How to Kill Bedbugs in Your Mattress With Cold or Heat

Since the use of the chemical DDT was banned, bedbugs have become a major problem. Professional exterminators, insect-killing sprays and good housekeeping are all effective to help control infestations. Extremes of heat and cold can help to kill bedbug infestations in mattresses which are hard to clean and would otherwise have to be discarded.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic Sheeting
• Probe Thermometer
• Space Heaters
• Rope

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Instructions

Debugging Mattresses

• 1

  Strip all bedding from the mattress and bag it. Wash all of the bedding at a minimum temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit and dry it on medium to high heat in a clothes dryer for at least 10 to 20 minutes.

• 2

  Wrap the mattress completely in a sheet plastic or Visqueen. Ensure it is tightly bound with rope and fully covered before moving it to a treatment area as dragging the mattress out unwrapped may leave bedbugs in the carpets and lead to a reinfestation.

• 3

  Place the wrapped mattress outside if the weather is hot. Alternatively, if the weather is cold, put it in a small, easily heated space. The ambient temperature needs to be about 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Push the probe thermometer through the plastic to monitor the internal temperature. It must be more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit in order to kill bedbugs.

• 4

  Set up several space heaters to increase the heat, if using an enclosed space such as a garage. The hotter the room can be made, the better.

• 5

  Leave the mattress wrapped in the hot area and monitor the internal temperature for at least 24 hours. To ensure the heat reaches the entire mattress, turn it over at least once during the process.

• 6

  Kill bedbugs with cold by preparing the mattress the same way you did in Steps 1 to 3. Choose to place the mattress in an area that will remain below 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Leave the plastic-covered mattress in the cold area for at least four days to ensure all of the bedbugs and eggs are dead.