Yes, bed bugs can and do live in blankets. Blankets are one of several common hiding spots for bed bugs, which strongly prefer fabric, wood, and paper surfaces over metal or plastic. They tend to tuck themselves into seams, hems, folds, and tags, staying within about six feet of where you sleep so they can feed at night and retreat quickly.
Where Bed Bugs Hide in Blankets
Bed bugs don’t burrow into fabric the way some insects do. Instead, they wedge themselves into tight, dark spaces where fabric layers overlap. On a blanket, that means the folded hem along the edges, the seam where two pieces of fabric are stitched together, the sewn-in care tag, and any decorative stitching that creates a small pocket. If your blanket bunches up at the foot of the bed or stays folded on a chair, those folds become hiding spots too.
Blankets aren’t usually the primary harborage site in a full infestation. Bed bugs prefer spots that stay undisturbed, like mattress seams, box spring joints, bed frame cracks, and the gap behind a headboard. But blankets and bed covers are listed as a confirmed hiding location by both the University of California IPM Program and the Virginia Department of Health, especially in moderate to heavy infestations when bugs spread out from the mattress looking for additional shelter.
Fabric Type Matters
Not all blankets are equally attractive to bed bugs. A study that ran over 360 behavioral trials testing adult bed bugs on four different fabric types found clear preferences. Both male and female bed bugs favored Egyptian cotton and knit polyester over microfiber and fleece. About 33% of males chose cotton, with 30% choosing knit. Females showed a similar pattern, with 37% preferring cotton and 34% preferring knit.
The likely reason is texture. Bed bugs grip surfaces with small claws on their feet, and tightly woven or smooth-knit fabrics give them better traction and more crevices to tuck into. Fleece and microfiber, with their loose, fuzzy surfaces, seem to be harder for them to navigate. This doesn’t mean a fleece blanket is bed-bug-proof, but it’s less likely to be their first choice if other options are available.
How to Spot Bed Bugs on Your Blankets
Live bed bugs are visible to the naked eye. Adults are about the size of an apple seed, flat and reddish-brown. Younger nymphs are smaller and paler, sometimes nearly translucent until they’ve fed. But you’re more likely to notice the evidence they leave behind than the bugs themselves.
The most common sign is fecal staining: small, dark, ink-like dots left behind after feeding. These spots don’t wash out easily. Even after laundering, they typically fade but remain visible. You might also find tiny white eggs (about 1/20 of an inch) tucked into rough surfaces near the seams, shed skins from growing nymphs, or small rust-colored smears from a bug that was accidentally crushed while you slept. Check your blankets by pulling back folds, running your fingers along hems, and looking closely at seams under good lighting.
Killing Bed Bugs in Blankets
Heat is the most reliable way to kill bed bugs in washable blankets. Bed bugs die after 90 minutes of constant exposure to 113°F, or within 20 minutes at 118°F. Eggs are tougher: they need 118°F sustained for a full 90 minutes to reach complete mortality. The good news is that a household dryer set on high, loosely filled, kills all life stages and eggs in about 30 minutes because the internal temperature far exceeds these thresholds.
For washable blankets, the process is straightforward:
- Bag first. Place the blanket directly into a sealed plastic bag before carrying it to your laundry area. This prevents bugs from dropping off and spreading to other rooms along the way.
- Wash in hot water and then run the dryer on high for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
- Discard the bag you used to transport the blanket. Don’t reuse it.
- Store clean blankets in a fresh sealed bag or airtight plastic bin until the infestation is fully resolved.
During an active infestation, washing and drying all sheets, blankets, and pillowcases once or twice a week helps reduce the population and limits re-exposure.
Treating Blankets You Can’t Wash
Weighted blankets, delicate wool throws, and oversized comforters that don’t fit in a standard washer present a challenge. If the item can tolerate heat, the dryer alone (without washing) still works, as long as it reaches sufficient temperature and runs for at least 30 minutes on high. The key is not to overload the dryer. Bed bugs buried in the center of a tightly packed load may not reach lethal temperatures.
For items that can’t go in a dryer at all, portable heat treatment enclosures are an option. These are essentially insulated bags or chambers with a heating element that hold the internal temperature above 118°F for a sustained period. You place the blanket inside, seal it, and let it run. This approach works for anything that fits, regardless of the fabric.
Preventing Re-Infestation
Killing the bugs on your blankets doesn’t solve an infestation on its own. If bed bugs are living in your mattress, box spring, or bed frame, they’ll simply crawl back onto your freshly laundered blankets. Treating bedding is one piece of a larger strategy that typically involves professional pest control for the room itself.
In the meantime, storing clean blankets and clothing in sealed containers keeps them protected. Large zip-seal bags, tied-off plastic garbage bags (clear ones make it easier to find what you need), and plastic bins with rubber-gasket lids all create an effective barrier. Avoid storing anything in cardboard. Bed bugs can easily crawl into the corrugated layers, and cardboard boxes become hiding spots themselves.
Female bed bugs lay between 200 and 500 eggs over a lifetime, depositing two to five per day on rough surfaces near sleeping areas. That reproductive rate means a small number of bugs hiding in your blankets can contribute meaningfully to an infestation if left unchecked. Regular laundering, sealed storage, and treating the broader environment together are what actually break the cycle.