Yes, you typically need to leave your house during a bed bug treatment, but the duration depends on the method your pest control professional uses.
If your home is being treated, you must leave it for at least four hours after treatment begins. It is recommended that you remain outside your home for the length of the treatment. Make other arrangements for the day (ex: stay with friends or relatives, run errands).
Yes, bed bugs can live and hide in pillows. Because these pests are drawn to human body heat and carbon dioxide, pillows provide easy access to a meal. They hide in pillow seams, folds, and under pillowcases.
Preparing your house effectively is half the battle in eliminating bed bugs. The core objective is to declutter, expose hiding spots for the treatment, and secure your belongings so the pests cannot escape or re-infest the area.
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 will ultimately exterminate any remaining bugs. As we mentioned above, bed bugs do not tolerate heat.
Bed bugs are driven out of hiding primarily by carbon dioxide from human breath and body heat. As they detect these biological cues, they emerge from their harborages—typically cracks, crevices, and mattress seams—to seek a host and feed.
Bed bugs are hardy pests, but they cannot survive the high temperatures found in most washing machines and dryers. When washed in hot water and dried on high heat, bed bugs at all life stages (adults, nymphs, and eggs) are killed.
But there are a few ways to tell the difference. Pattern: Bed bug bites may appear in a linear pattern, as a series of multiple bites in a row or a zigzag. Flea bites often show up in clusters of three (sometimes also in a straight line).
No, bed bugs cannot live in your hair on your head. They lack the specialized claws that insects like lice or ticks use to grip hair shafts. Bed bugs are also not parasitic and prefer to hide in static, dark crevices—like mattress seams and furniture.
You can use professional aerosol insecticides like Bedlam Plus Aerosol or Hot Shot Bed Bug Killer. Always target the mattress seams, folds, and tufts where bugs hide, and avoid spraying the flat areas directly where you sleep.
Bed bugs are surprisingly fast, capable of covering several feet in just a few minutes. This speed, combined with their ability to hitch rides on luggage, clothing, and furniture, allows them to travel significant distances, infesting new areas as they go. Even without wings, bed bugs are agile and quick to move.
The number one cause of bed bug infestations is travel and human movement. Because they are "hitchhikers," they easily latch onto luggage, backpacks, and clothing in infested areas like hotels, motels, and public transit, and are unknowingly transported into clean homes.
When dealing with a bed bug infestation on a tight budget, the most effective strategy relies on consistent, physical removal and heat treatment rather than expensive chemical sprays. The process requires immense patience and a step-by-step approach.
Basic Bed Bug Biology
Females will lay one to five eggs per day, and one female can lay between 200-300 eggs over her lifetime. The eggs are white, about 1/32-inch long, and are covered with sticky glue that keeps them attached to the surface where they are laid.
You can—and usually should—leave your refrigerator on during fumigation, provided you follow strict preparation guidelines.
Bed bugs are most active at night, specifically between midnight and 5:00 a.m.. They prefer to feed when their human host is in deep sleep, as they are drawn out by the warmth of a body and the carbon dioxide exhaled while breathing.
Yes, bed bugs can absolutely live on, in, or under your pillow. Because they seek out dark crevices and places close to their human host to feed, the seams, pillowcases, and zippers of pillows are common hiding spots.
Yes, bed bugs come off in the shower. Because they do not have specialized hook-like claws to cling to human hair or skin (unlike ticks or lice), washing thoroughly with warm water and soap will easily dislodge and wash them away.
Bed bugs bite wherever skin is exposed while you sleep. The most common areas are the face, neck, hands, arms, shoulders, and legs. Because they rarely bite through fabric, covered areas are usually spared unless your pajamas are loose enough for them to crawl underneath.
No, bed bugs cannot go inside your private parts. They do not live on the human body or burrow into the skin like some other parasites. However, they can and will bite exposed skin in the groin and genital area while you are sleeping.
No, bed bugs cannot bite through sheets. Their mouthparts (a needle-like proboscis) are short and designed to pierce human skin directly, not penetrate thick fabric.
No specific brand of laundry detergent is designed to kill bed bugs on its own. The active process of killing them relies entirely on high heat. While detergents break down oils and loosen dirt, it is the hot water and the dryer that eliminate the bugs and their eggs.
Bed bugs hide in small, dark, and tight crevices, typically within 6–10 feet of where people sleep or sit, allowing them to easily access food. Besides mattress seams and box springs, they frequently inhabit cracks in bed frames, headboards, nightstands, behind baseboards, in curtain folds, and inside upholstered furniture.
Yes, bed bugs and their eggs can technically survive a standard wash cycle. While the water and detergent will kill some bugs, the heat is usually not sustained or high enough to guarantee 100% elimination. The actual extermination relies on the high heat of your clothes dryer.