Does a Clothes Dryer Kill Bed Bugs?

A household clothes dryer can kill bed bugs and their eggs when suitable items are exposed to sufficient heat for long enough. In fact, EPA guidance specifically recommends putting bedding and clothing in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes and warns that washing alone generally won’t kill bed bugs. That makes the dryer one of the simplest reliable ways to treat clothing, bedding, and other dryer-safe fabrics during a bed bug infestation.

How Long Should You Dry Clothes to Kill Bed Bugs?

The EPA recommends 30 minutes at high temperature for bedding and clothing. Its treatment-preparation guidance likewise states that a household dryer on high heat for 30 minutes kills bed bugs and eggs. Experimental evidence supports that recommendation. A peer-reviewed laundry study placed adults, nymphs, and eggs inside permeable cotton pouches within clothing and found that hot tumble drying for at least 30 minutes killed every tested life stage.

University of Minnesota Extension gives similar practical guidance, recommending about 30 minutes at medium-high heat for a full load. Rather than trying to calculate a homemade temperature-and-time combination, we would stick with the established guidance for a normal household dryer.

Do You Have to Wash Clothes First?

No. If your purpose is killing bed bugs, washing isn’t required before dryer treatment.

EPA explicitly says that washing alone might not do the job. University of Minnesota Extension also advises that an item that cannot be washed can be placed directly into a dryer at medium-high heat for 30 minutes, provided the material can safely tolerate the dryer.

That distinction is useful when dealing with clean clothing that may have been exposed to bed bugs. You don’t have to wash something solely because you’re treating it for bed bugs. Our separate article on whether washing clothes kills bed bugs explains why the washing machine shouldn’t be relied upon by itself.

Make Sure the Item Can Safely Go in the Dryer

Heat only helps if the material can tolerate it. Check the item’s care label before using high dryer heat, particularly with wool, delicate fabrics, shoes, plastics, adhesives, and items containing electronics or batteries.

Don’t assume something is dryer-safe simply because it can’t be washed. If high heat could damage it, choose another appropriate treatment method instead. EPA recognizes alternatives such as controlled heat chambers and, under suitable conditions, freezing.

Our guide to getting bed bugs out of clothes covers clothing treatment more broadly, while cold treatment for bed bugs explains the limitations of freezing.

Keep Treated Clothes From Becoming Reinfested

Killing bed bugs in clothing doesn’t eliminate bugs elsewhere in the room. If treated clothes are immediately returned to an infested dresser, closet, bed, or floor, they can be exposed again.

EPA recommends placing clean, treated items into sealed plastic bags so they remain bed-bug-free while the surrounding infestation is being addressed. When using shared laundry facilities, transport potentially infested items in sealed bags and use a clean bag for the treated clothing afterward.

The dryer is therefore a highly effective way to clear suitable fabrics, but it is only one part of controlling an infestation.

Questions About Dryers and Bed Bugs

Does a dryer kill bed bug eggs?

Yes. EPA guidance specifically states that 30 minutes on high heat kills bed bugs and eggs, and controlled research has found hot tumble drying effective against adults, nymphs, and eggs.

Do you need the sanitize or steam setting?

No special setting is required by EPA’s recommendation. The guidance calls for a household dryer at high heat for 30 minutes.

Can you put dry clothes straight into the dryer?

Yes, provided the clothing can safely tolerate the required dryer setting. Washing first isn’t necessary specifically to kill bed bugs.

Does drying your clothes get rid of the whole infestation?

No. It treats the dryer-safe items inside the machine. Bed bugs hiding in the mattress, bed frame, furniture, baseboards, or elsewhere still require appropriate control.