Can Bed Bugs Live Inside of a Vacuum Cleaner?

Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are found in single-story homes more than they are found in hotel rooms. Of course, both numbers are high when it comes to the percentage of these facilities that commonly have bed bugs, which means it is good to know how to look for them and how to get rid of them. If you own a home and notice bed bugs, one of the methods you might use is to vacuum over the area where the bugs are located so that you can throw them out afterward. But if you’re tempted to vacuum them up then leave them in the vacuum cleaner for a day or two before emptying the bag, one word of caution – don’t. Bed bugs can, in fact, live inside of vacuum cleaners.

Introduction

If you’ve been bitten by something in your bed, it is very likely to be a bed bug. Bed bugs love to feed on skin and get to the blood of humans and animals while they’re asleep, which is how they get their name. Bed bugs are reddish-brown bugs about the size of an apple seed, and their whitish eggs are even tinier. Although small, they really are easy to see, although it is important to note that they love to hide in cracks and crevices and can sometimes be difficult to find.

How to Deal with Bed Bugs in Your Home

The good news is that when it comes to bed bugs in your home, one of the fastest and easiest ways to get rid of them is to vacuum them and then discard them. But since it’s not just a matter of turning on the vacuum cleaner and dumping the bag into the garbage can afterward, here are a few tips that can make the task a lot more successful:

• When you vacuum, make the suction as strong as possible, and use the crevice tool included with most vacuum cleaners because again, bed bugs love cracks and crevices, and they can cling to fabric as well.
• Although the suction should be hard, you should never press the vacuum cleaner too close to the fabric because it is possible for you just to “flick” the bugs off of the surface, where they’ll just fall on the floor and be more of a nuisance.
• Keep in mind that bed bugs will live through a trip through the vacuum hose. This action doesn’t kill them! This means that immediately after vacuuming the bed bugs, you need to remove the bag from the vacuum cleaner so they do not start escaping.
• Once the bag is removed, seal it up with tape to make sure no bugs get away from you. Place that bag in a plastic bag and seal that one as well, then put the entire bag in the garbage can.
• If your vacuum cleaner doesn’t have a bag, take the canister and empty it into a plastic bag, then seal the bag. While the canister is out, clean it with hot, soapy water to kill all of the remaining bugs.
• If your vacuum cleaner has a filter – and this is important – you’ll need to either discard it, wash it with hot water and soap, or freeze it to get rid of any bugs that you can’t see.
• If you are in one room and getting ready to go to another room to vacuum, put a large piece of tape over the nozzle so that the bed bugs don’t escape. Remember, these are tiny bugs and can escape without you even knowing it!
• AS SOON as the vacuuming is complete, make sure all of your bags are discarded properly. You may also want to vacuum a second time to be sure you get every last bed bug out of your home. This is because bed bug eggs can stick onto various surfaces and be difficult to remove the first time. Adult bugs, however, tend to congregate in the same place, so when you start to re-vacuum, make sure you go to the same places you did before.

If you’re interested in some nonchemical techniques, you can take sheets and bedspreads that you suspect bed bugs have gotten onto and throw them in the washer, then dry them on high heat to make sure you kill all of the bugs. You can also freeze these items as an alternative or as a supplement to using your vacuum cleaner. But of course, with items such as drapes, curtains, and furniture, it is usually easier just to vacuum because this is the best way to make sure every last bug is eliminated.

What Else Can You Do?

If you’re going to vacuum up your bed bugs, which is always a good choice, you might as well research vacuum cleaners and find out which ones are best for dust mites, because those vacuums will also be good for bed bugs. A few of the top-rated vacuum cleaners for this use include:

• Housmile UV-C Anti-Dust Mites Vacuum Cleaner.
• Housmile 810 Anti-Dust Mites UV Vacuum Cleaner.
• Raycop RS2 UV Sanitizing HEPA Allergen Vacuum.
• Rollibot BL618 Quiet Robot Vacuum Cleaner with UV.
• True Love Gift Anti-Dust Mites UV Vacuum Cleaner.
• Raycop Lite UV Sanitizing HEPA Anti-Allergy Vacuum.

Even in the past decade or two, a lot of progress has been made when it comes to vacuum cleaners that can handle pests such as bug mites, bed bugs, and many others, so if you’re in the market for a vacuum cleaner anyway, you might as well choose one of these.

Conclusion

Getting rid of bed bugs in your home is easiest when you vacuum them up, but you also have to remember that bed bugs can live for a long time even if they’ve been through your vacuum cleaning system, so discarding them immediately is imperative. Take precautions not to let the bugs slip out of your vacuum cleaner, and because bed bugs can still live in plastic bags for a long time you need to discard them sealed up tightly .

There are also things you need to do to keep your vacuum cleaner clean and safe so that no bugs are left over inside of it, but these are easy things to do and can get rid of bed bugs before you know it.

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