does a car get hot enough to kill BB's? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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does a car get hot enough to kill BB's?

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miserableone

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:33:18
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If I bag up items in black plastic bags and leave it in the car on a 100 degree day does the car get hot enough to kill BBs? Has anyone ever tried this?
mcsmcs

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:40:08
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I think general consensus is car infestation is rare and on a hot day it's possible the car gets hot enough to kill BBs. However, general consensus is also trying to kill BBs on other things by putting them in the car is not necessarily effective.
Bed Bug Epidemic

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:40:23
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i just posted something on this yesterday,the subject is treating my car. go check it out.
Bed Bug Epidemic

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:41:27
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and i'm not sure about the bagged items though....they could find "cooler" pockets somewhere within the bag.
buggyinsocal

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:55:25
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If I bag up items in black plastic bags and leave it in the car on a 100 degree day does the car get hot enough to kill BBs?

No.

While parts of the car will get hot enough, not all parts will, and every part of the stuff inside the black plastic bag will almost certainly not get hot enough for this to be a reliable method.

Has anyone ever tried this?

Yes.

This topic has been discussed extensively on this site before. If you search for the word car, you'll find plenty of posts.

The short version of why it's not a good idea is this: while parts of the interior of your car do reach temps that are above the thermal death point for bed bugs, putting items in bags in the car is definitely not a reliable way to kill bed bugs (mostly for reasons that would require me to be able to explain physical principles like insulation and heat transfer which, frankly, I'm not any good at doing). Also remember that the sun doesn't stay out consistently in most places, so every time it ducks behind a cloud, the temperature can drop. Putting items in a car on a sunny day is, for these reasons, not a reliable method of debugging items.

The dangers of this method are two fold:

First, people may be lulled into a false sense of security and believe items are bug and egg free when the items are not. That's never a good thing in the battle against bed bugs.

Two, improperly secured bags may bring a bed bug infestation into your car, which would actually be far worse than having an infestation in your residence. Cars are very, very difficult to debug for a number of reasons.

So using a seemingly innocuous, do it yourself "treatment" like this may actually make your bed bug problem much more difficult and expensive to fix.

As I tell people all the time about this, I live in southern California. In the summer, places here in the desert regularly reach air temps of 120 degrees F. In the sun, it's even hotter.

Despite the fact that I have access to the perfect climate to try these methods, I didn't use them as a major part of my fight against bed bugs.

I did put an empty suitcase in a black plastic bag in the car in the sun on a summer day. I did allow my car to sit parked not under a carport in the desert on a 115 degree day.

The first I did because when I had bed bugs, Packtites weren't available. And I followed the suitcase's "treatment" up with an inspection from my PCO.

The second I did more for my peace of mind months after I was pretty sure my infestation was actually gone.

I wouldn't now rely on either one, both because of what I know and because of the advances in technology and options we have now.
miserableone

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:56:57
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Thanks guys. Bed Bug Epidemic I will check out your post. Its 100 degrees in ny today and my car is sooooo hot. I just figured maybe they couldnt survive in that kind of heat.
Bed Bug Epidemic

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:57:17
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Agreed. I did this , as a precaution and a test, with NO bags in the car.

Anything bagged gets treated separately, whether it's washing and drying or sealing up tightly for the next two years.
miserableone

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 12:59:56
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Thanks buggyinsocal. That was very informative. Im going to check out some older posts now.
Bill Z.

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 15:23:25
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Ugh...I just returned from a trip where I was eaten up badly by bed bugs. Didn't realize that it was bed bugs until the way home when I was on my phone doing research. I followed the following steps.
Took our clothes off and put into a garbage bag then straight to the washer on hot.
All luggage stayed out in the garage.
Yesterday and right now today, I have all our clothing from the suitcases in black garbage bags in the sun.
We are in Philly where we are having 100 degree weather.
None washable items are in ziploc bags in the car that is parked in the sun.
The suitcases are opened in the driveway in the sun.
BTW, no signs of any bugs in anything we have gone through.
I did these steps because I knew we were exposed.

Here are my concerns...
We traveled in our car 2 hours from the airport, could they have gotten in the car from us?
My son came in and slept on the couch when we got home in his clothes from our trip.
My other son brought in his backpack and layed on the couch.
Also the boys didn't throw their clothes into the garbage bag I set out first, they threw them on the carpeted floor in their bedroom.

What else should I do at this point?
All advise is welcome and very much appreciated!
mcsmcs

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 6 2010 15:50:23
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I would recommend vacuuming everywhere there were people or clothes. Vacuum very, very, very well, like you've never vacuumed before. and then throw away the vacuum bags.

Nonwashable items that can stand up to it, spray with rubbing alcohol. I would guess scrubbing them would get eggs off if they are on hard items, but I don't know. If you can wash on hot and dry on hot the backpacks, that would be great.

The car is probably fine, especially if it is parked in the sun today. You could vacuum and/or steam if it would make you feel better.

The suitcase will probably not get hot enough and the bagged stuff cannot be relied upon to get hot enough to kill the bugs. If you have the money, look into a PackTite as mentioned on the boards - I don't have one, but I might get one. You heat stuff in it and it kills BBs and their eggs.

Others will probably have more suggestions, but that's a start.
WGarrow

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 13 2010 20:08:50
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It's possible for a hot car to fry bbs on a brutal Summer day. It's a long story, but I've seen it happen before. From what I understand, the heat might not permeate through the entire bag and the bbs might be insulated from the heat. The bbs might escape the bags and infest your car. I hear an infested car is next to impossible to treat.
sofreaked

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Posted 2 years ago
Tue Jul 13 2010 21:19:14
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Here is a study done to show how hot cars can get, by an animal rights website.

Unfortunately bed bugs are pretty damn resilient compared to mammals, and require about an hour at 120F or so to kill bugs and eggs. Aside from the issue of uneven heating inside of the car and its contents, as you can see from the test data, it has to get pretty frickin hot outside, and your car has to be in the sun all day to reach terminal bed bug temps. If the sun decides to dip behind the clouds for half an hour it's a bad thing.

I wouldn't risk putting things that may be infested in your car unless you live in, say, Louisiana, where temps get over 100F 4+ days out of the week in July, and you drive a dark blue car (like me lol). And even then I wouldn't do this intentionally unless I somehow knew it would be perfectly clear all day, no breeze, and I could park somewhere with no trees on any side so I had sunlight all day (unlikely)

Yeah I wouldn't try it. Not even Louisiana with a dark blue car.