Yes, bed bugs die in the dryer. A standard home dryer on a medium-high or high setting generates enough heat to kill bed bugs at every life stage, including eggs. The key is reaching the right temperature for long enough, and avoiding a few common mistakes that leave bugs alive in the center of a packed load.
The Temperature That Kills Bed Bugs
Adult bed bugs and nymphs die at 118°F. Eggs are slightly hardier and require 122°F. At temperatures between 112°F and 115°F, bed bugs can eventually be killed, but they need hours of continuous exposure at that range. Once you hit 122°F or above, all life stages die within minutes.
A typical home dryer reaches between 120°F and 160°F depending on the cycle and model. Commercial dryers at laundromats can hit around 176°F. Either type will comfortably exceed the thermal death point for bed bugs, as long as you use a hot enough setting and give the heat time to penetrate through the fabric.
How Long to Run the Dryer
For clothes that have been washed in hot water first, 20 minutes at medium-high heat or above kills all life stages. For dry items that go straight into the dryer without washing, or for bulkier loads like curtains, shoes, backpacks, and stuffed animals, run the dryer for at least 30 minutes on high.
These times assume a normal-sized load with room for items to tumble freely. If you stuff the dryer full, the items in the center may never reach lethal temperature, and bed bugs nestled in folds of fabric can survive. More on that below.
You Don’t Need to Wash First
This surprises most people: washing clothes does not reliably kill bed bugs. Water alone, even hot water, is not the primary killer. The heat of the dryer is what does the work. Cornell’s Integrated Pest Management program specifically recommends drying items first, before washing, because putting wet clothes in the dryer means the machine spends much of its cycle evaporating moisture instead of raising the temperature of the fabric. That delays how quickly items reach the lethal threshold and increases the total time needed.
If your goal is simply to kill bed bugs (not to clean dirty laundry), skip the washer entirely and put dry items straight into the dryer on high for 30 minutes. For items that also need cleaning, dry them first to kill the bugs, then wash and dry normally.
What You Can Put in the Dryer
Most fabric items handle dryer heat treatment well. Clothing, bedding, towels, curtains, stuffed animals, backpacks, and fabric shoes can all go through a high-heat cycle. Leather and wool items generally tolerate dryer heat too, though you should check care labels for anything delicate or expensive.
For items you don’t want tumbling around, like shoes or structured bags, place them inside a mesh laundry bag and close it in the dryer door. The item still gets exposed to the hot circulating air without being battered against the drum walls.
Avoid putting anything made of wood, hard plastic, or electronics into the dryer. High heat can warp, melt, or damage these materials. If you’re unsure whether an item can tolerate sustained temperatures above 125°F, check the manufacturer’s recommendations or treat it with a different method.
Common Mistakes That Let Bugs Survive
The most frequent reason dryer treatment fails is overfilling. Bed bugs die from sustained heat contact, and items packed tightly in the center of a stuffed dryer may never reach lethal temperatures. Every item needs room to tumble so hot air circulates through all the folds and layers. If you’re dealing with an infestation, run smaller loads than you normally would.
Using too low a heat setting is the other pitfall. The “low” or “delicate” cycle on many dryers stays below 120°F, which is borderline. Medium-high is the minimum recommended setting. If your dryer doesn’t label its settings clearly, you can test it: put three dry towels in on high for 20 minutes, then quickly open the door and stick a meat thermometer into the center of the bundle. After five minutes, check the reading. You want to see at least 125°F.
Storing Treated Items After Drying
Killing bed bugs in the dryer only helps if the items don’t get reinfested immediately. If you’re dealing with an active infestation in your home, place freshly dried items into clean, sealed plastic bags as soon as they come out of the dryer. Keep them sealed until the infestation in your living space has been fully resolved. This is especially important if you’re treating laundry as part of a larger extermination effort, since bed bugs hiding in your mattress, furniture, or walls can crawl right back onto clean clothes left in the open.
The same principle applies when traveling. If you suspect you picked up bed bugs at a hotel, run everything from your suitcase through the dryer on high for 30 minutes before putting anything back in drawers or closets. Bag the empty suitcase separately and inspect it carefully, since hard-sided luggage can’t go in the dryer.
What the Dryer Can and Can’t Do
A dryer is one of the most effective tools available for killing bed bugs on portable items. It reaches lethal temperatures reliably, works on all life stages including eggs, and requires no chemicals. For clothing, bedding, and soft goods, it’s the single best option most people have at home.
What a dryer can’t do is solve an infestation on its own. Bed bugs live in mattress seams, behind baseboards, inside furniture joints, and in dozens of other hiding spots that a dryer can’t reach. Treating your laundry eliminates the bugs on those specific items, but the colony in your home will continue to grow unless the harborage sites are also treated. Think of dryer treatment as one part of a larger strategy, not a standalone fix.