| Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 122°F (50°C) for at least four hours | Kills all stages, including eggs, in a heat chamber for belongings | PNW 757, Oregon State University co-publisher (2021) |
| 118.9°F (48.3°C) | Lethal temperature for 99% of adults | Kells & Goblirsch, Insects (2011) |
| 130.6°F (54.8°C) | Lethal temperature for 99% of eggs | Kells & Goblirsch (2011) |
| 113°F (45°C) for 95 minutes | Kills adults; eggs survive seven hours at this temperature | Kells & Goblirsch (2011) |
| 113–125.6°F (45–52°C) | “The current temperature range targeted by companies providing heat treatments” | Kells & Goblirsch (2011) |
| High heat, 30 minutes | Dryer cycle that “will kill all bed bugs, including the eggs” in laundry | NPIC at Oregon State (2026) |
| 7–10 days in a freezer | For bagged luggage contents after travel | OSU Extension (2013) |
Why eggs set the standard
Adults die quickly above 118°F. Eggs do not. At 113°F eggs survive seven hours; at 118°F they need over an hour; and the 99% lethal point for eggs is 130°F. A room thermometer reading 135°F says nothing about the egg cluster inside a box-spring corner that is sitting at 110°F. The treatment is the coldest probe held past the egg line for long enough, not the air temperature.
What to make of “we heat to 130°F”
Local marketing pages quote 120, 127 and 130°F, sometimes all three on one site. None is wrong, exactly; each is just a room target, and room targets are not the question. Ask instead: how many probes, where do you put them, and what is the hold time at the coldest one. The other questions →
No Oregon government or extension document states a whole-room treatment standard. The chamber figure above is the only Oregon extension number in print; everything else here is from the peer-reviewed study the industry relies on.