Often, even residents of the cleanest apartments notice a chain of bites on their bodies. They can only guess why bed bugs appeared in their apartment. As a rule, their cleaning is carried out systematically, and the carpets are knocked out, but the parasites still appear and ruin the lives of the residents.
Before you start a protracted battle with parasites and find out at what temperature the bug dies, it is important to figure out where the insects came from. This will help prevent a new invasion in the future.
The reasons for the appearance of bedbugs in the apartment
There are several factors due to which bedbugs can appear even in a sterile apartment:
- Neighbours. The main "suppliers" of bedbugs are those who live in the neighborhood. Parasites use tiny gaps in the ceilings and easily make their way from one apartment to another. The smell of human blood makes the bugs move in the vertical direction. They can easily climb the wall and seep into the vents. Adults are able to endure long starvation, so climba floor above or below is not a problem for them.
- Pets. Bed bugs often use pets as transport. The blood of animals is not suitable for feeding parasites, so they wait until the animal returns to the apartment. Even one female bed bug is enough for a whole colony of bed bugs to form in the house after a short period.
- Travel. A business trip or outdoor recreation in the nearest park can cause bed bugs to appear in the house. Just looking at the clothes won't help. Parasites can hide in the folds and seams of the bag. To protect yourself and your loved ones, it is recommended that you take your things, including your suitcase, to a dry cleaner after returning home.
- Old furniture. When buying used furniture, you cannot be one hundred percent sure that the family of bed bugs does not live in it. It is best to purchase new products, as the plants and factories lack one thing - people.
Lifespan of bed bugs under different conditions
To understand at what temperature the bug dies, you should take a closer look at their life expectancy. Under the most favorable conditions, the larva turns into a parasite in thirty-five days. Bed bugs can live for about a year.
If the larva develops at high temperatures - from twenty-five to thirty-two degrees, then the process of development of an adult is noticeably reduced. The heat also shortens the parasite's lifespan to ten months.
At a temperature of twenty to twenty-five degrees of heatBedbugs live longer - up to fifteen months.
If the ambient temperature drops below plus fifteen degrees, then the larvae stop developing, and adults fall into suspended animation. In this state, they can spend up to eighteen months.
Critical temperatures - a means of combating bedbugs
High temperatures are deadly for bed bugs. But at what temperature does the bug die? Fifty degrees above zero kills him in minutes. The life of an individual is reduced to thirty minutes if it finds itself in an environment where the temperature reaches forty-five degrees. The maximum life time of the larva is a day.
Bug is also sensitive to cold. Ten degrees of frost make them fall into suspended animation. Fifteen degrees below zero are detrimental to bedbugs. But they die only when this temperature persists for more than three days. Minus twenty degrees - and the bug dies in a few hours. The larvae keep for two days and then die.
Steam and boiling water against bedbugs
When it is already known at what temperature the bug dies, you can proceed to the next step - their destruction. First you have to decide which of the two methods to use: exposure to high or low temperatures.
Destroying bedbugs in an apartment is not an easy task. Failure to follow all instructions may result in re-infestation of parasites. But knowing at what temperature bed bugs die, you can completely get rid of them. There are several ways to control parasites with high temperatures:
- Steam generator. The device allows you to clean any surface from bedbugs. The hot mist created by the generator destroys both larvae and adults.
- Residents can use a thermal gun to fight bedbugs, which is used when installing stretch ceilings. Destroying bedbugs in an apartment with a thermal gun takes a little time: the air must be heated to sixty degrees and maintained at a temperature for thirty minutes.
- You can clean bed linen and clothes from bedbugs by washing. Things must be washed in water, the temperature of which will be ninety degrees.
- How to get rid of bedbugs in the apartment yourself? The answer is simple: ironing. Linen and clothes will need to be ironed on both sides, using the maximum temperature for things.
- To get rid of bedbugs in baseboards and crevices, you can pour boiling water over the habitats of parasites.
The advantages of high temperatures in the fight against bedbugs
There are enough advantages to using high temperatures against bedbugs. Among them:
- Harmless to the human body. Only pure water is used for disinfection.
- Surfing surfaces with steam or boiling water is quite simple, this is a great answer to the question "how to get rid of bedbugs in the apartment yourself".
- Water and steam help to get rid of insects living in clothes and bedding, notusing insecticides.
Disadvantages of the method:
- Steam does not penetrate into cracks.
- Unable to clean books of bedbugs.
- Steam can damage electrical appliances.
Low temperatures and freezing
Having figured out at what sub-zero temperature the bugs die, you can begin to destroy them by freezing.
In the cold seasons, bed bugs move closer to the heat - in apartments and houses. You can freeze them only when the thermometer fixes fifteen degrees below zero. In such cases, it is necessary to open the windows wide open and leave the room in this state for several days.
When the thermometer registers minus twenty degrees, it will take only a day to completely get rid of bedbugs. But it is not always possible to leave the windows open for several days. In such cases, you can take out "infected" items on the street. If the nest of parasites was found and localized, then they can be destroyed in the freezer.
Disadvantages of the method
Using low temperatures to control pests is a quick and cost-effective way to get rid of bed bugs. But the method has significant drawbacks:
- Suitable mainly for non-residential areas.
- During the disinfection, the decoration of the apartment may suffer.
- Pipes may not withstand critical temperatures.
Safetyin the fight against bedbugs
During the fight against parasites with high temperatures, residents must follow safety precautions:
- When using the steam generator, do not point it at people, varnished furniture or wallpaper.
- When the room is warming up, it is better to take out all the plastic items.
- Low temperatures for bedbug control can only be used in rooms where there are no sewerage and heating pipes.
If you can’t get rid of bedbugs on your own, then the only way out is to seek help from specialists.
