Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Bed bug science, "experiments," etc.
Does alcohol kill eggs?
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gedhrven
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Joined: Aug '08
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 15:39:39
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I can personally confirm that it kills live bugs in under 10 seconds, but I'm more worried about eggs, since they're nigh impossible to detect. Will isopropyl alcohol do it? Any word on how long an exposure they need, or if 70% concentration will suffice?
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busy with my kids
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Joined: Jun '08
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 15:56:59
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It's supposed to be the 91% concentration for the bugs.
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gedhrven
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 16:09:40
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Well...70% will do it for live ones (5-10 seconds and they stop moving). Will any concentration kill eggs?
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Stefan
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 16:12:06
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It may cause low birth weight and birth defects, If its anything like the other kind of alcohol, and humans! Ok, joking over.
I would imagine it would kill the eggs if exposed to it long enough, Alcohol is a very potent killer -
buggyinsocal
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 16:40:55
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Isopropyl alcohol, whether it's the 70% or the 91% concentrations *does not* kill eggs.
There is, in fact, no contact or residual chemical that will kill eggs. That's why standard chemical treatment for bed bugs involves spraying once and spraying a second time in two weeks when the eggs have hatched. You basically have to wait for the eggs to hatch and then kill the nymphs.
Heat will kill eggs, if the heat is high enough. The reason specific steamers are suggested for use is that those steamers routinely deliver steam at a high enough temperature to be effective. Ditto for thermal treatment. It's the same reason that any fabric items need to be washed and dried in hot water and on high heat: the heat is one of the only things that has been shown conclusively to kill the eggs.
It's one of the many reasons that professionals need to be involved in treating the bugs.
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Apparently there is evidence Bedlam will kill eggs but is not 100% effective.
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Adele
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Posted 1 year ago
Sun Aug 24 2008 23:00:13
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It's interesting Nobugs that Bedlam does not advertise that fact
Where is that info reserched or posted? I am curious
Also I can attest with direct experience that alcohol DOES NOT kill bedbug eggs - it has no effect at all on them - even when I sprayed them directly
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Aug 25 2008 2:18:04
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Good to know, Nobugs. I hadn't realized that even though it's on the list of what they used here. Or, rather, it was my chemical guy who told me that none of them killed the eggs. I guess he should have phrased it the way you did--it cannot be counted on to kill 100% of the eggs.
Perhaps, Adele, it doesn't advertise that since it can't say that it is 100% effective? I mean, it would make sense to me that if a chemical pesticide could kill some BB eggs, I would want the label to say that, but perhaps it's sort of an off label use (off label being the term in medicine for things that are prescribed for something that they weren't labeled for--as in Botox was initially labeled to stop eye twitches, and Retin A was labeled for acne, but both were used for cosmetic purposes that they weren't "labeled for")
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The studies on Bedlam were carried out by entomologists. Bedlam has a 77% kill rate for eggs BUT I believe they have to be sprayed directly. (I am not 100% certain on that, but it's how I read the info.) So yes, buggy, I read that as "none of them CAN be counted on to kill all the eggs."
See the links out from this article:
No, I am not aware of any evidence that alcohol kills eggs.
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spideyjg
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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Aug 25 2008 11:20:13
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Stefan - 19 hours ago »
I would imagine it would kill the eggs if exposed to it long enough, Alcohol is a very potent killerDon't know it has been studied to kill eggs after a long enough period of time immersed in it however it would be moot.
Even if it killed the eggs after, lets say hypothetically, 3 hours of alcohol immersion there would be no practical way to do that to your belongings.
Alcohol dries rapidly exposed to air.
Reminds me of a entomologist who was studying fire ants and was always pressed for a way to kill them because down south they are a huge problem. His response was get 2 bricks. :)
If you can find the nest, and apply it safely, heat is the best option to destroy eggs. The practicality of that poses many problems.
Jim
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