Does Cold Kill Bedbugs in City of London?

The Short Answer

Bedbugs are tough in the cold. A chilly room slows them down and they feed less, but they do not die. They can wait out a long spell without feeding and become active again once it warms up. What does kill them is being held at a very low temperature, right the way through whatever they are hiding in, for long enough. A good domestic freezer can manage that for small items. Nothing else in an ordinary home can.

What the Freezer Can Do

Freezing is useful for things that cannot go in the washing machine or dryer: a pair of shoes, a small bag, books, a soft toy that would not survive a wash.

1. Seal the item in a plastic bag, pressing out the air, so nothing escapes and it does not get damp.
2. Put it in a freezer that holds its temperature well, not a small ice box.
3. Leave room around it so the cold can reach the middle, and do not pack the freezer full.
4. Leave it for several days rather than overnight; thick items need longer.
5. Let it come back to room temperature inside the bag, then check it before opening it indoors.

The most common reason freezing fails is that the centre of the item never got cold enough. A thick bag stuffed with clothes can stay warmer in the middle for longer than you would expect.

What the Freezer Cannot Do

• It cannot treat a mattress, bed frame, sofa or anything else too big to go in.
• It cannot help with bedbugs that are still in the room the item came from.
• It is not reliable for electronics, some plastics or anything that holds moisture.
• It is slow, and a freezer opened many times a day does not stay cold enough.

For luggage specifically, see how to treat a suitcase after bedbugs, which puts freezing alongside the other options.

Why a Cold Room Does Not Work

People try turning the heating off, opening every window in January or leaving a flat empty over a cold spell. It does not work. A room never gets anywhere near cold enough, and the insects are tucked into seams, frames and skirtings where it stays warmer than the air. They slow down and wait.

The same goes for leaving furniture on a balcony, in a car or in a bike store overnight. It moves the problem around a building and may spread it, without killing anything. In a managed block it can also put neighbours at risk.

Heat Is the Reliable Version

Heat treatment does what people hope cold will do, but reliably. The whole room is raised to a temperature bedbugs cannot survive and held there, with a thermal camera used to find cold spots and bring them up. It kills eggs as well, which is why it is usually one visit. Our heat treatment page explains how it works in the flats and blocks here, and the London guide on whether bedbugs can survive heat treatment covers the places heat has to reach.

If you would rather not have heat, chemical treatment is a course of shorter visits instead. Either way, the price is from £220 and we give you the figure on the phone.

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