With the dryer, not the wash. Every source in this brief treats the tumble-dry cycle as the step that kills bed bugs and their eggs in fabric, on the hottest setting the fabric can tolerate, for at least 30 minutes. Washing on its own generally will not do it — the wash-water temperatures commonly used sit below the minimum lethal temperature.
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How long does the dryer actually need to run?
US EPA's instruction is to put bedding and clothing in the dryer at high temperatures for 30 minutes; Michigan State University Extension's preparation standard matches it — highest heat settings for washing and drying, at least 30 minutes. Cornell's figures land in the same place: a hot dryer for 30 minutes for linens generally, or 125 °F for 20 minutes specifically for sheets, pillows, pillowcases, a bed skirt and blankets. Peer-reviewed tumble-dry research puts the threshold at 30-plus minutes on a hot cycle above 40 °C, killing all life stages.
- 30 minEPA and MSU Extension, hottest setting
- 10–15 minUC IPM's stated minimum, not a target
- 20 minCornell, at 125 °F, for sheets and pillowcases
- >40 °CPeer-reviewed hot-cycle threshold, 30+ min
UC IPM's figure of 10 to 15 minutes sits lower than all of these, and the brief is explicit about why it isn't the number to use: it's a stated minimum for a home dryer at its hottest setting, not a target. Where three independent sources converge on 30 minutes and one gives a floor of 10 to 15, the safe reading is 30 minutes — checking first whether the fabric can take the heat, since a garment that's damaged by the setting isn't a usable outcome either.
Does washing clothes kill bed bugs on its own?
No. Washing alone generally will not kill bed bugs, and the reason is a temperature gap: the wash-water figure MSU Extension cites runs 100–120 °F, which dips below the 113 °F minimum lethal temperature at its low end. Every source that addresses laundry treats the dryer, not the wash cycle, as the step that actually does the killing. A load that's washed and air-dried or line-dried has not been heat-treated by any sourced definition here.
How do you bag and store clothes during treatment?
Preparation splits into what can go through a hot dryer and what can't, and both categories get sealed either way.
Clothes, bedding, shoes, plush toys
3- Seal in large clear plastic bags, sealed tightly, until they're actually laundered
- Run the hottest dryer setting the fabric tolerates for at least 30 minutes
- Store clean items in sealed bags or containers afterward so they aren't reinfested
MSU Extension, Preparing your home for bed bug treatment.
Electronics, books, breakables, hard toys
3- Airtight plastic tote bins, not plastic bagsthese items can't take the dryer step at all
- Decluttering first is described as an extremely important step, because bed bugs thrive in cluttered living areas
- Do not put anything on top of the bed or move items into another room during preparation
MSU Extension, Preparing your home for bed bug treatment.
When can you put clothes back after bed bug treatment?
This brief has no sourced number of days for that specific question, so we won't invent one. What the sources do establish is the safe sequence: heat-treat the load in the dryer at the hottest tolerable setting for at least 30 minutes, then keep it sealed in a bag or a bin rather than returning it to open drawers or closets right away. MSU Extension's broader caution — not moving items into another room during preparation, and not putting anything on top of the bed — exists precisely because moving laundered items back too early, into a space still being worked on, undoes the point of laundering them in the first place.
Sources
4 cited- Dryer times and the hottest-setting standard: US EPA, Controlling Bed Bugs Using Integrated Pest Management; Michigan State University Extension, Preparing your home for bed bug treatment; Cornell / NYS IPM, Managing Bed Bugs and Bed Bug FAQs; UC IPM Pest Notes Publication 7454, Bed Bugs, May 2013 (checked 2026-08-18).
- Peer-reviewed tumble-dry threshold: Naylor & Boase 2010, as cited in Ohio State University, Bed Bug Control: Heat and Cold research reference (checked 2026-08-18).
- Wash-water temperature and why washing alone isn't enough: Michigan State University Extension, Preparing your home for bed bug treatment (checked 2026-08-18).
- Bagging, tote bins and decluttering: Michigan State University Extension, Preparing your home for bed bug treatment (checked 2026-08-18).