Hello everyone. I have a small bedroom (125ft sq) that I recenly have had an outbreak of bedbugs. Right away I threw away my matress and box spring and cleaned out the room. I washed all my clothes in hot water and a hot dryer and vacuumed the floor BUT last night I got bit once while sleeping, so I know they are still alive. I have read the one sure fire way to kill all of them is to raise the temprature of my room to 113c for at least 4 minutes… this CANNOT be that hard to do in a small 125ft sq room. I considered a propane heater, but I thought this will be dangerous due to CO2 buildup in the room and high heat around a propane tank.
I then was about to buy 3 electric space heaters until I learned that almost all (all the ones I found in local stores) have a overheat safety feature.. I am not sure if this feature will prevent 2 or 3 speace heaters from reaching 113-120F..
i am having SLEEPLESS nights and really know its cant be THAT hard to close off my room and get it to 120F.. PLEASE advise me on how to best do this!!
THANK YOU
I really cannot afford to hire an exterminator to heat up my room. Im a college student and I work full time to pay for school
If you have just bought new mattresses, quickly get "sticky pads" from hardware store. Place under the legs of the bed move your bed away from the wall, don’t let blanket touch floor. Do this so new mattress doesn’t get infested. I been dealing with bb for a long time, (seems that way) Do not delay on this matter. They can live way up behind the walls, for a very long time, and can run to safety if you just heat a single room. There are several techniques that can be very help full but depends on problem.
Sticky pads- for roaches and what not.
I would recommend bb covers for you mattress if it becomes infested. spray some poison inside then seal up. Good to have anyway makes detection easier. get ready for a long battle. check if other rooms are infested.
don’t waste your money on heaters just hire a company to heat your room to 140 degrees the bugs will dye in like 20 less min.
If you place the Propane heater outside the door and detach the heater and feed the pipe underneath (between door and carpet, door and floor) then re-attach the heater that might be your best bet. Always be aware that any form of heat is dangerous and safety precautions should always be set in place. keep all sources of ignition away from the heater i e at least 5′ (feet) away. When raising the temperature check every so often to make sure everything is ok
As a student the burden to perform this should fall on the college,I assume you are in student housing.
Bedbug infestation is serious and you are better off letting professionals handle the problem
You should not try to heat your room with appliances that are not intended for that purpose. There are many stories of people starting their homes on fire attempting a DIY bedbug heat treatment with improper equipment. The safest bet is to hire an exterminator that performs heat treatments for bed bugs.
If you are determined to DIY, you may be able to save some money by renting a proper heater and fans from a local industrial/commercial equipment rental company. Make sure you rent a heater that is intended for use indoors and understand how to operate the equipment. Make sure you remove or protect all heat sensitive items within your room and that you unplug all of your electrical appliances/equipment before you apply the heat or your DIY heat treatment will get expensive in a hurry.