Will Bed Bugs Die in the Washer?
WouterBefore washing infested linens, you should first sort and seal them in plastic bags. Then, put them in the washing machine. The hotter the water is, the better, as you don’t want the bedbugs to spread throughout the clothes. Select the hottest temperature for washing and the hottest dryer cycle for drying, and follow the instructions.
You can also use a dryer to kill the bugs, but it’s best to do it bag by bag. By doing this, you’ll ensure that bedbugs die and their eggs are destroyed. You can even treat all your clothes the same way, which is helpful for reducing your overall bedbug infestation.
While there are many recommendations for dis-infesting laundry, there are also many conflicting and vague recommendations. These guidelines come from limited research studies. Fortunately, Naylor and Boase conducted one such study to better understand what conditions are necessary for bedbugs to die in the washer. The researchers placed laboratory-reared bed bugs in cotton bags and placed them in sheets, pockets, and among clothing. The researchers also compared the effects of standard cleaning methods on the presence of bed bugs.
You can also use the dryer to kill bed bugs on clothes. It works by heating your clothes to a temperature of 140 degrees for 30-90 minutes. This temperature is lower than the temperature that most washing machines offer, but it will still kill the bugs on the fabric. Then, the clothes should be dried for about 30 minutes to kill any remaining bed bugs.
