastic bag and putting them in a closed car in full sun for the day, if it’s summer and you live in an area that reaches temperatures of 95°F (35°C). If you don’t, seal the items in plastic bags and leave them out in the sun for up to 5 months to kill bed bugs inside.
- After travel, place your suitcase and your packed belongings in a bed bug heater, like this one from Amazon, to kill all bed bugs, eggs, and larvae within 8 hours. You can use this bed bug heater for household items too, even if you haven’t traveled.
- Use a professional bed bug sanitation heater to kill bed bugs, eggs, and nymphs in about 8 hours. This is the most effective heat treatment for bed bugs and one of the methods that professional pest controllers use. Do NOT try to make your house hot enough to kill bed bugs with a propane heater, fireplace, or by turning up the thermostat. These are all fire hazards and dangerous, and they won’t kill bed bugs.
- Click here to read my article on where to sleep if you have bed bugs.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with heat | Cons of killing bed bugs with heat |
| Kills bed bugs, eggs, and larvae (nymphs) | Equipment is pricey |
| Works in 1 day or less | |
| Non-toxic | |
| Pet friendly | |
| A bed bug heater kills bed bugs hiding in furniture, ceilings, floors, and walls | |
| Saves your belongings (you won’t have to throw things away) | |
| Sunshine is free |
Kill bed bugs with cold
Bed bugs usually start off living in a bed, then they move on to small items like books, clothing, toys, or shoes near the bed. Click here to find out how bed bugs spread through a house.
Bed bugs go into a type of hibernation when the temperature drops to 59°F (15°C) or below, and they die when exposed to cold temperatures of 32°F (0°C).
But it can take up to 3 days to kill adult bed bugs, larvae, and eggs with a cold treatment, though a cold treatment is not usually as effective as the heat treatment I describe above.
Cold treatments are best for killing bed bugs in small items, such as books, clothing, toys, shoes, etc. To kill bed bugs using cold:
- Set the freezer to 32°F (0°C).
- Place infested items in a plastic bag and seal the bag tightly.
- Put the bag into the freezer, and use a thermometer to make sure the freezer is cold enough, as many freezers can’t get this cold even when they’re set for it.
- Close the door and don’t open it again until you want to get to the bag. If you do open the door, you’ll let out all the cold air and the treatment won’t work.
- Leave the bag in the freezer for at least 3 days, to kill the bed bugs inside.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with cold | Cons of killing bed bugs with cold |
| Kills bed bugs, eggs, and larvae (nymphs) | Takes a long time (at least 3 days) to kill bed bugs, if it works |
| Non-toxic | It doesn’t always kill all bed bugs because domestic freezers struggle to get and stay cold enough |
| Pet friendly | Can only treat items that are small enough to fit in the freezer |
| Saves your belongings (you won’t have to throw things away) | |
| You probably have a freezer at home, so it’s free |
Kill bed bugs with steam
Bed bugs die instantly when exposed to steam, making steam an excellent bed bug killer when it’s done the right way with a commercial steam cleaner. This method only kills bed bugs that come into direct contact with the steam, and it does need to be repeated to get bed bugs that were missed.
Steam kills bed bugs hiding up to ¾” (19 mm) deep in fabric. It instantly kills bed bugs hiding on mattresses and box springs, in carpets, in couches, and anywhere else that isn’t damaged by hot steam.
Steam also kills bed bugs hiding up to 2-3/8” (60 mm) deep in cracks in walls, floors, and ceilings.
Here’s how to kill bed bugs with steam:
- Get a commercial steam cleaner if you don’t have one. You can buy this one on Amazon or this one (the much better option because it gets hotter). Or you can rent one for the day or try to borrow one – try to find one with a 1 gallon tank and adjustable steam output.
Don’t try this with a carpet cleaner, clothing steamer, or regular household clean steamer – it won’t work. They don’t get hot enough to kill bed bugs and you’ll waste your time.
- Put the nozzle on the steamer, preferably a triangular nozzle. Pretty much any nozzle will work except a pointed one that blows away bed bugs.
- If using the steam cleaner on fabric, do a small patch test to make sure the steam won’t damage the fabric before you do the entire area.
- Start by running the steamer in a line along the fabric or surface. As soon as you run the nozzle over an area, use an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the fabric. The surface temperature must be between 160 and 180°F (71 and 82°C) to kill bed bugs. If it isn’t, try moving the nozzle slower (to make the surface hotter) or faster (to make it cooler) until you get the temperature right, or this treatment won’t work.
- Keep running the nozzle across items and surfaces, making sure to cover the entire area. And keep checking the surface temperature to make sure that you are getting the temperature right.
- Once done, put a fan on in the room to dry the dampness from the steam.
- Repeat this process every 7 to 10 days to kill any bed bugs you missed.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with steam | Cons of killing bed bugs with steam |
| Very effective bed bug treatment | Only kills bed bugs it comes into contact with, so it needs to be repeated |
| Kills bed bugs, eggs, and larvae (nymphs) instantly on contact | It’s fairly labor-intensive |
| Non-toxic | A commercial steam cleaner is pricey |
| Pet friendly | Can damage fabrics if not done right |
| Saves your belongings (you won’t have to throw things away) |
Kill bed bugs by encasing them
An encasement is a material casing that’s designed to cover something, like a mattress. It’s usually pulled on to fit snugly, and then zipped up.
Encasements make it much easier to get rid of bed bugs. They trap bed bugs, so the bugs can’t bite anyone sleeping on the bed or spread through the house. Encasements also make it easier to see any bed bugs hiding on the bed.
Trapping bed bugs in an encasement kills them, but it can take up to a year for them to die of starvation. This is perfectly fine. Once an encasement is on, it can be left there for as long as needed, or even permanently.
Encasements work best for bed bugs in a mattress, a box spring, or pillows. They save your bed and bedding, so you don’t have to throw these away. Encasements are readily available at reasonable prices.
If bed bugs are living in your bed, does that mean they’re in your hair too? Here’s my article that deals with that nagging question.
To trap bed bugs and kill them, get an encasement that’s made for bed bugs specifically. Anything that isn’t made for bed bugs isn’t likely to work, and might tear or be too thin.
Another tip when buying an encasement for a mattress is to look for one that’s made from a material that won’t make a noise as you move around in your bed.
The following links take you to encasements that are popular with customers on Amazon:
The YouTube video below shows you how to put an encasement on a mattress, so you can get an idea of how an encasement works:
| Pros of killing bed bugs with encasements | Cons of killing bed bugs with encasements |
| Very effective bed bug treatment | It can take up to a year for the bed bugs to die inside |
| Kills bed bugs, eggs, and larvae (nymphs) | |
| Non-toxic | |
| Pet friendly | |
| Saves your belongings (you won’t have to throw things away) | |
| Encasements are not very expensive | |
| Easy to use |
Kill bed bugs by drowning them
There are some ways to get bed bugs to come out of hiding, such as setting a bait trap, scraping them out, or making them think there’s a host nearby to feed on. Click here to read my article on all the ways to draw bed bugs out of hiding.
If you can get bed bugs out in the open and catch them, kill them quickly by drowning them in soapy water or cooking oil, such as olive oil. These are much more effective than plain water, which bed bugs can survive in for up to 24 hours.
You have two options to trap bed bugs before drowning them:
- Buy a bed bug interceptor trap
Buy 4 bed bug interceptor traps, like these from Amazon, and place 1 trap under each leg of your bed. Leave the traps there for at least a week.
Bed bugs come out every 3 days or so to feed. If you have bed bugs, it could take 3 or more days for some to get stuck in these traps so be patient.
As you trap bed bugs, throw them into a cup of soapy water or cooking oil and leave them for at least 24 hours to make sure they’re dead.
Read all about bed bug interceptors and how they work in this blog post.
2. Make a bed bug interceptor trap
If you don’t want to buy a trap, you can easily make one by following the instructions in the following video:
| Pros of killing bed bugs by drowning them | Cons of killing bed bugs by drowning them |
| Another option to bring a bed bug infestation under control | You can only kill the ones you trap – this method needs to be used with several other methods to have any impact |
| Non-toxic | |
| Traps are a great way to find out if you have bed bugs | |
| Easy to do with things you have at home |
Kill bed bugs with powders
Powders that kill bed bugs are known as “dessicants.” They’re called dessicants because they dry things out, and in this case they dry out bed bugs to the point of death.
Dessicant powders take several days to kill bed bugs once the bugs have come into contact with the powder. And dessicants must be left out for at least a week, if not more, so that as many bed bugs as possible have a chance to crawl over them.
When a bed bug crawls over a dessicant, the dessicant cuts the bug’s exoskeleton. The bed bug loses a lot of moisture and slowly dehydrates until it dies.
Many people use diatomaceous earth to kill bed bugs, but cimexa powder has been proven to be much more effective at killing bed bugs. Boric acid is another dessicant that kills bed bugs.
It’s best to only use dessicants in cracks and crevices, not spread through a room or house. It isn’t healthy to breathe in these dessicants, so use them sparingly and in places where they won’t be inhaled by adults, children, or animals.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with powders | Cons of killing bed bugs with powders |
| Effective bed bug treatment | Dangerous if inhaled by people, children, or pets |
| Saves your belongings (you won’t have to throw things away) | Should only be used in cracks and crevices, leaving large areas uncovered |
| Powders are not very expensive | Powders can get messy |
Kill bed bugs with insecticide sprays
There are sprays available that kill bed bugs on contact. If a spray doesn’t come into direct contact with bed bugs or bed bug eggs, it won’t kill any of them.
A bed bug spray stays on surfaces for up to 4 weeks – read the information on the bottle to see how long the spray you choose will last. This popular one from Amazon is a spray foam that lasts 4 weeks. It expands to fill hard-to-reach places, and it kills both bed bugs and their eggs.
Any bed bugs that crawl over a sprayed area when the spray is still active will die, but once that time is up, you’ll need to spray the surfaces again.
Bed bug sprays are good for taking care of minor bed bug infestations, when there aren’t a lot of bed bugs. Sprays also work well if you know where the bed bugs are hiding, and you’d like to kill them all very quickly.
Sprays are just another option to add to the group of things you do to get rid of bed bugs – no single method will kill all bed bugs immediately and for good.
Bed bugs reproduce quickly, and you can have multiple generations living in your house at any one time. This means that bed bugs can adapt their genes quickly too, so they can become immune to sprays.
If one bed bug spray doesn’t work or stops working, it’s time to mix things up and try another one. Or you could alternate between sprays every few weeks so the bed bugs don’t build up immunity to a spray.
Here are some bed bug sprays from Amazon to try:
- EcoVenger: plant-extract based and USDA bio-certified
- Ortho Home Defense: kills bed bugs that are immune to pyrethroid sprays
- Raid Bed Bug Foaming Spray: lasts on surfaces for 4 weeks
| Pros of killing bed bugs with sprays | Cons of killing bed bugs with sprays |
| Kills bed bugs on contact, and any that crawl over the sprayed area for several weeks | Bed bugs can become immune to a spray if it’s used for too long |
| Affordable option | Need to respray every few weeks |
| Not very poisonous to people or animals if the instructions are followed and EPA registered |
Kill bed bugs with UV light
In a study carried out by The Ohio State University, it was found that at least 10 seconds of exposure to UV light kills bed bugs and their eggs. [source]
What’s interesting is that the study found that even a few seconds of exposure to UV light can kill bed bugs in another way: UV light damages a bed bug’s sensory receptors (what bed bugs use to find a host to suck blood from) and makes young nymphs sluggish, so they don’t even come out to look for a host and often die.
A UV light can also be used to find bed bugs, so if you’re traveling and want to check a hotel room or area for signs of bed bugs, try using a black light flashlight like this one.
To kill bed bugs with UV light, you can purchase a UV light sanitizer from Amazon to shine directly onto bed bugs for 10 seconds or more, place small items or clothing in a UV box like this one for 3 minutes, or place items out in direct sunlight and leave them there for several hours.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with UV light | Cons of killing bed bugs with UV light |
| Sunshine is free | Bed bugs must be directly exposed to the light |
| No chemicals | Exposure must be for at least 10 seconds, but longer is better |
| Bed bugs could drop off items hanging in the sun and crawl to a new hiding place | |
| People and animals should not be directly exposed to the UV light |
Kill bed bugs with foggers (bug bombs)
Foggers or bug bombs, like these, that are designed to kill bed bugs do kill bed bugs, but not all of them.
Foggers can’t reach bed bugs hiding in tiny cracks in furniture and walls. These bed bugs survive the fogging, and then they crawl away to other rooms in the house or to a neighbor. This spreads the infestation and makes it harder to get under control.
Foggers are also dangerous and can be toxic if not used correctly.
These are all reasons why foggers are not recommended to kill bed bugs, especially if you are doing it yourself and not using a pest control professional.
| Pros of killing bed bugs with foggers | Cons of killing bed bugs with foggers |
| Doesn’t kill bed bugs hiding in tiny cracks | |
| Can be dangerous | |
| Can be toxic |
