Do bed bugs bite you more when your AC is on during summers?
Or, bed bugs don’t spare you even during winters?
If you had or have a bed bug infestation, then you know the answer is yes.
But is it really true? Do bed bugs like cold rooms?
Or, getting bed bug bites with your AC on or in winters is an anomaly?
By the end of this guide, you’ll know the answers.
Keep reading.
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Do Bed Bugs Like Cold Rooms?
The straightforward answer to this question is no. Bed bugs don’t like cold rooms.
Neither do they’ve any preference for hot rooms.
But there’s more to it.
Bed bugs love pleasant temperatures, neither too hot nor too cold.
The perfect temperature for bed bugs, or the temperature favorable to them to live, breed, and remain active, is between 70°F and 80°F.
So, here in lies the reason behind bed bug bites when your AC is on.
During summers, most homeowners put their ACs on between 68°F and 78°F.
This temperature range is well in the range that bed bugs love.
The result?
More active bed bugs biting you whenever they’re hungry.
And you’d get more bed bug bites unless you get rid of them.
Hence, the misconception that bed bugs like cold rooms and freezing temperatures.
But the truth is the temperature at which you keep your AC on is pleasant for bed bugs.
As bed bugs hide in tight places in your room, the temperature at their hiding places is a bit higher than in your room.
In fact, the temperature is perfect where they’re hiding.
Even though bed bugs are hard to kill, bed bugs die (not instantly) in extreme cold.
The journal of entomology found if you expose bed bugs at temperatures below minus 3.2°F, bed bugs will die within three and half days.
And temperatures below minus 4°F will kill bed bugs within 48 hours.
So, even in such harsh cold temperatures, bed bugs can survive for a couple of days.
Do Bed Bugs Like Heat?
No, bed bugs don’t like heat. Extreme heat kills bed bugs, just like extreme cold does.
Extreme heat and cold has the same effect on bed bugs as they have on roaches.
But heat kills bed bugs quicker than cold does.
Bed bugs exposed to temperatures above 113°F for 90 minutes or more will die.
And temperature that high is also unbearable for us humans.
That’s the reason why many homeowners use steam cleaners as a piece of handy equipment to kill bed bugs in their homes.
Steam cleaners produce heat up to 410°F, which kills bed bugs, bed bugs eggs, and the nymphs (baby bed bugs) on contact.
Not only bed bugs, but steam cleaners also kill dust mites, viruses, and allergens that can wreak havoc on any home.
If you’ve got elderly, children, and if you’re prone to get allergies, or there’s an asthma patient in your home, then a steam cleaner is a piece of necessity.
Do Bed Bugs Like Light?
No, bed bugs don’t like light. Although bed bugs aren’t typically nocturnal, they’re most active during the night.
During the day, bed bugs avoid light and go into hiding.
If you’re sure that bed bugs are biting you, you can find bed bugs during the day!
Pest controllers do it because, during the day, bed bugs aren’t that active. And they can quickly spot them lying idle in their hiding places.
But, there’s one thing to keep in mind.
Bed bugs can come out during the day or when the lights are on if they’re hungry and they’ve you around to have their blood meal.
Sleeping with the lights on will also not stop bed bugs from biting you.
Do Bed Bugs Like Humidity?
Along with a host, humidity and moisture are the primary conditions for bed bugs to survive.
Studies have found that high heat and low humidity kills bed bugs.
The lower the humidity, the faster the bed bugs die.
But that doesn’t mean that bed bus prefers to live in damp places.
In fact, you won’t find bed bugs in moist places.
High humidity in the air and temperate to tropical weather are perfect for bed bugs to survive.
Bed bugs can easily survive in a warm and humid home without a blood meal for 3-5 months.
So, if you live in the southern states where humidity is relatively high, it’s always wise to use a dehumidifier in your home.
High humidity makes your home attractive for bed bugs and other invasive pests like roaches, termites, and ants.
A dehumidifier brings down the humidity levels in the home air. It makes your home less appealing for bugs and pests.
So, Should You Use Freezing Temperatures In Your Home To Kill Bed Bugs?
No, it’s because bed bugs are more resistant to low temperatures than to high temperatures.
That’s why heat treatment is one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs in a house with a severe bed bug infestation.Â
Heat treatment, administered by a proficient bed bug exterminator, kills 100% of bed bugs.
So, why are bed bugs resistant to cold temperatures?
As you read, they can even survive minus 4°F for 48 hours!
Bed bugs are descendants of bat bugs that lived on bats.
Millions of years ago, these bats lived in caves under freezing temperatures.
Over the years, bed bugs developed physiological mechanisms to survive in cold temperatures.
Over time, evolution replaced water in the bed bugs’ cells with glycol and glycerol.
Both glycol and glycerol prevent the cells from bursting in freezing temperatures.
That’s why you cannot get rid of bed bugs in your home just by lowering the temperature down.
If you want to use cold to kill bed bugs, then flash freezing is needed.
Flash freezing is the process of exposing the bed bugs directly to compounds like carbon dioxide or cryonite to kill the bed bugs instantly.
Both of these are too cold and freezes the bed bugs to death on contact.
But you can’t go around spraying carbon dioxide inside your home to kill bed bugs.
Bed bugs hide in the tiniest of gaps inside your home, where the cold can’t reach. But heat can.
Conclusion
Bed bugs don’t like cold rooms. Nor do they like hot rooms.
Along with room temperature, bed bugs thrive in temperatures between 70°F and 80°F.
As you keep the AC on during summers in this temperature range, you notice an increase in bed bug activity.
That tricks you into thinking that bed bugs like cold rooms.
Bed bugs can withstand cold better than heat.
That’s why heat treatment to kill bed bugs is better than flash freezing.
In this guide, you’ve got to know what temperatures, both low and high, kill bed bugs. And for how long they can withstand those temperatures.
To know more on the methods of eliminating bed bugs, read our post on how to get rid of bed bugs.
Dr. Thomas Orbert is a PhD in Entomology with extensive research experience in ectoparasites and microbials. He has also worked in the spaces of ecology conservation and has multiple years of experience in field research and scientific publishing.