Before a heat treatment
- Remove what heat damages: candles, aerosols, lighters, medications, cosmetics, houseplants, pets, stringed instruments, photographs, chocolate and wine.
- Unplug electronics; we wrap televisions.
- Leave clothing, bedding and clutter in place. Bagging and removing them moves the bugs out of the heat.
- Plan to be out for the day, with pets.
Before a chemical treatment
- Launder and dry everything washable on high; the dryer is the kill step — NPIC: drying on high heat for 30 minutes “will kill all bed bugs, including the eggs.” OSU’s tip for shrink-prone clothes: dry hot first, then wash.
- Bag clean items and keep them sealed until the re-check.
- Pull furniture a foot from walls; empty nightstands and dresser drawers.
- Vacuum seams and edges; bag the contents and take them outside.
- Luggage after travel: OSU’s advice is to bag the contents and freeze them for seven to ten days.
Do not throw furniture out
Beds and sofas treat successfully. Dragging an infested mattress down a shared stairwell seeds the building, and OSU’s factsheet warns the other direction too: second-hand upholstered furniture is a “high risk source” of new infestations.
Figures cited: Pacific Northwest Extension PNW 757 (Gouge & Stock, 2021,
Oregon State University co-publisher); OSU Extension “Bed Bugs, Cimex lectularius” (2013);
National Pesticide Information Center at Oregon State (updated April 2026); Oregon Health Authority
“About Bed Bugs”; Kells & Goblirsch, Insects 2(3):412–422 (2011). Not
medical advice.