Yes, bed bugs can hide in books because they can be ideal places for them to hide in. Books can also be a way for bed bugs to travel because people tend to bring them with them to different places. Some readers like to take books with them to bed, which is more than ideal for the bed bug.
If you want to know more about bed bugs hiding in books and how to remove them, then keep on reading.
Do bed bugs hide in books?
Bed bugs like to stay in places that are near their host’s sleeping place. That is why they are usually in bedrooms or couches.
They like dark and quiet places that are rarely moved around that is why they like the corners of your mattress but not your pillow.
People like to keep bookshelves or simply stacks of books near their beds, this makes these books possible harborages for the bed bugs.
Books have cracks and crevices that are great hiding places for bed bugs. You might have one or two books on your bedside table that you probably do not move around that much. These are even better for the bed bug because of how close they are to the bed.
Library books are also one of the public things, just like public transport, that can very effectively harbor bed bugs from home to home.
Can bed bugs live on paper
Bed bugs can live on paper if they have to. They will happily live underneath or behind a book. This is why bed bugs can be passed from one home to another in library books. Bed bugs do not eat paper because they only feed on blood. Their beaks are quite similar to that of a mosquito.
Can bed bugs lay eggs in books?
Bed bugs laying in books is possible especially if the books are rarely used or opened. They can be secluded and possibly close to their host.
When a female bed bug finds a nice undisturbed corner, they will start its own population.
Can bed bugs travel in books?
Yes, bed bugs can travel in books. The biggest percentage of infestations are results of hitchhiking bed bugs. They can travel on clothes,bags, and of course, bags.
It can start from the infested home of a person, they then return the library book. This same book will be checked out by another person whose house is now at risk of its own bed bug infestation.
How do I know if a book has bed bugs?
Signs that bed bugs may be lurking in your books include dark spots or stains on the pages where they may have gotten crushed, and tiny specs of bug poop. Sometimes you can even find dead bugs, eggs, and shells that the nymphs have shed while molting.
Bed bugs have flat bodies so it is easy for them to hide, so you need to be thorough when looking for them. They can be one the pages but they can also make their way into the binding.
Hardcover books are more likely to house bed bugs, especially near the spine, but they can hide in any type of book, even paperbacks.
How do I get rid of bed bugs in my books?
The basics of getting rid of bed bugs involve pesticides, isolation, heat, or a combination of all three things.
Can I put books in the oven to kill bed bugs?
The short answer is no, it is not advisable to use your oven to kill the bed bugs in a book.
According to studies, temperatures higher than 118 degrees Fahrenheit will kill bed bugs. The higher the temperature, the faster it kills the bugs.
An oven is a contained environment whose temperature can definitely reach past 118 degrees, but the problem is, it is not safe to expose paper in an environment that involves heat and even fire.
Also, the covers of books can be made from other materials that are not paper. These materials have different burning temperatures. Some books might even have plastic covers.
Besides, people use ovens to cook food, so the fact that you are placing bug infested objects in there is very unsanitary. Bed bugs that just fed can explode in the oven and spread their blood and guts all over the inside of your oven. This can be a health risk. So, using an oven to kill bed bugs is a bad idea.
Can I use a microwave to kill bed bugs?
You might have read about this tip somewhere on the internet, but just like the oven, using the microwave to kill the bed bugs in books have the same drawbacks.
The temperature in a microwave is even harder to control than an oven’s. Plus, it is also very unsanitary to do so. They might find their way into the mechanism of the microwave or explode and spread its guts all over the inside of the microwave as well.
Another specific risk is when the book has a metal component in the spine or in the binding. Metal will spark in a microwave and may even start a fire.
Use heat to kill the bed bugs
Pest control professionals use “heat treatment”, wherein they raise the temperature of the whole house to a level where it kills any pests there.
The pest controller brings in a small heater which will raise the temperature inside the house higher than 118 degrees, sometimes reaching up to 160 degrees.
The point of reaching these temperatures is so that the interiors of beddings and furniture also reach the required heat. It can take hours of heat treatment for it to work.
Conclusion
Yes, bed bugs can hide inside your books. This is because most people have bookshelves or stacks of books on their bedside table. These books are usually not moved very often so bed bugs make their way into them because they can serve as harborages or great hiding places for the bed bugs while they wait for you to fall asleep so they can make their way to the bed and feed on your blood.
The most effective way to kill bed bugs in books is to seek professional help and have pest control professionals do a heat treatment to your whole house.
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