How to Kill Bed Bugs

There are some alternative methods that a PMP may use, but these are less common because of their lack of effectiveness or because of their high cost.

• Dogs. Like bomb- or drug-sniffing canines, dogs have been trained to sniff out bed bugs. This newsworthy tactic is rarely used, though.

• Heat. Bed bugs die at temperatures above 120°F. Some exterminators will use steam to do spot treatments, and almost all will recommend occupants launder their belongings because the hot water and hot dryers will kill bed bugs. But it would be extremely rare for anyone to treat a whole bed bug problem with heat.
• Cold. Temperatures below freezing—32°F—can also kill bed bugs. But it can take two weeks of exposure to those temperatures to be effective.