Bed bugs will only die from heat, not cold. You can put things in an industrial dryer at a Laundromat in high heat and it will kill them. That or not feeding them for over a year.
this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2025
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Yeah, I think the cutoff is 122F which isn't insanely high.
Mark Rober on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAOTJxYqh8
In the video: putting them in the freezer for three days will also kill them. After watching that video, I feel itchy everywhere.
Heat is much more effective, but freezing at 0f (normal temp for a household freezer) will kill bed bugs and their eggs. Problem is that it needs to be done for at least 4 days. That's why heat is better. Heat will kill them much faster.
There's are a few reasonable responses in this thread but I'm a post control professional. If you want to feel free to message me and I'd be glad to tell you what you can do that will actually get rid of them. Diatomaceous Earth isn't gonna cut it and cold will do nothing. You need heat and chemicals. They have likely laid eggs in the Tufts, or piping of the mattress. Pesticides won't penetrate eggs so there is no one time treatment that will cure this. Even if you kill what's alive you need to kill what hatches after before they lay more eggs. Insect growth regulators will also help. It will take time, patience, and professional grade products. If you can get your hands on crossfire or temprid those work best for bed bugs.
Would you recommend I return or is that too risky?
Keep in mind there are many, many small rooms there, over 50 likely.
Oh if there's that many rooms I would say it's just gonna be a recurring issue unless they have hired a pest company to deal with this. I have a hotel account that I treat regularly. They have a legal obligation to do so if a customer complains but this is California. When we do find actual evidence of bed bugs we treat every room within 3 doors of that room even if it's only the one room. They are prolific breeders and unless it's being professionally addressed I wouldn't risk it if you can avoid it.
I treat the entire hotel once a month and I still go there at least twice a month to address bed bugs when customers complain. Granted, at a hotel people are constantly coming and going and bringing them with them so it's a constant battle.
Personally, I would find somewhere else unless the owner is proactively taking care of it. If not, you'll be going through this more than once I can almost guarantee it.
I don't want to discourage you or anything by the way, but these fuckers are very hard to control. One of the only bugs that can cause actual psychosis just from fear of them alone. They aren't dangerous as far as disease and stuff go but they can cause serious mental distress. Again, of you want some recommendations on products you can try I'm happy to help but you might not be able to purchase some of them without a license.
I worked as an exterminator as well, but only for a year. I've dealt with tons of bedbugs and had my own lovely infestation from new neighbors in an apartment building many years ago.
Your advice is great but I think you should read the original post. OP did not take their air mattress or bedding when they left. They need to stay away! I think they are probably in the clear.
I hope you shared on Reddit that your update is only on Lemmy - we need more traction!
Bed bugs don’t jump or fly. I’d get a mattress cover and those sticky traps, enough for each leg post and put them in different areas besides just under the posts.
Assuming the bed itself has been deep sanitized I would check the glue traps every day.
I’d also store all of my clothes in bags until I was confident the bugs are gone.
None of this will save them. If the mattress was in the apartment during the original infection they will be throughout it. Doubt the landlord had the place properly treated.
They make mattress covers that zip all around the mattress and the box spring and keep bed bugs trapped inside. They're made just for keeping bed bugs away.
That's not the issue, though. The complex is obviously infected and unless the entire place is treated and all the tenants manage to take precautions with their clothing and vehicles, there's no way they're all gone. Badly infested places will have the bugs drop down from the ceilings. The complex owner would have to do treatments for the building multiple times to eradicate them all. They're much easier to defeat in a single family home than in an apartment complex.
Actually, they can and do climb walls and ceiling and then fall onto the bed.
Did I just read that you gave Starbucks bed bugs?
Biological terrorism
Get diatomaceous earth, pesticide specialty store or garden center (not as good). Powder the carpets espcially near walls and bed legs and door to room. Also, take off outlet, switch covers and blow some in there. Put mattress in special bed bug proof bag and seal zipper with duct tape. If you live in hot climate. Put those sealed black garbage bags in the hot sun for th entire day (free high heat). If not, commercial hot dryer. All your clothes. If you find a pesticide specialty store, they can sell you the stuff and sprayer. Follow their instructions. Do it again in 10 days. Had 'em once. Not fun or easy. All above has to be done at same time
This is what basically worked a few years ago. Massive mess, a huge pain, but it worked.
CimeXa is diatomaceous earth turned up to 11. Not as cheap, and probably more hazardous to breathe; but works great.
That and Crossfire concentrate seem to be the best treatments I've found if you aren't able to bring in industrial heaters or ozone generators. Luckily we found them before moving in. But 6 months later I'm still paranoid and examining every little bug I see.
Hey OP, I hope you catch this reply. It seems like most people here didn't see you original post. You need to stay away from that place! The landlord knew it was infested and rented it to you anyway. With that many units it will never not be infested.
After reading both posts I'd say 90% likely you're clear. I've had an infestation from apartment neighbors before myself. If you have access to a dryer run your clothes through a lot. Even better would be one of those big industrial ones at a laundromat but I understand money is tight.
You need to call that piece of shit slumlord and say you're not coming back. You need to demand, do not ask, demand any deposit money back for knowingly renting you a unit infested with bedbugs. Threaten small claims court and going to the local news, and follow through if they don't give you your money back.
In small claims you don't need a lawyer. It is for any civil matter under $5000. You should not have to pay much if anything to take them to small claims court.
And since this person is such a piece of shit, I would inform the local news about the situation whether they give you your money back or not. Send an email that says the landlord's name, the address of the 50 unit complex, and tell your story. Tell them you fear everyone there is living with bedbugs and you think it could spread to the community. Nail this slumlord to the wall. You can do it!
get the carpet removed and put in vinyl click in flooring or you could get some hard flooring that could float over the carpet
use sulfur soap for a few weeks, it will make your skin very undesirable for pests
make some sticky paper and cover the area around the bed frame and make sure that none of your bedding touches the ground or the walls , it's my understanding they only crawl so you can trap them with the sticky paper
for the most part, it's my understanding they live in the carpet and floors. they find you at night so keeping them from getting to you is your only hope
Aw poor clock. You made the right move. Sorry about your family member. We had an infestation before Covid. Moved. Sold all wooden furniture. High heat all clothing and soft toys (some melted, sorry ikea moose). Lived in fear for years. Almost? Over? It? If you go back, just burn the place to the ground. There are treatments, but without your landlord evicting everyone, burning all their furniture and melting all their plushies, I wouldn’t trust a word out of their mouths. One bed bug won’t live that long. Good luck with your credit, it’s doable. Don’t go back!
You sold the furniture‽ Did you warn the buyer? We had an infestation years ago and had to throw out most of our belongings including electronics.
If your landlord hires a pest control specialist, ask them to use Aprahend. It's a fungal spore that kills bed bugs. Like a biological weapon, which sounds cool and terrifying.
If your landlord doesn't want to or whatever; print these out (check your local library or university for 3d printing services):
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4120219
Buy a cheap ketchup bottle from a kitchen supply store and small jar of diatomaceous earth (DE) from a pet store, usually the nicer looking stores carry some sort of DE. Try not to get a large bag because just that small jar will last you your whole life.
Fill bottle with DE, use it to "dust" the indents in the traps. Though apparently they can't climb well, so the gaps are more than enough (but, you know... fuck 'em). Put these traps underneath each leg of your bed. To go the extra mile you can then use the bottle to get the DE around and behind the baseboards in your room. It would create a sort of perimeter around your space that should keep most things out. Just be careful to only put it places that won't be disturbed that much. Breathing that dust isn't good for you, nor is it good for vacuums lol.
Also watch Mark Rober's video about Bed Bugs to get rid of some of that fear:
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=2JAOTJxYqh8
/watch?v=2JAOTJxYqh8
As you know first hand, the largest harm from bed bugs is mental and the stigma surrounding them makes it that much worse. You are not a dirty person, you are just unlucky. Getting bed bugs on all your stuff is merely unfortunate and has nothing to do with your actions, choices, or who you are as a person.
Good luck fren.
I'd recommend purchasing an ozone generator and ozonating the house/room if possible. Forever ozone makes an affordable residential unit for 80 bucks.
Make sure you have a couple extension cords (it's dangerous to breathe) so you can activate it from outside the house/room, and run it for the amount of time described in the instructions to eliminate bedbugs, and your problem should be solved.
Is this an affiliate market link? Are you that cool Polish chick who talked with me in the "hell" room about that exciting investment opportunity? It sounds too good to be true, which is why I'm interested.
Seriously however, does this device work? Ozone is also hazardous and these are small rooms, many of them close together. Also, is this device something that works completely all the time? I am poor, spending more money on a wild card seems Luke a risky idea.
Are you that cool Polish chick who talked with me in the "hell" room about that exciting investment opportunity?
"Nicole" spams people's DMs on Lemmy and Mastodon, making new accounts every time one of them gets banned. I would suggest not following through with that investment "opportunity" unless you're happy becoming a scam victim.
They're correct. Ozone generators do help with bedbug infestations, ~~I'll try to find the paper I read.~~ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32302460/ And another: https://ag.purdue.edu/department/entm/_docs/493_capstone/feston-capstone-summary.pdf
I used ozone generators as part of a bed bug treatment, along with CimeXa and Crossfire as I recommended in another reply. And it was effective. But I was lucky and found them before moving in, so I was able to seal the house up and go nuclear.
You don't really want to run an ozone generator in an occupied house. Even if you seal a room up, it will leak out and probably not good to breathe. But it has the upside of killing just about anything living, so it will kill both bedbugs and their eggs given a high enough concentration and long enough time.
I bought one of these (not an affiliate link) and it was overkill.
I came back to this thread and saw other responses about a previous post you made about this place, and I just want to also chime in and also say this ozone generator would not be viable for that situation where there will be so many untreated rooms of other tenets. I would recommend not going back.
I have no relation to that company, other than having bought a couple of their generators to deal with a mold and mildew smell issue in a garage and a room in my house, where they worked quite well.
I haven't ever needed them for bed bugs personally, but from what I've read it should be able to exterminate every bug in a room after about 10 hours per room (though it may not kill every egg if they're in an odd spot that the gas can't get to).
When I used one in a bedroom, I didn't notice much if any leakage from the room with the door closed, and it dissipated after a couple hours of being off.
I would hate to recommend this and have it potentially not work considering your situation, so you may want to try other solutions first before going down on this route.