FOLLOWING the news of a bed bug invasion sweeping across Paris and reports that the UK could be next, it’s important to know how to properly kill the creatures.
Bed bugs are known to be tricky to get rid of once they find their way into your home and can be found in bed frames, mattresses, furniture, clothing, behind pictures and under loose bits of wallpaper.
As cases have risen recently by 65 per cent year-on-year, a cleaning expert has revealed the exact temperature you need to wash your bedding and towels at to stop the creepy crawlies from taking over your home.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, the experts from Bed Bug Specialist revealed the one weakness of the critters – high temperatures.
According to the pros, one of the best ways to kill the critters is to wash any laundry “at 60 degrees for 30 minutes” to terminate “all bed bugs and their eggs.”
“Lowering the temperature to 40 degrees kills all adult bed bugs, but only 25 percent of the eggs,” they added.
But if you want to make sure they’re gone you should take a few other steps as well.
Before going into your washing machine, towels and bedding should be in a “sealed bag or container”, just make sure.”
Disposable plastic bin bags are good for this, since you can safely store your clothes in there and keep them tied up, then rip the bag inside the machine to make sure no bed bugs can escape.
“This way, you avoid spreading bed bugs onto the ground around the machine.
“Of course, put the used bags into another, clean bag, seal it and throw it in an outdoor rubbish bin,” the experts explained.
After a cycle in your washing machine, add the towels and bedding to a tumble tryer for 30 minutes on high heat.
The Spruce noted that to kill bed bugs “the heat should exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49C) to kill both the bugs and the eggs.”
That said, you should always check how much heat the fabric handle before doing this.
After coming out of the dryer, carefully inspect each item and fold them on a clean table to ensure no bed bugs survived.
After washing and drying, wait until you’re sure the infestation has been eliminated before using the towels and bedding again.
“Use plastic containers or plastic bags for storage, as bedbugs can live inside cardboard boxes,” the pros at The Spruce said.
Certain clothes and fabrics will be destroyed by washing and drying at such high temperatures.
The freezer is the next best thing to try for these items, but should be -0 or lower for it to work.
“Most items must be left in the freezer for at least four days. This will ensure that the centre of the item has reached zero degrees. Bulky items can take longer,” The Spruce explained.
