Does Bleach Kill Bed Bugs and Their Eggs? Here’s What We Found

Of all the pests and creepy crawlies on earth, the bed bug is perhaps the most annoying and resilient. Once there is an infestation of bed bugs, they can be very difficult to remove.

This can drive people mad and it can be a black hole for your time and money as you go around in circles trying to deal with them.

They can also spread very quickly and infest not just your bed but pretty much anywhere they can access including your clothes. Bleach is often very good at exterminating such critters but is it any good against bed bugs and their eggs? Let us find out.

The good news

The simple answer to the question ‘does bleach kill bed bugs and their eggs?’ is YES, but it does come with a few caveats. Bleach works its magic by being a very strong oxidizing agent.

In simple terms, it changes the chemical composition of most things it comes in contact with and this includes the exoskeleton of living things such as bed bugs. Thus, if the bed gets covered in bleach then they will be killed.

The bleach will react with their exoskeleton or the outer surface of their body, oxidize it, and will thus break the body down and cause immediate death. The eggs will also suffer a similar fate.

The eggs of bed bugs are very resilient because they have a tough outer shell. However, this shell is no match for bleach and it will get destroyed. So, in theory, bed bugs and their eggs can be killed with bleach.

The bad news

Getting rid of bed bugs and eggs is only effective if you can kill every last one of them. This is the biggest failing of bleach. For bed bugs and their eggs to be exterminated, they need to be covered in bleach completely.

Doing this is easier said than done. They are tiny and can get into the tiniest of cracks around your home. For bleach to work, you quite literally have to drown your house in the stuff.

As you can read here, bleach isn’t the safest chemical out there and in large quantities can be quite harmful to your health. In short, the benefits of using bleach to kill off these annoying bugs isn’t a good enough option as the harm it can cause far outweighs its benefits or efficacy.

In fact, any method that comes at the cost of your well-being is not worth it. After all, the aim is to only kill the bed bugs and their eggs and not poison yourself as well.

What is the solution then?

While bleach is versatile, bed bugs are so resilient they need something that is specifically made for them. Thankfully, there are plenty of products that are meant specifically for them.

These will get rid of the bed bugs and their eggs quite efficiently without having too many ill-effects on your health. An even better option and the one that we would recommend is to take the help of a professional service. This is the safest, most efficient, and it is the most cost-effective method you have.

Bed bugs have to be dealt with in such a way that all of them are dead and so are their eggs. Even if a few survive, they can re-establish themselves in a very short period of time. That is why you need people who know what they are doing. Therefore, a professional pest control service with a good service record is the way to go.