7 Myths About Bed Bugs Debunked

Truth: While bed bugs can’t live in foam, they can stash themselves in any crevice that’s close to your body while you’re inert, such as in the small cracks of your bed frame. So even though foam isn’t habitable for bed bugs, someone who’s sleeping on it is still vulnerable.

Truth: Fabric is only one mode of transport. Bed bugs get around on their own just fine. Bed bugs can move around within buildings, between rooms and units. They can also hitch a ride on furniture or other infested items to move from one home to another. If you live in a multi-unit building and you know bed bugs are in apartments near yours, you should have an exterminator examine your home and look for signs of the pests. And if your home has an infestation in one room, adjacent rooms should be treated, too.

Truth: There are reputable handlers with well-trained bed bug–sniffing dogs and there are scammers with untrained dogs. There are also legit bug-sniffing dogs that occasionally make mistakes.

Dogs and handlers should have proper accreditation and verifiable training through respected organizations such as the World Detector Dog Organization and the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association.

As for spotting signs of bed bugs yourself, there are a couple of things to look for on your sheets: tiny hard brown dots about the size of a pen tip (bed bug excrement) and small blood spots where you might have smashed a bed bug while rolling over. You might also see white eggs the size of sesame seeds in small clumps in or around furniture.

Find out how to identify bed bugs.

And remember, if you see none of the above in your home and your only worry is bite marks, the problem could be something else. There are many insects that bite in the night.

Truth: Most likely you won’t have to leave your expensive TV or computer—or much else—on the curb after a run-in with bed bugs. According to DeVries, you probably won’t need to throw away any of your items, unless the infestation is severe. “It is usually better to treat and eradicate the bugs first,” DeVries says. “If you want to replace items, it’s best to do so only after the problem has been solved to make sure new items don’t get infested.”

Once your home is treated professionally, your belongings should be okay. Exterminators use heat to kill bed bugs, a temperature above 120° F. (The high setting on most clothes dryers is well above this, by the way.) They bring in portable heaters and fans and gradually heat the room, using sensors to make sure the heat is well-distributed.

Some pest control companies ask you to strip beds and furniture and bag up belongings including clothes, shoes, and coats so that bed bugs have nowhere to hide during the treatment. You’ll leave these bags (tied tightly) in the room being heated so that the bed bugs get baked with the rest of the space. Most everything in your home, including furniture, can withstand this heat for the hour and a half necessary to kill off the bugs.

Truth: In some cases, it can be. But the trick is keeping bed bugs in one place long enough to take the heat till they’re dead. A hair dryer can be a reliable tool for flushing bed bugs out of cracks and crevices, though. The bugs will scurry away from the hot wind.

Truth: Most over-the-counter products—including natural oils, cayenne pepper, and diatomaceous earth—won’t be effective at killing the pests, according to DeVries. That also includes bug bombs, or sprays containing deet; the concentration is usually not high enough to kill bed bugs or their eggs (and it’s not safe to misuse this chemical by applying more than is recommended). Professional heat treatment by an exterminator is the surest way to kill bed bugs.

If you’re waiting for treatment, you might be able to reduce the number of bed bugs by laying down Cimexa’s Insecticide Dust, which is made mostly of silicon dioxide. Sprinkle it in cracks and joints of a bed frame and in any contact points where bugs could hide (for example, where wood meets the floor and where a bed platform meets the mattress). This insecticide absorbs the waxy exterior of a bed bug’s shell, leaving it desiccated, but you’ll probably need multiple applications. You can also “bake” bedding, shoes, backpacks, and pillows in a clothes dryer set on high for 10 to 20 minutes.

Truth: Bed bugs can live one to four months at regular temperatures (possibly a bit longer at cooler temperatures). An exterminator should come more than once and should inspect your home before offering a quote. Depending on the degree of problem and the size of your home, treatment costs can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Many exterminators include a follow-up visit, and some will return several times. (It would be prudent to request this.) After two to three visits from a pro to make sure there are no signs of bed bugs, you can consider yourself clear of the infestation.

These pests are more common than you think. From the “Consumer 101” TV show, learn how you can protect yourself against a bed bug infestation.