Resistance
The Michigan Manual reports a national study that “showed 80% of the populations to be resistant in some degree to pyrethroids” and adds: “Several samples from Michigan bedbug populations were found to be highly resistant.” Pyrethroids are the active ingredient in nearly every bed bug product sold at retail. Its treatment table says it flatly: “Bed bugs are becoming resistant to many commonly used pesticides.”
Foggers
Same table: “Bug bombs ARE NOT effective against bed bugs and should not be used.” A fogger fills the air; bed bugs live in seams, voids and cracks the fog never reaches, and the repellent effect pushes them deeper and sideways — into the neighbors’ unit in a multi-family building. “Pesticides used alone will not be effective in eliminating a bed bug infestation.”
What does work, per the manual
- Heat: “Kills all bed bug stages including eggs • No chemical residue • When properly used, effectively treats the whole unit at once.” How →
- Cold: “freezing bed bug infested items at <0°F for two or more hours is effective” — and the warning that 0°F is “colder than most household freezer compartments.”
- The dryer: MSU Extension — dry on medium or high “for at least 30 minutes”; items that cannot be washed can go straight in.
- Professional non-pyrethroid programs with the two-week follow-up, where chemical is the right call.
What you can do before we arrive
Dry the bedding, bag the clean laundry, encase the mattress, vacuum the seams and bag the contents. Do not spray. Every DIY pyrethroid application selects for the survivors and spreads them.