Killing Bed Bugs in Laundry

Online, June 2, 2014 (Newswire.com) - They say knowledge is power; this could not be more true for disinfesting your clothes of bed bugs. There are several articles and sources online about this procedure. However all methods may not be created equal or be right for your particular situation. This article will be going over some of the best methods for killing bed bugs in your laundry.

Bed bugs love to hide in clothing or bed linens because it gives them a good harborage area. Once they are in the clothing or bed linens it is easier for them to escape certain treatment strategies, they may also be transported more easily. To affectively kill bed bugs in a freezer the temperature needs to be 0 degrees for 2 hours, this will kill all life stages of bed bugs. However a larger batch of clothes will not drop in temperature as fast. For example a 5.5 lbs bundle of clothes takes about 8 hours to reach killing temperatures. So in order to kill all bed bugs leave your clothes in the freezer to 10-12 hours. Maybe a more manageable way to kill bed bugs in clothes is in the dryer. Bed bugs cannot survive temperatures up to 122 degrees; a typical residential dryer reaches temperatures between 130 degrees up to 165 degrees. In order to kill bed bugs in a 7lbs load of laundry you would need to dry them for about 30 minutes on high heat.

In summary we realized that there is more than one way to affectively kill bed bugs in laundry. Keep in mind however that reducing clutter and calling in a professional is always the best place to start. Systematic visual inspections are paramount in identifying the type and severity of an infestation.