Bed bugs are a fairly common nuisance that most homeowners will encounter at least once in their lifetime. Despite their name, bed bugs are not solely confined to your bed sheets. Can you get bed bugs from someone riding in your car?
- Bed bugs can infest your car if they are carried into it.
- However, the chances of their doing so are slim.
- Still, there are many ways to prevent and clear out a bed bug infestation in your car.
So it’s not likely, but it is possible that the Uber you were riding in was infested by the previous rider. Or now they’re setting up shop in your car.
Let’s look a little deeper about how bed bugs transmit, and how attracted they would be to your car.
Can You Get Bed Bugs From Someone Riding in Your Car?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Bed bugs are obviously known to inhabit mattresses. But they can also latch onto your clothes, bags, furniture, and many other items you bring into the car with you.
However, they are unlikely to venture too far from your bedroom and risk crawling to your car alone.
If a small garrison of bed bugs moves into your car, the chances are that they will be there for a very long time. Despite their habit of sucking the blood of both humans and animals to survive, bed bugs can go a remarkably long time without food.Â
Fully-grown bed bugs can go up to a year without any form of sustenance, while the younger bed bugs can last anywhere between a few weeks to several months.Â
Fully-grown bed bugs can go up to a year without any form of sustenance, while the younger bed bugs can last anywhere between a few weeks to several months.Â
What Do Bed Bugs Normally Do?
Although a few bed bugs can hitch a ride in your car, you are more likely to encounter them in your bedroom, within at least eight feet of your bed.
Here, they hide in sheets, piles of clothes, mattresses, cracks in the floorboards and walls, and just about anywhere else where the sun is unlikely to shine.
At night, bed bugs come out to feed. They are bloodsuckers, and their bites tend to leave small and itchy red marks, much like mosquitoes.
For most people, these bites will clear up within a few days – however, those with allergies may have more severe reactions.
Thus, it is important to treat bed bug infestations seriously, regardless of where they may be found.
They are bloodsuckers, and their bites tend to leave small and itchy red marks, much like mosquitoes.
How Can You Tell if There Are Bed Bugs in Your Car?
Bed bugs can be tough to spot for the untrained eye. However, they leave several telltale signs of their presence in their wake. These include:
- Red stains (typically bed bugs which have been crushed)
- Small dark spots (bed bug excrement)
- Bed bug skin (which is shed as they grow)
- Small yellow eggs or egg shells
Alternatively, you may be lucky enough to spot one of the little creatures out in the open.
How Can You Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Your Car?
Bed bug infestations in cars – as rare as they are – are usually fairly small. As such, there are plenty of different methods for you to try before you call an exterminator.
1. Apply direct heat
Exposing bed bugs to high temperatures is one of the quickest and easiest methods of killing them off. Bed bugs can only survive below 113 degrees Fahrenheit – any temperatures above that should do the trick.
The easiest way to do this is to park your car out in direct sunlight. Ensure that you park somewhere that will see plenty of sunlight for several hours. To aid the process, fit your windows with black bags or any dark material. After a few hours, the bed bugs should be gone.
2. Clean with steam
Steam cleaners can very easily clear out a bed bug infestation of your car, though this process is admittedly more involved than the previous method. Be sure to target every crease and crack where the bed bugs may be hiding, and keep the power relatively low to not scatter them instead of killing them.
3. Chill Out
If you’re in a frigid area, you can use that to your advantage. Bed Bugs have a hard time surviving for long in sub-freezing temperatures. Typically four or so days of below-zero temperatures will kill them off. And even if it doesn’t constantly stay that cold, repeated exposure to very cold temperatures will slowly kill them off.
4. Try out some diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a silica-based substance that can absorb the fats and oils from bed bugs’ exoskeletons. This, in turn, causes them to dry up and die. Simply apply some of this substance to the inside of your car and give it a few hours to work.
Clean your car thoroughly afterward.
Diatomaceous earth is a silica-based substance that can absorb the fats and oils from bed bugs’ exoskeletons.
Conclusion
With this information in hand, there is no reason that the party of bed bugs gathering in your car should be permanent! It is important not to be intimidated by their presence – once you are aware of them, simply employ one of the methods described here or call for the services of a professional.
The good news is that a bed bug infestation in your car is a lot easier to deal with than one in your home.
