You will need to wash everything you can remove from the area that's infested. That means linens, the mattress cover, clothing, stuffed animals, and even curtains and drapes, if possible.
The most reliable way to kill bedbugs while doing to laundry is to use heat. Set the washing machine and dryer to their warmest settings and run long cycles. Also consider using a bedbug killing laundry additive that can be squirted in along with your detergent.
Buy the Hygea Natural Bed Bug Laundry Treatment at The Home Depot for $38.13
Before you put your mattress cover back on, use a brush with stiff bristles to scrape along all seams and along the sides of the mattress, removing insects and eggs alike. I recommend a brush with a replaceable head, for the record. And if you aren't already using a mattress cover that forms a complete seal around your mattress, now is the time to start!
Buy a bottle of Hygea Natural Bed Bug & Lice Exterminator Laundry Treatment from The Home Depot for $38.13 Buy the Full Circle Laid Back 2.0 Dish Brush with Replaceable Head on Amazon for $7.83 Buy the Utopia Bedding Zippered Waterproof Mattress Cover on Amazon for $14.99 to $22.99When used in moderation and precisely as directed, bedbug-killing pesticides are a safe and effective part of your extermination strategy. These pesticides might be necessary, frankly, unless you want to burn everything in your home and move to a new town, leaving your possessions behind.
Because while you can wash sheets and clothes and such, you can launder carpets, upholstery, or the mattress itself, you can kill the bedbugs hiding therein right where they are using a bed bug killing spray. Note that there are organic bed bug killer options available, though they may not be as effective.
Buy a gallon of Harris Toughest Bed Bug Killer Spray on Amazon for $54.49 (originally $59.99) Buy a gallon of Eco Defense Organic Bed Bug Killer on Amazon for $44.95Bedbugs don't do well with heat. In fact, they die. So if you have items you fear are infested with bedbugs that you can't launder, don't want to treat with chemicals, or if you just want to double down after using other eradication methods as well, get a bedbug-killing heater.
These are essentially just large, well-insulated compartments lined with heat-reflective material that connect to a hot air blower. When set up, many are large enough for full-sized luggage or even small pieces of furniture, while larger and pricier options can accommodate a mattress or a full wardrobe worth of clothing.
You plug the bug heater in, close it up with the infested items inside, then kill all the bugs with prolonged exposure to temperatures over 120º Fahrenheit.
Buy a ZappBug Oven 2 bedbug killing heater on Amazon for $349.99
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