Ep.25 Does hot steam get rid of bedbugs?

Surely you’re curious or at least amused by the question we’re answering today in the series “Myth or Fact”: Does hot steam get rid of bedbugs? It’s an interesting tidbit we found on the internet, and if you want to know the answer, we invite you to follow Mr. Alexandru Vladimirescu, PhD in biology and head of the medical entomology laboratory at the Cantacuzino Institute.

What are you curious about? Write us in the comments and we’ll ask the specialist for you!

Interview transcript

Today, together with our specialist, we are debating a myth that you forwarded to us on our INFO DDD Facebook page. The myth goes like this: direct exposure to high-temperature steam above 50 degrees Celsius can instantly kill bedbugs. We can also vacuum them up and immediately transport them outside, which is just as effective. Mr. Vladimirescu, is it myth or fact?

It is partly true, in the sense that steam does help, and not only steam, but washing bed linen with hot water generally kills the presence of these hemiptera. But I don’t recommend anyone to do these things if there is an infestation, because there are specialized companies that, using specific methods, can make treatments that are really effective.

So vacuuming them up, putting them in a trash bag and taking them outside is not effective?

Not exactly the best solution.

But on the subject of this wave of bedbugs that France in particular has been facing lately, people are taking their mattresses out into the streets, is that really the solution, to get rid of the mattress, to replace it?

No, the best thing is to turn, as I said, to specialized companies that come and do fumigations or other modern methods, not necessarily based on wet solutions, so that in two or three days after leaving the house and after the treatment, we practically get rid of them.