How to Use a Steamer to Treat for Bed Bugs 

I have a leather sectional. At the end of this informative video, you mentioned NOT to steam leather. I did a search for steaming leather on youtube and found many car detailers use steamers to clean leather car interiors. My sofa is about 15 years old and in awesome condition. I steamed it for the bed bugs and it looks BRAND NEW. Thanks for the video.

Awesome tutorial - really straight forward and super practical. I especially like the trick of gaging the temperature of your steamer using a food thermometer.

They hide in the cracks and crevices of the plastic and wood parts. The undersides of the chair legs might also have them. It's not just the fabrics.

air mattresses are tough, I usually recommend cleaning them with hot, soapy water and scrubbing any evidence you see, you could also consider a vacuum to remove any bugs

Ha thats typically an excellent idea. I'm sitting here doing steam treatment on my furniture wondering if my steamer is good enough.

Man so much info. Top to bottom, the leather thing (my couch grrr), the slight angle. Thanks so much!

Bed bugs lay their eggs as they move around, if you want to kill all the eggs, steam the entire surface where they would have moved to feed.

thanks so much for this video Jeff. invaluable information in this battle. I've learned so much from all your videos I'm considering pest control for a vocation, lol.

it's tough to say for sure what to do with the other items, there is an episode of Bed Bug TV that references personal belongings in the title and it covers many of your options, I recommend watching it and see if that answers any of your questions

Thanks . It’s good to know how long to hold the steam in one area. One inch a second.

Thanks for the advice! I have a bed bug infestation in my bedroom, which also has my computer desk and chair. I found them in my chair, and have a handheld steamer I'm using. Nice to know I don't need to cover every inch like I have been doing!

I went to a department store to see a vacuum for the bb but is a monstruosity I cannot use because my age. Even my daughter claimed that will kill her back. We need a small vacuums. Your expertise in very helpful

Very good presentation, thank you.

This was so helpful. Thank you

Can be used house steamer (for ex. Kärcher? Or Vaporetto?) Are they enough?

Will a steam method like u show in this video work on all stages of Clothes Moths too? I had a moth problem in my last place. Although I have no visible moth larvae chewing evidence on my mattress, I have seen a clothes moth fly off of it when I came home from an extended trip. I would rather just treat the mattress with steam to kill the eggs, dry it, and encase in a mattress protector, than to ever worry about the mattress again. Thoughts, tips, comments?

gonna try. Thanks brotha

Awesomeeeee !!!

What model steamer are you using?

we got Bed Bugs like really bad in are room an even tho im thinking about moving an just throwing everything out even clothes just buying new stuff should i get a steamer anyway to be on the safe side

any particular brand of steamer that works best for bb?

you have to ask the pest control company because it depends on what pesticides they are using, every pesticide can have different "re-entry intervals" so they would need to tell you

do u test the temp of the steamer before u put the cover on or after, if u test the temp after its covered wouldn't it have a lower temp

After the day of fumigation from pest control, apart from vacuuming, can I steam clean right after? Will that suck up the pesticide too rendering my effort useless because it is just water? How many days after can I steam clean? Thank you.

awesome. thank u

Great advice. Thanks for the video.

can i usw a steamer on my mattress?

in this video I'm using a Amerivap Steamax, I've also worked with Vapamore's models, both work fine and there are probably a million others

The house we moved in has a bug infestation and have not been able to get rid of them

Please will you send a link to the steamer that you use

The one thing I've been using is 91% rubbing alcohol. That takes care of them for awhile and the stuff evaporates pretty quick, so you don't have to worry about mildew or mold.

i wonder how to catch them from a wooden bed crack.... ps. i read a lot that it needs 160-180 F(70-80 celsius ) to kill them so i dont know what you mean by 120 :S

He is already let the bed bugs know he was going to kill them, therefore they left

What is the brand/model of the steamer? Thank you

If a house has been treated with pesticides you should be seeing dead bugs right? So my mom bought a house and the people renting the house ended up having bedbugs and the movers found them when they were moving out. We currently have no furniture in the house but the house was treated twice when the former tenets lived there and I went to inspect the house and didn't see any dead bugs besides rolly pollies. We are looking into the dry ice monotor but how much dry ice do we use and can we put

Jeff, I am choosing your site on youtube as my source for dealing with this issue.........I have hired and exterminator to deal with this situation but he has not eliminated the bed bugs and has been out about 10 X,s now and I cannot afford to hire him anymore......................What specific Steamer would you recomend I purchase to deal with this situation on my own...........Specific Steamer you use.......I am an intelligent man and hearing from you I can do this on my own would mean alot

What steamer are you using?

Hi Jeff - just wondering why you don't advocate steaming all those myriad holes on the bottom of the chair frame including the plastic wheel arm holes etc. Thanks for the tips. :)

How would you steam the inside of a box spring or sofa which has lots of nooks and crannies?

So they are back.... n im trying to buy a steamer but nit sure if I could use it directly on the carpet?

it depends on what the infestation is like, we use steam as a way to kill bed bugs on contact, so you use it as you see activity for however long that it, we don't recommend steaming just to steam

the steamer kills on contact but what can you use to keep them away so they dont keep coming back ???

now how often do I steam for bedbugs? Is it 2 times a week or more and how long do I keep doing it for, 1 month 3 months? PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW ASAP.

What about the whole carpet?

one in each room? We were going to get a third treatment but the pest control company said it would do no good because if there were more bugs they would be dormant so we need to figure out if there are still bugs in the house and prove that there are.

Thanks :-)

a steamer will only kill the bed bugs it touches so I'm not sure where that fits in to your plan

What are your thoughts about diamatreous earth?

there is definitely a clear association between poverty and bed bugs with both the sharing of furniture and poverty-stricken individuals not being able to afford professional treatment, that being said anyone can get them and it shouldn't be interpreted as bed bugs only affect the poor

do you have to vacume the couch after you steam it

you can't really, it's not an effective way to treat the interior of a couch because you can't really get the steam head with the appropriate attachment to the bug, the inside of a couch is a better environment for pesticides or creating a heat chamber

this is really a never ending battle until we can bring back ddt

you're watching it, if you look at my username above the episode title it says "86 videos", search for "bed bugs and personal belongings" and you should be able to find it, I would link it here but youtube doesn't allow links in comments

cut hole + insert steam = lmao

Crack and crevice treatment with delta dust

Can you use a regular clothes steamer. Is it strong enough? Also would it kill the eggs?

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: Using a steamer to treat for bed bugs involves targeting seams, edges, folds, and fabric where bed bugs may hide. Bed bugs and their eggs can be killed on contact by steam when temperatures exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit, typically within a minute. To ensure effectiveness, use a larger steam head to prevent bugs from being pushed away before dying. Attach a towel to the steam head to limit moisture application during steaming, except when penetrating cracks. Maintain a steady speed of about an inch per second while steaming, checking for warmth on the surface afterward. Move the steamer from top to bottom to prevent scattering of bugs, especially in painted areas. Avoid steaming certain surfaces like leather or finishes that could peel or bubble. Start steaming in inconspicuous areas. Focus steaming efforts on areas where bugs are likely to hide, such as seams and crevices. Regularly inspect and steam areas prone to bed bugs, such as couch skirts, to kill bugs and eggs on contact. Made with HARPA AI

? where can I rent one ?

Steaming is the only thing that has worked for us.

the greatest honor of my life would be if a drinking game was made out of my videos....outstanding!

Do I need add any chemical to the steam machine?

Has anybody here successfully gotten rid of bed bugs?

which steamer is that one? thanks

Hi. Does anyone know the name or model number of the steamer used in this video? Thanks.

they can be good for removing bugs but not much beyond that

in this video you are usin the towel. Maybe the streamer effect better without towel?

What machine is this? i need one that works in sofa and carpet

Does this work for fleas?

isnt bed bugs visible? according to google it says bed bugs are about size of apple seed my question is should i worry if i dont see them? or should i still clean my bed with steamer? bc i dont have one i dont wanna buy if i dont have to worry about bed bugs

my thing is my mattress is on the tile floor in my house. where should I treat besides the mattress

Jeff...you can steam leather all day long.

what about carpet cleaners like Hoover or Bissell?

Hi brother jeff

My friend just found out she has them and i want to purchase a steamer to satisfy my paranoia. Can I let her borrow it (after I go over my place five times) without risk that getting it back could infest my place?

Oh I feel sick

This guy looks like steven stamkos..like brothers!!

that make me look under my chair too

My daughter doesn’t to buy furniture in Good store because the furniture is small and people sit down and God knows what they bring.

steam is not ideal for treating cracks, you're better off use a pesticidal dust that is labeled for this use on cracks, you can easily steam the surface of the baseboard but it's also not great for under the baseboard

sorry to hear that, steamer is great for contact kill especially in the areas of children, launder everything you can associated with the crib and inspect every screw hole and crack on the crib, I would even take it completely apart if I could figure out how, beyond that unfortunately there are probably more in the house because you're baby probably didn't bring them into the house, I would look into hiring a professional

I have them in my car What do I do????

does this work for clothes?

couldn't you do this with a blow dryer?

i hate bugs, i live at my uncle's old house, he came by few days ago, he blamed me bugs i brought from my room before i move to his house. He's stubborn man, business man, but don't know bout bugs stays everywhere, what they love not dust, but they seek for hiding place to get warm to breed. Papers, carpets, couches, woods, i found everywhere in his house, so i'd like to fight back to have my rights, to make him ashamed again to his young brother who care bout me, he's sick man that always want makes me down to earth. Now i'm trying to get videos bout bugs, so he'll shut up later, i collect evidence how rude he is to me, so his young brother will not be closed to him anymore, my grandpa never liked his sons who had hurt me for 5 yrs, and now they still bad to me. I'm trying my best to collect bugs from his spring beds, couches, under his dining table, in his drawers, with my video recording, especially from his tax old books record, lots of eggs i found, but the rest i let it there. I wanna pay back of what he did, as his young brother told me, he wants me to move out, & he don't care bout bugs, he wants to rent his old house to anyone, so once i get proof from victim (his house renter), that time i'll help the victim to make him down, to stop him to be like greedy of money without any responsible or care the renter as he has done to me. He's just like my enemy, my grandpa has warned him, if he hurts me again, he'll do an action, my grandpa said to him, i'm his best grand kid who became smart since kid without being educated by parent at home, my mind was just like mature person, and grandpa now feels so comfortable to be with me, more than his sons. My grandpa allow me to stop who ever his kid dares to me / blame me in any ways without thinking, grandpa told them, i'm more smart then them who lost lots of money "millions". Grandpa said no matter what until grandpa pass away still loves me, more than them, i'm like his angel since kid, who likes truth, being protect by God. My grandpa ever said sorry to me, he didn't know that his sons are so bad to me, in front of him being nice, but one night grandpa looked my uncle mad on him.

🤔.....

Honey you have a great mic, no need to yell... I'm listening to this very late and you almost blew me out of the room

I think you can do it yourself, just watch and learn from Woodglut.

Okay but let's say they're hiding in walls

Very poor sound system

120 degrees what? That's really important missing information!

Getting rid of beds isn’t going to fix the problem

he looks like a bed bug somehow

Pfft...

White😂😂😂

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