what kills eggs? « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Tools/ideas for fighting bed bugs

what kills eggs?

(10 posts)

Tags:

eggs

curlybrooklyn

newbite
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 6
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 21:55:37
#

Login to Send PM

I have been searching the forums, and can't find anything definitive/comprehensive on what actually will destroy eggs, as opposed to live crawlers. So which of these commonly discusssed treatments work?

- Heat (above 120)?
- Water? (Did I read correctly that bedbugs do not swim? So the reason for the hot water, as opposed to just any water, is to destroy eggs, not live hatched bugs?)
- alcohol? 91% kills live adults, but does it have an effect on eggs? (ie, if I wipe down my drawers with it, will it kill any eggs that fell off other clothes into the drawers -- I'm not talking about bugs that harbored and laid eggs in cracks/crevices).
- murphy's oil soap? (or is that just a folk myth)

And am I actually right about that thing that bedbugs drown in water?
buggyinsocal

oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 2,440
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 22:15:16
#

Login to Send PM

Heat above 120 definitely kills eggs. That's why so many prep protocols for treatment involve washing and drying everything. It's really the drying part that heats items up enough to kill the eggs. (The washing, I suspect, is mostly a back up and because drying dirty items is a bad plan if you want your items to look and smell good.)

There is one chemical pesticide that kills some eggs. Part of the problem with bed bugs is that there is no chemical pesticide that kills all eggs.

There were some studies of cedarcide in labs that showed that it kills eggs; however, the lab is very different from the field, and if you find the thread on that research, you'll see that it points out that some reputable people suspect that it's not the cedar oil itself that kills bugs but the stuff that's used to dispense the cedar oil.

So, to recap: the best ways to get rid of eggs are: heat, either in a dryer or a packtite or through a dry vapor steamer or multiple chemical treatments. (The first chemical treatment kills bugs and some eggs; the second chemical treatment is for killing the bugs that hatch from the eggs that didn't get killed in the first go. This is why bed bugs often require multiple treatments with chemicals to eradicate. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the exact chemical pesticide, but I used thermal, so I'm not as up on chemical pesticide names as someone who probably had more experience with them.)

I could be wrong, but I don't think drowning in a reliable way to kill eggs, and I'm pretty sure that 91% alcohol only kills bugs, not eggs.
cilecto

oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 22:30:13
#

Login to Send PM

Murphy (and probably lots of other soaps and detergents) as well as alcohol are "contact killers", meaning, they will kill the bugs that you hit with them directly. They have little or no "residual" potency, so if you apply these substances to a surface and bugs cross over it later, they are unharmed.
spideyjg

oldtimer
Joined: Jul '08
Posts: 3,201
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 22:36:18
#

Login to Send PM

With assurance, temps over 125 but to 140 is faster and I have more confidence, Vikane fumigation, and good old fashioned smashing.

Jim
Adele

senior member
Joined: May '08
Posts: 665
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 23:13:18
#

Login to Send PM

91% alcohol has no effect at all on the eggs- I know I've tried

niether does Murphys or detergents. These chemicals will kill hatched bugs on contact for sure - perhaps some eggs may die along the way - but not reliably

when I was heavily infested as a test i doused a bunch of BB eggs in a bowl with alcohol and they still hatched after the alcohol had evaporated

heat and vikane fumigation - both need to be done properly - are the only known RELIABLE methods to kill the eggs

As Buggy mentioned some chemicals may kill some (or all) of the eggs in a test lab but I would not assume that it would reliably kill all of them all of the time, test labs are very different than real life

use a steamer, a packtite, get a thermal treatment or bring your stuff to someone who knows how to vikane fumigate it

those are all tried and true methods to kill bugs & eggs

ps - by the way - I've steamed the BB eggs - and it is really cool - they melt!!! It's almost like you can hear them screaming...... I'm melting!!!!!

anyway, I digress...
MyWorstFear

senior member
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 610
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Thu Mar 11 2010 23:25:56
#

Login to Send PM

Adele - 9 minutes ago »

ps - by the way - I've steamed the BB eggs - and it is really cool - they melt!!! It's almost like you can hear them screaming...... I'm melting!!!!!
anyway, I digress...

LOL, this is a good one! I like the digression! <g>
As for drowning, Curly, I seem to remember people here have seen bed bugs swimming in the toilet, so if they can drown, it's not immediate.
theJ

newbite
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 20
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Fri Mar 12 2010 11:47:24
#

Login to Send PM

MyWorstFear - 12 hours ago »

Adele - 9 minutes ago »
ps - by the way - I've steamed the BB eggs - and it is really cool - they melt!!! It's almost like you can hear them screaming...... I'm melting!!!!!
anyway, I digress...

LOL, this is a good one! I like the digression! <g>
As for drowning, Curly, I seem to remember people here have seen bed bugs swimming in the toilet, so if they can drown, it's not immediate.

I've never seen it in person but i suspect that's because they were swimming on the surface. They're light enough and wide enough to stand up on the water. Adding soap breaks the surface tension and they fall below the surface. Then they drown.

That's just a guess though. I know it works that way with several other bugs.
Stevie

junior member
Joined: Feb '10
Posts: 37
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Fri Mar 12 2010 17:14:21
#

Login to Send PM

cilecto - 18 hours ago »
Murphy (and probably lots of other soaps and detergents) as well as alcohol are "contact killers", meaning, they will kill the bugs that you hit with them directly. They have little or no "residual" potency, so if you apply these substances to a surface and bugs cross over it later, they are unharmed.

Does the "bugs you hit" include eggs though? Or do soaps dislodge them, and they go down the drain?
bb_gave_me_ocd

member
Joined: Nov '09
Posts: 137
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 13 2010 13:09:14
#

Login to Send PM

Hi Stevie--

Most contact killers don't kill eggs even if you hit the eggs directly...I wouldn't rely on soaps to dislodge them either as they get stuck on pretty tight. Heat (dry or steam) or Vikane gas are best for killing eggs.
cilecto

oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Sat Mar 13 2010 13:50:00
#

Login to Send PM

To the best of my knowledge, soaps will neither kill nor necessarily dislodge eggs.