Bed bugs are sensitive to heat at every stage of life, eggs included. That is why health authorities recommend washing linen at 60 °C and list steam and heat among the effective control methods.
When we treat a bedroom this way, one question comes up almost every time: what about the electronics? The answer depends on the technique used and the type of device.
Dry steam and room heating: two different situations
Dry steam is a contact treatment: the technician passes it slowly over mattress seams, the bed base, skirting boards and bed frames, simply keeping clear of sockets, extension leads and devices. Your equipment does not need to leave the room.
Whole-room heat treatment, by contrast, heats the air for several hours so the heat reaches into corners, furniture and textiles. That is when sorting is needed.
Leave it in or take it out?
The technician sends you a list tailored to your home before the visit. The broad lines are:
- Stay in place, unplugged: television, white goods, internet router if it is not near the bed, furniture, bedding, hanging clothes.
- Leave the room: phones, tablets, laptops, power banks, e-bikes and e-scooters, e-cigarettes.
- Also leave: aerosols, lighters, gas cartridges, candles and wax items, medicines, cosmetics, food, vinyl records, musical instruments.
- People, pets, plants and aquariums stay out of the room for the whole treatment.
Items taken out are treated separately
A phone rarely harbours bed bugs, but a clock radio, extension lead or charger on the bedside table can. These items are inspected one by one, wiped down, kept in sealed bags during the treatment and brought back once the room has been checked.
Avoid putting them in another bedroom without protection: it is one of the most common ways of moving the problem from room to room.
Hotels and short lets
In a hotel room or a home let by the night, the same sorting applies to the room's equipment (remote controls, landline phones, hairdryers, electronic safes). The room stays off sale until the follow-up visit, and the photo report gives the operator a written record.
Key points
- 01Dry steam: devices stay, the steam avoids them.
- 02Room heating: anything with a lithium battery leaves.
- 03Items taken out are inspected and bagged, never moved as they are.
- 04You receive a tailored list before the visit.
This article gives general information, up to date on its publication date. It does not replace legal or medical advice tailored to your situation.