Treatment Prep

What to Do With Items That Can't Take Heat During Bed Bug Treatment

"What are you doing with items that can't stand heat?" is a thread that shows up again and again on r/Bedbugs, usually a day or two before someone's heat treatment. It's a good question. Heat works because it reaches every corner of a room at once — but some of what's in that room can't go through it, and anything taken out has to be handled so it doesn't carry bed bugs straight back in.

Why some things have to come out

During a heat treatment the whole room, and everything in it, is brought up to a temperature bed bugs and their eggs can't survive, and held there. Most furniture, clothing, bedding and books are fine. Things that melt, warp, spoil, burst or could catch fire are not, and some living things obviously can't stay. Your technician will give you a written prep list for your home — follow that over any general list, including this one.

Items commonly removed before heat

• Things that melt or soften: candles, crayons, lipstick and wax-based cosmetics, chocolate, vinyl records, some plastics.
• Pressurized or flammable items: aerosol cans, lighters, propane or butane canisters, solvents, ammunition.
• Medications and some foods: prescriptions, insulin and anything that has to stay cool, plus perishables.
• Living things: people, pets, fish tanks and houseplants.
• Heat-sensitive valuables: musical instruments, original artwork, irreplaceable photos and documents. Ask about electronics — many can stay, some shouldn't.

The catch: those items can carry bugs too

The most common worry in that thread is reasonable: if you carry a box of things out of the room untreated, you might be carrying bed bugs with it. So removed items shouldn't just be stacked in the car or the next room. Practical steps people use:

• Inspect each item under good light before it leaves the room — seams, cases, hinges, the underside of anything with a frame.
• Bag and seal it in clear plastic, label it, and keep it out of bedrooms and away from upholstered furniture.
• Keep the bags closed until your technician says how each one will be handled.

How heat-sensitive items get treated instead

Items that can't take heat aren't left untreated. Depending on what they are and where they were in the room, the options include a targeted chemical treatment of the item or its case, careful inspection and cleaning, or keeping it sealed and isolated while the rest of the home is confirmed clear. Hard, smooth items that were nowhere near the bed are lower risk than a guitar case that lived under it. That's why the plan is worked out per item on the visit, not with a blanket rule. Our comparison of heat vs. chemical treatment explains why many jobs combine the two.

Don't throw it all out

A lot of people start bagging things for the trash before treatment day. Most belongings can be saved, heat-sensitive ones included, once they're handled properly — see can bed bugs be treated without throwing everything away.

The Bottom Line

Items that can't take heat come out before a heat treatment, but they come out inspected and sealed, not loose. Follow your technician's prep list, keep removed items bagged and labeled, and let the treatment plan decide how each one gets handled.

Related reading: how do you know bed bugs are gone after treatment.