I have a cottage that we rent out in the summer in Michigan. In the fall we drain the pipes and it goes through the winter in freezing temps. We have never had problems with bed bugs. I would like to know if there are any studies on people with summer cottages that are drained in the winter and if they have bed bugs. This would give an idea if your idea can be done.
Editors Note
According to Health Canada, if a home is kept at freezing temperatures for 3 straight days, all bed bugs and bed bug eggs will be killed. Your experience is consistent with this finding.
Apr 03, 2010 Rating
Natural Cold by: Christine
Thanks for that summary of research so far. As a health care worker, my interest in BBs stems from my patients who live in low income apts whose landlords treat only a few units at a time. Their buildings truly are chronically infested and there is nothing on the lease warning them before they move in. I wrote the initial comment above. At the same time I sympathize with landlords. The cost of treating an entire building can be as impossible as convincing all the tenants to treat all their stuff before moving back in. It seems to me we need a brave landlord or hotel owner to try the freeze method during a cold stretch in winter. It truly does get to minus 20 C for a few days in a row here in Ottawa. An exterminator would not be needed. The person to hire would be a home renovator or plumber to protect the building against cold, The tenants could simply leave all their stuff in the building.
Editors Note Regarding Freezing Bed Bugs
The latest information published by Health Canada confirms that a home left in freezing temperatures for 3 days will kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs.
