Bed bugs are insects everyone wants to eradicate from home. Unfortunately, bed bugs and yarn appear as collaborative elements. Yarn is a thread-like material to woven cloth known as fabric, although people often use yarn and fabric interchangeably.
Bed bugs can hide in yarn but on rare occasions. You can get rid of bed bugs in yarn, but be careful of myths like the use of chemicals or scented oil. The best way to get rid of bed bugs in the yarn is by application of heat or exposing the yarn to cold temperatures. Bed bugs are often found in old yarns.
I discovered the misconception about bed bugs and yarn, making people lose focus. Bed bugs are unpleasant sights and can cause itching to the body. To overcome this, you need to understand the relation between bed bugs and yarn. This article provides answers on getting rid of bed bugs in yarn and resistance of different materials.
Do Bed Bugs Hide in Yarn?
Often, you will not see them in yarn or new fabrics, but it does not mean they cannot hide there. You can find bed bugs in dirty or worn-out yarn. It is imperative to sort out an infested yarn from others.
It is possible to find a bed bug in your yarn, but it is just a quarter of the major problem. Yarn is the last place bed bugs hide in a house. Most times, they hide in dirty cupboards and bed edges.
(See more on their hiding places: Bed Bug Nests [Complete Guide])
Bed bugs are quick to multiply, producing many offspring from one reproduction. They are tiny and not quickly noticeable. Hence, seeing a few of them means there are several others out there you have not just figured out yet.
Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects, and they often feed on human blood. You can trace if any bed bug has been on your fabric or currently through its fecal traces. The traces are tiny, rounded poop, which may be yellowish or whitish.
Do Bed Bugs Eat Yarn?
Bed bugs do not eat yarn, no matter the fabric type. Hence, when they bite a person that is clothed, they have penetrated under the clothing. Bed bugs are blood-sucking insects and cannot tear nor pick a fabric material.
Nevertheless, make sure to keep your yarn away from bugs, as you cannot tell where they are hiding when you wear them. Bed bugs are not extremely small. They stay in hidden places where it is hard to notice them.
Allowing bed bugs to stay on an infested fabric for a long time does not mean they would not survive. Bed bugs can stay alive without food for 1 to 4 months. Hence, ensure to clean and dry your fabrics regularly.
Bed Bugs in Fabric: Which Type are Most Affected?
Since bed bugs do not have mouths long enough to penetrate through the skin, the fabric material has little effect. However, silk fabric is more resistant to bed bugs because it is not a warm textured material.
On the other hand, they can survive longer on wool fabrics. Likewise, wearing porous materials create room for bed bugs to penetrate the skin.
How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Yarn?
When getting rid of bed bugs in yarn, avoid methods that are not proven to work effectively. Some of these methods are myths, as I discuss them below, while others will work perfectly.
(One of the biggest myths: Can Bed Bugs Be Repelled by Using a High-Frequency Sound?)
Chemicals
You may have heard chemicals such as insecticides are the right treatments for bedbugs. As true as it may sound, it is not correct.
Chemical is not an Effective Method to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in Yarn.
I do not recommend chemicals as bedbugs are often resistant to them. Also, the application can be harmful. Spraying chemicals close to your body part may cause damage to your sensitive areas, such as your eyes.
Since you may need to bend while applying it, especially crooks and crannies. It is almost impossible to avoid contact with the body part.
Moreover, some chemicals are too concentrated for some fabrics. Applying them would imply you no longer need the fabric and wants to discard it.
Scents, Oils, Plants like Lavender
Pouring excessive scents or oil on your fabric does not kill bed bugs most of the time. Likewise, plants like lavender cause no effect on the bed bugs in a fabric. These substances only add odor to your fabric which does not affect a bug a lot, as concentrated as they may be.
There are only a few natural ingredients that have a proper impact on Bed Bugs. One of them is cedarwood oil, which can kill the bugs if applied directly. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of cedar oil varies strongly among the products.
We only recommend Ecoraider as it has proven its power against Bed Bugs in several studies.
One of the biggest advantages is the residual effect. You can spray Ecoraider on your fabric and it will kill Bed Bugs and prevent new ones for the next 14 days!
Application of Heat
Extreme temperatures eradicate insects, including bedbugs. You can control bug invasion by heat application and store your fabric as long as possible.
If you are treating a large volume of yarn, you need to apply heat strategically to work through the piles of yarn. Since yarns are threads for production, bed bugs are likely to hide there than produced fabrics. Nevertheless, bed bugs are rare in new yarn.
You only need to destroy the bed bugs at the regulated or optimum temperature and apply for about one hour. Some fabrics such as cotton may shrink after exposing them to extremely high temperatures. Hence bear in mind that not all fabrics may retain the initial texture after getting rid of the bed bugs.
You’ll need a temperature of 119 °F for the Bugs and 125 ° F for Bed Bugs Eggs to kill them effectively.
Here are the usual washing temperatures for fabrics:
| Material | Safe Temperature |
| Silk | 85 ° F (140 ° F) |
| Wool | 85 ° F |
| Cotton | 105 ° F (195 ° F) |
| Linen | 105 ° F (195 ° F) |
| Polyester | 105 ° F |
The exact maximum temperature often depends on the kind of production and type of fabric. Always read the instruction of each individual cloth!
Exposing Fabric to Cold Temperatures
You can eradicate bed bugs with cold temperature, but ensure the bed bug remains in direct contact during the freezing process. Likewise, you may need to freeze your cloth for about one week before erasing the bed bugs.
You can get rid of bed bugs by heating the fabric at a temperature of -16 degrees Celsius.
To get rid of both young and adult bed bugs, I recommend you freeze at -17 degrees Celsius for about two hours. With this, you can destroy bed bugs of all stages.
However, make sure the container bearing the fabric can contain the cold temperature at the same time. If otherwise, the bed bug may find a cool place to hide.
When freezing your clothes, place them in a tight bag to stop the bugs from crawling away and infesting clean areas.
Preventing Bud Bugs in Yarn: Here is How!
Yarn is an easy place to spread bedbugs, especially from strangers. When in close contact with an infested person in the same store or grocery shops, it may crawl to your cloth. When a bug starts breeding, and you take it home, the eggs multiple rapidly.
- The first tip for preventing bed bugs in the yarn is to stay around a healthy environment and check the cloth before putting it back on your cloth shelve.
- My research shows that bed bugs can be present in hotels which often spread from clothing materials. Often guests from untidy homes bring in bed bugs packed in their suitcases with lodging fabrics. Since bed bugs have a talent for hiding, it is usually hard to detect them.
If you are going to a hotel or unpacking in your house, make sure you cross-check each fabric before storing them up. Bed bugs are not as tiny as needing glasses, but to hasten your search, you should use a magnifying glass.
Special Tip: Use a mosquito repellent that contains at least 25% of DEET and spray your luggage and shoes. This will prevent Bed Bugs from coming into your belongings! - Whenever you get back from a visit, make sure to put the fabrics in the washer as soon as possible. Afterward, dry at a high temperature. Hence, it helps kill any bug that remains after washing.
- It applies to fabrics with pockets where bed bugs can be unnoticeable. Hence, turn out every fabric inner to confirm no eggs are remaining.
- Check all your fabrics weekly to ensure no bed bugs are hiding anywhere. Bedbugs can live for many months under favorable conditions. Hence, routine checkups will help keep you on track.
- Ensure your fabrics stay away from your mattress edges. As soon as you notice shed skins, egg cases, or fecal stains in your bed, it is high time you kept your clothes away. Also, you can use a musty odor to identify the presence of bed bugs, although not often.
- Likewise, avoid the habit of storing dirty clothes under the bed. Although you would wash them, adult bed bugs are sometimes hard to destroy.
- Immediately, treat the mattress because you would eventually lay on it, and you do not want it in your nightie. Bed bugs are quick to spread, and you should employ every means to stop their increase.
- Another strategy to prevent bed bugs in yarns is by storing them in a sealed bag or tight container. By doing so, bugs cannot penetrate through the container. Ensure the bag or container is tight or enclosed, and place it away from an infested area.
Conclusion
It may be time-consuming to get rid of bed bugs from your yarn, but you can get it right with the correct measures. Hence, carefully follow the eradication methods above. You can request a professional service if the infestation is bulky, and provided you have tried all the methods above but none of them worked for you.
