I’m going to show you how to do a DIY heat treatment for bed bugs. I’ll walk you through the entire process from the beginning, so that you can be totally confident in doing this safely and effectively. We’ll start by describing exactly what a bed bug heat treatment is. Then, I’m going to talk about the tools and supplies you will need, and also provide a checklist for each item. I’ve provided a budget for what you should spend on this as well. Before entering the DIY world of Heat Treatment for Bed Bugs: WARNING: If you attempt to treat a bed bug infestation affecting multiple rooms in your home, do not attempt to do this yourself. I’m writing this as a guide for a single room. There are numerous methods out there for removing bed bugs — hiring a pro is the first one that comes to mind. However, they take forever and are extremely expensive! I will discuss heat treatment in detail and describe how you can purchase everything you need to get rid of your bed bug infestation without breaking your budget. Beds are generally the heart of a bedroom, but for those with bed bugs it’s their worst nightmare. If you have bed bugs, you’ll know how hard it can be to get rid of them, especially if you live in a large apartment complex. Luckily there is a way to stop bed bugs using a DIY bed bug heat treatment. The good news is that it will save you a lot of time and money when compared to calling an exterminator.

Do It Yourself Bed Bug Heat Treatment

Introduction

Bed bugs are one of the toughest pests to get rid of. With their small size and ability to hide, it may seem like bed bugs are invincible. However, there is at least one method that can kill them without fail: heat. While professional heat treatments can cost thousands of dollars, you can bring in an exterminator for much less if you do most of the work yourself. Here’s what you need to know before trying a DIY bed bug treatment with heat.

Do-It-Yourself Bed Bug Treatment Options

One of the best options for treating your own home is heat treatment. It’s a safe, effective and cost-effective method of eradicating bed bugs without having to enlist the help of an exterminator.

• Heat treatment involves heating up infested items to temperatures high enough to kill bed bugs and their eggs at every stage of development. This can be achieved using portable dryers, steam cleaners or “bug bomb” pesticides—but they’re generally not recommended because they won’t reach high enough temperatures to do the job properly.
• The temperature required for effective bed bug heat treatment will depend on what’s being treated: 120 degrees Fahrenheit for about one hour is sufficient for residential furniture; 130 degrees F for about half an hour will suffice for mattresses; and 140 degrees F for about 20 minutes kills both eggs and adults without damaging fabrics or plastic surfaces like vinyl floors or children’s toys.

How to Prepare for a Bed Bug Heat Treatment

Before you get started, there are a few things you’ll need to make sure you have on hand:

• A thermometer (or several) to monitor room temperature. You should be aiming for a minimum of 55°C, but ideally 60°C or higher. You can also use infrared thermometers if you have them handy—these will make it easier to see where the heat is concentrated in your treatment area.
• Fans: make sure that there is sufficient ventilation in the room so that hot air does not get trapped and cause safety hazards or discomfort for anyone staying in the space during treatment. In general, having one fan per 10 square feet of area being treated is a good rule of thumb; if possible, place fans at both ends of any sectioned-off areas such as closets or large pieces of furniture like dressers or bookshelves so that they pull moisture away from those spaces as well (which will help prevent mold growth). If using a humidifier instead—and only if using one—make sure it’s set up properly (that is: making sure all pipes are securely fastened so they don’t move around when placed under pressure) and turned off before starting your heat treatment; otherwise mold may develop within its reservoir due to stagnant water sitting inside its pipes while they’re exposed without proper circulation occurring outside them!

How to Kill Bed Bugs with Heat

Bed bugs are more sensitive to heat than cold. That’s why you can use a heat gun to kill them by exposing them to high temperatures for an extended period of time. Bed bugs are also susceptible to freezing temperatures, which can be used in combination with heat treatment.

Heat Treatment: Heat treatments kill bed bugs by lowering their body temperature until they die. The exact temperature required depends on many factors such as the size of the room and number of infestations but it is generally between 120°F and 150°F (49°C – 65°C).

Using a Steamer: You can also use your clothes steamer or iron as an alternative way to apply heat with this method. This method works best for smaller items such as mattresses or couches because it requires more time than using a large heater or space heater would require for treatment purposes.

How to Keep Bed Bugs Away after Heat Treatment

The best way to keep bed bugs away after heat treatment with a DIY kit is to use a bed bug mattress cover. This will trap any bed bugs that have been killed, and prevent them from coming back into contact with your body or clothes. You can also use an interceptor box in addition to the mattress cover, which will help catch any remaining live bugs and stop them from climbing up towards the bottom of bed sheets.

A few other things you can do include spraying down all surfaces of your room with an all-purpose disinfectant spray (make sure it’s approved for use on mattresses), setting out traps such as glue boards or interceptors, and thoroughly cleaning any items that may have come into contact with contaminated areas including rugs, furniture and clothing.

Should You Do It Yourself?

You may want to consider doing it yourself with a bed bug heat treatment if:

• You’re not sure what you’re doing and would rather not risk damaging your home.
• You’re strapped for cash and can’t afford an exterminator.
• You don’t have access to the specialized equipment that’s needed for professional heat treatment.

Bed bug heat treatment works, but you need to do it right.

Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to get rid of, but a bed bug heat treatment can effectively kill off any remaining bugs. The reason for this is that the temperature needs to be high enough to kill them. The higher the temperature, the more effective it will be at killing bed bugs and their eggs. Bed bug heat treatments have been successfully used for decades by professionals in exterminating pests such as roaches, ants and spiders throughout homes across America. However, there are some important things you should know before attempting a DIY bed bug heat treatment yourself:

• The entire house must be treated at once: This means that your entire residence must be treated with extreme care at once or else you will still have an infestation lurking somewhere in your home after completing one room’s treatment process–and probably one other room as well due to cross-contamination from dirty laundry lying around everywhere! Otherwise every time someone goes into another room with dirty clothes on them (which happens frequently), they could bring back some nasty critters into those rooms too! This problem could also lead down paths such as bringing back some nasty critters into those rooms too!”

Conclusion

You are well on your way to treatment–you’re already getting the bed bugs under control. Now that you know about the dangers of heat treatment, you may be wondering whether or not to do it yourself. While you can definitely go ahead and purchase a commercial product, we have found that investing in a good heating pad (or two) will provide you with an effective and cost-effective solution for thermal treatment of your bed bug infestation. We recommend purchasing a heat gun and an electric blanket; these are available from both Amazon and BedBugHeatTreatment.com . Heat guns run around $30-$50 per unit, and electric blankets run around $70-$100 per unit. We recommend having two heat guns (one for each mattress) as they will prevent over-heating of the same area while using them simultaneously in order to prevent excessive damage to furniture.