Read This Before Driving Someone With Bed Bugs

Despite the name, bed bugs can live in many places in the bedroom other than the bed, from behind peeling wallpapers to between the floorboards. What’s more, they can thrive in various places outside the bedroom and home, too.

Bed bugs can reside in hotel rooms, movie theaters, classrooms, libraries, offices, and restaurants. They can inhabit cars as well! And once there is a car infestation, it is possible for a bed bug to invade the home sooner or later.

So, can you drive someone with bed bugs without getting them on yourself?

Driving someone whose luggage or clothes have bed bugs may cause a car infestation to occur. Because it is not all the time that bed bugs in a vehicle have blood to suck, it is likely for them to look for a host elsewhere, such as inside the home.

The typical hiding places of bed bugs in a car are the same in a bedroom.

Although it can be trouble-free for bed bugs to find their way into your vehicle and cause an infestation there, it is also fairly easy to get rid of those creepy crawlers.

DIY solutions for a bed bug infestation at home will also work for a bed bug infestation in a car. The sooner that you spring into action, the quicker that you can put the issue to an end.

The only problem you will have left is saying “no” to driving once again the person who is responsible for the infestation.

Pro-tip: Exposing bed bugs to high temperatures (over 120°F) kills them in a matter of minutes. If you want to get rid of bed bugs without calling an exterminator check the best steam cleaners that produce over 300°F on Amazon now.

Bed Bugs are Great at Sucking Blood and Traveling

Professional exterminators confirm that bed bugs can easily spread from one area of the home to the other. It is a terrible idea to sleep in a different bed if yours is infested with those bloodsuckers.

That’s because they will hunt you down the minute that they feel hungry. They can do so by using their heightened senses.

Other than migrating from one bedroom to a different bedroom or elsewhere in the home, bed bugs can also easily move from one home to the other.

If a family member or friend of yours has a bed bug infestation at home, it is possible for some of the bed bugs there to end up in your home. But before that happens, it is more likely for you to experience an infestation in your vehicle beforehand.

All it takes is allowing that person in your car who happens to have a few bed bugs on his or her clothes or in the luggage. Bed bugs can take temporary refuge on garments as well as in bags and the various items in it.

Especially if nourishing someone or something with your blood is the least of your fancy, it can be terrifying to learn that you could wind up with a bed bug infestation simply by driving someone with bed bugs at home.

Also, it can be nerve-racking to decide whether or not you should welcome him or her in your car once more.

You will realize that, aside from possibly having a bed bug problem yourself, it is also about potentially putting at risk your relationship with the said family member or friend.

A Massive Car Infestation is Unlikely to Happen

Do not panic if your car is suffering from a bed bug infestation. That’s because the chance of it ending up as a massive problem is rare.

The primary reason for this is that bed bugs tend to look for blood to suck early in the morning, and it is unlikely that you will be in your car during that time.

Because of this, those bed bugs may look for a different home. In some cases, they may die because of hunger.

Do take note that, without food, adults can survive longer than three months at room temperature, and longer than a year in cooler conditions. Young ones, on the other hand, can only last for up to a month.

Here’s another reason why it is unlikely for bed bugs to thrive in a car: They hate feeding on blood if the host is moving, which is likely to be the case if you are in a moving car.

It is exactly because of this why bed bugs usually come out to feed early in the morning when you are in a deep sleep state, lying still in bed.

Getting Rid of a Bed Bug Infestation in Your Car

Just because your car has a bed bug infestation doesn’t mean right away that you should get in touch with professional exterminators in your area.

Because, as mentioned above, it is rare for a bed bug infestation in a car to be as bad as a bed bug infestation inside the home, most of the time, the problem can be solved on your own.

Here are the steps that you may take to put an end to a bed bug infestation in your car:

1. Before anything else, grab a garbage bag and toss in it every single clutter in your car. A jacket, water bottle, sneakers, magazines — you should stash each one in the garbage bag, which you have to seal after.
2. Remove all floor mats and rugs, and then shampoo them very well. Leave in direct sunlight to kill any remaining bed bugs. This is why the best time to eradicate bed bugs in your car is in the middle of the day.
3. Get your hands on your vacuum cleaner and thoroughly vacuum all the places where bed bugs could be hiding, from the car seat piping to the seat belt buckles. Afterward, seal the bag in a garbage bag and dispose of.
4. Other than vacuuming the interiors of your car, you may also steam clean them as bed bugs cannot tolerate high temperatures. Make sure that the airflow is not too strong to prevent scattering the bed bugs.
5. Remember the clutter that you stashed in a garbage bag earlier? Vacuum items that you can vacuum, and then steam clean items that you can steam clean. If washable, wash in hot water.

It is a good idea to carry out the steps above regularly. This is to make sure that you will be able to eliminate not only adult and baby bed bugs, but also the eggs.

If you fail to remove the eggs in your car, they may hatch in six to ten days, causing an infestation to start all over again.

Just Before You Attempt to Drive Someone With Bed Bugs

Being stuck in a traffic jam and sharing the road with bad drivers can make driving stressful. Knowing that there are bed bugs in your car can leave you feeling even more stressed.

Fortunately, putting a bed bug infestation in your car under control is possible. The steps that you can take are the same ones that you can carry out when dealing with a bed bug infestation in your bedroom or elsewhere in the home.

From steam cleaning hiding places to washing items in hot water, you can count on many DIY bed bug remedies.

Just in case nothing works or you want to make sure that your vehicle is completely free of bed bugs, you may contact professional exterminators in your area that will do the job for you.

Once putting the bed bug infestation in your car under control, whether through the DIY approach or with the help of the pros, there is only one problem left.

It is none other than how you can avoid driving someone with bed bugs at home to prevent an infestation in your vehicle from striking again.

Related Questions

Can a hot day kill bed bugs in my car?

According to professional exterminators, bed bugs exposed to temperatures of at least 45°C or 113°F will die. However, they will have to be exposed for 90 minutes or more. If it is a really hot day, it is possible for bed bugs to die in a car that is parked in direct sunlight for hours.

Do bed bugs prefer old or new cars to live in?

Bed bugs can live in practically any type of car. It doesn’t matter if the car is old or new. Similarly, it can live in a dirty or clean car, although a dirty car provides more hiding places. A dirty car also makes it more difficult to get rid of bed bugs.