Does 91 Alcohol Kill Bed Bugs?
Every household medicine cabinet is not complete without some classic rubbing alcohol (91 Alcohol). Made up of 91% isopropyl alcohol, this disinfectant can kill most bacteria that live on your skin. It is used in many different medical practices, but is it tough enough to kill bed bugs?
How Effective is 91 Alcohol?
Rubbing alcohol is an extremely effective cleaning agent on our cuts and bacteria, but can it kill a bed bug? The answer is YES! It is capable of killing bed bugs almost instantly and also exterminating their eggs. The bed bug will look like they just opened the Ark of the Covenant from Indiana Jones!
Rubbing alcohol is a dissolvent and a desiccant. This means that it can corrode the outer shell of a pesky bed bug, but it can also cause it to begin drying up. Once the outer shell has been burned away, the alcohol dries the bug up and kills it.
Should I Use Rubbing Alcohol to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
Even though rubbing alcohol can kill bed bugs, YOU SHOULD NOT USE IT! 91 Alcohol is extremely flammable and can cause a home to burn up very quickly. There are cases of people spraying rubbing alcohol around their home to kill bed bugs and candles or other flames causing a home to catch fire.
Additionally, rubbing alcohol must make direct contact with the bed bug to kill it. This makes it incredibly difficult for you to fully eliminate all the bed bugs from your home. Furthermore, it cannot kill all of the bugs, especially the eggs.
Bed bugs will also flee from the chemicals. They will scurry away and hide again to try and survive the onslaught. They will burrow themselves in dark areas and in deep crevices, making chemicals a very inefficient method of killing bed bugs. 
Other Options to Kill Bed Bugs
There are many other options to kill bed bugs. This may make it confusing on the best option for your circumstances. However, our professional team believes that the only proper way to dispose of these bugs is heat treatment. It is by far the safest method and it does not use harmful chemicals.
What is Heat Treatment?
Heat treatment is a method of exposing a bed bug to immense heat (120 – 145 degrees Fahrenheit). Once exposed, the bed bugs, eggs and nymphos begin to dry up and die. Each bed bug will take about an hour and a half to die, which means that to exterminate an entire house it could take up to 12 hours. This is a downside of using heat treatment because it does require more time than chemical methods. However, it is worth it because it is 100% effective in removing bed bugs from your home.
Heat treatment can also be done on your clothes that are infested with bed bugs. This is as simple as using hot water in the washing machine and then putting them in a hot dryer. The likelihood of bed bugs surviving both the hot wash and dryer is extremely unlikely, making it an extremely effective method. Additionally, you could steam your clothes for a long period of time to remove these bugs from your clothing.
Who Can Kill Bed Bugs for You?
If you have any questions on bed bugs or if you are dealing with a bed bug infestation, reach out to Bed Bug BBQ! You can reach us on our contact page or by giving us a call at (216) 221-1227. We serve the Cleveland, Ohio area with the safest, most dependable, and trustworthy bed bug extermination in the land! We get the job done in less than 24 hours so you can sleep peacefully at night.
