How to Get Rid of Bed Worms (Step-by-Step Guide)

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Worms in bed! Sounds like a horror movie title, but it’s the reality for some people. The usual culprits are several moth species and other insects that hatch eggs which later transform into worm-shaped larvae and can easily inhabit any fabric made of natural materials. So technically, they aren’t worms, they are larvae. Having trouble with them? Don’t despair. We’re about to share several tips on how to get rid of bed worms and keep them away from your mattress.

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How to get rid of bed worms

Using hot water and detergent on bed garments will effectively remove bed worms and keep them at bay. And dry cleaning at high temperatures or steam cleaning is bed worms’ number one enemy.

“Bed worms” is a collective term for different types of larvae laid by moths or adult carpet beetles. So when we fight bed worms, we combat insect larvae which are made of protein and therefore may be easily dissolved in a hot environment or destroyed in freezing conditions.

In addition, you can freeze bed sheets for a few days to keep insect larvae and most bed worms out of your mattress.

Here’s a quick overview of the most common bed worms and how to get rid of them most efficiently.

Wash your bedding

Moths and carpet beetles hide and lay eggs in old clothes, dirty laundry, and bedsheets. If you suspect bed worms, try to wash infested bedding in hot soapy water (above 130°F) and dry it on high heat. 

Hot water kills worms and remaining larvae instantly. In addition, you will rid your mattress of dust mites, odors, dirt, dead skin cells, bed bugs, and unwanted microorganisms.

To make sure your bedding comes out free of bed worms after every wash, follow these steps:

1. Follow the directions on the care label. Different types of bedding may require different cleaning methods depending on the fabric. Use settings with the highest temperature. However, be sure the linen is not over-sensitive to hot water.
2. Treat stains before washing. Use cold water when working on blood and other stubborn stains (including yellow stains). Food stains and spillages attract cloth moths and beetle larvae.
3. Choose the proper cycle and water temperature. A fast wash cycle with hot water does a great job of destroying bed worms.
4. Avoid overloading the washer. You must leave some room in the drum if you want the sheets to be spotless.
5. Line dry in the sunlight. This gives bedding a fresh smell and lets sunlight disinfect it.
6. Use an iron to kill bed worms and dust mites. Some bacteria and mites could survive the wash cycle. Ironing finishes them off.

If you need to wash the pillows, the principle is slightly different, and you can find detailed instructions in the previous article of our expert team, which describes how to wash pillows in detail.

Considering that a steam cleaner develops a temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit and above, it is an efficient device against bed worms. The steam cleaner will purify and sanitize any natural fabric prone to bed worm infestation.

Nevertheless, a steam cleaner sends hot water vapor deep into the fabric and can be used only for items that can be soaked in hot water and not get damaged. Hot steam may be too much for memory foam, a variety of synthetic materials, and some organic materials that may get deformed.

Cloth moths lay eggs even in synthetic materials if they are blended with wool or other organic materials. So for any hot soak-unfriendly materials, you will need a different approach with less impact.

For example, you can soak a cloth or towel in hot soapy water and thoroughly rub your mattress or mattress topper.

For infested linen that’s sensitive to steam, you may use soapy water or different kinds of detergent solutions. This way you will be able to dose the amount of warm water applied to the infested surface.

Freeze items that can’t be washed

Hot water may be too aggressive for feathers, fur, leather, and other similar materials. Additionally, wool clothes should not be heated.

Any items that may be infested with moth eggs should be placed in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag. Seal the bag and place it in your freezer for 72 hours.

Regardless of whether you have eggs or larvae in your freezer, cold temperatures below -4°F will destroy them. Afterward, you can wash infested items as necessary.

Infested items should be frozen following these guidelines:

1. Your freezer temperature is significant. A lower temperature kills bed worms more quickly. Keeping your freezer at a minimum of -9°F for 4 days or more is super effective at killing bed worms (most freezers are around -18°F, so you should be good anyway).
2. Optionally, you can use a remote thermometer to monitor the temperature inside the items you are freezing.
3. The center of the frozen materials must reach at least 1.4°F. It takes more time to handle bulky items. Once it reaches 1.4°F, start counting the 4 days.
4. Keep in mind that eggs may survive at temperatures above -9°F.
5. After freezing, let the items unfreeze for a couple of hours, and then wash and clean them as usual.

Sanitize your bedroom

To disinfect your bedroom successfully, you need to take into account all the items in there. In other words, you can’t simply wash the bedsheets. All crevices of the room should be checked thoroughly.

• Vacuum entire bedroom
• Wash bedding once in two weeks
• Keep a bedroom floor clean
• Keep your mattress clean

Vacuuming will help remove any hidden worms or eggs from the cracks of your bed and hard-to-reach spots. In addition to vacuuming, it is also vital to vacuum the surrounding areas.

Washing bed sheets, pillows, and other bedding weekly, and letting them air out once in a while will keep your linen fresh and sanitized for peaceful sleep.

Sanitize the bedroom floor, because all germs, bacteria, and eggs eventually fall on the floor and some bed worms may crawl up into your bed if you don’t clean floors. A clean floor also means fewer crumbs and that additionally implies your apartment and bed will be ant-free.

It is crucial to keep your mattress fresh, and if you need to sanitize it you may do so with a natural cleaning solution.

Blend equal measures of vinegar and water in a spray bottle and sprinkle the solution over the mattress. Additionally, you may add a few drops of essential oil of your choice.

Call an exterminator

If the bed worm situation gets out of control or you have trouble finding and destroying the source of the infestation, don’t hesitate to call a professional pest control company.

When you’re choosing professionals, follow these few guidelines to prepare yourself and increase your chances for success:

• Contact a pest management professional (PMP) as soon as possible. Waiting and trying to fix the problem yourself wastes your time and might help spread the infestation.
• Be ready for a couple of professional visits, most infestations need to be controlled with more than one treatment.
• Hire a PMP experienced in treating bed worm infestations. Check the company reviews.
• Check out EPA’s Citizen’s Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety, which offers more guidelines on how to choose a pest control company.

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How to find the source of the infestation

The sources of an infestation can be closets with old, unused clothes, spaces that have not been aired for a long time, potted plants, even bird nests in the attic of the house, as well as rooms that have not been sanitized for a long time and are full of things that these insects and their larvae can feed on.

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How to prevent bed worms from infesting your mattress

Bed worms are typically eliminated either naturally or chemically. The natural method includes preventing moths from entering your living space, vacuuming, washing in hot water, and removing unnecessary clutter. The chemical method, as we mentioned in this article, involves bug spray. In this section, we’ll explore both methods in more detail.

Natural methods

The natural approach to bed worm infestation includes:

1. Preventing moths from entering your living space. The best prevention is not to allow adult moths to enter your home. Moth infestations are frequent between March and August. This period is suitable for them to spread their larvae, which turn into worms almost unnoticed.
2. Mosquito nets on windows may be of great help in keeping the door of your home shut for cloth moths.
3. Vacuum thoroughly. Not only your mattress but also your bed frame, box spring, and headboard. This way, you will remove eggs, larvae, and dust mites.
4. Washing items in hot water. As we already mentioned above, hot water will kill bed worms, especially if it’s a recent infestation.
5. Removing unnecessary clutter. Dust and clutter are a great breeding ground for moth and carpet beetle larvae. Remove old and rarely-used stuff from your closet. Even curtains may be attractive to insects.
6. Use a mattress protector. The protective cover will encase your mattress and act as a barrier between the mattress and bed worms, dust, bed bugs, and other pests.
7. Seal cracks and crevices with silicone or acrylic latex caulk. Tiny cracks and holes are great hosts for different insect larvae. In order to deny them living space, seal small cracks on the walls, wood surfaces, and flooring.

The strong aroma of lavender bags in the closet or a few drops of lavender essential oil will repeal clothes moths. You can put a few drops on a piece of fabric and place it in the wardrobe.

Remember to add a few drops now and then, because over time the strong “perfume” smell will evaporate and lose effectiveness.

Bug spray

Bed worms and their eggs can be killed by several chemical pesticides. However, only those labeled as repelling bed worms should be used, and the instructions on the product label should be followed carefully. Let’s mention some of them.

• Permethrin. This synthetic pyrethroid is available in aerosol spray form. The disadvantage is that it is toxic to pets. For humans, it’s considered non-toxic to moderately toxic (if you’re not careful, you might get temporary eye or throat irritation). Permethrin-based agents have been commercialized to protect wool against moths.
• Pyrethroids and pyrethrins. Sprays that contain synthetic or natural pyrethrins can be irritating on skin contact, but they are low-toxicity to humans and most mammals.

If you do opt for these chemicals, make sure to do thorough research on them. The label must say that the product is safe to use on a mattress. Not all sprays have the exact same formula, regardless of how similar their name might sound. Our advice is to only use these chemicals if you’re not sensitive to chemicals, ideally don’t have pets, and have checked and double-checked that they’re safe for what you’re planning to do with them.

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Where do mattress worms come from?

There are two most common ways that worms can get into a mattress. One is when moths, flies, or carpet beetles lay their eggs in your bedroom, on the bed, or on bedding. The other is when infected people or pets transfer pinworms through their bodies onto the sheets.

The moth uses natural fabric as fertile soil to lay its eggs, which later become larvae similar to tiny white worms. Dust, dirt, food stains, and spilled drinks encourage moths, flies, and carpet beetles even more than natural materials.

It’s possible that worms and larvae are hiding in the soil of your potted plants if they haven’t been sterilized. In other words, if you neglect personal hygiene and bedroom cleanliness they will reach your bed somehow.

Some people take unventilated bed linen out of the closet, make a bed with it, and don’t notice eggs hatched by one of these insects. Folding unwashed bed linen on the bed increases the chance of bed worms infesting it.

And just when we thought that worms in bed mattresses could not be more disgusting, we find out that there are even some species of bed worms called pinworms, which live in the intestines of the infected people or animals, and that they may transfer through the anus onto the bedding.

Clothes moth

Cloth moths or clothes moths are pests that feed on fabric and other materials. They are small, yellowish, and 1/2-inch long. Moths have small hairs fringed on the ends of their narrowed wings.

They have often been mistaken for grain moths and other moths species but they may be distinct by dark specks on the wings.

Due to their aversion to light, clothes moths are rarely seen compared to other types of moths. Their preferred habitats are dark, undisturbed areas like closets, basements, and attics.

They produce larvae that look like tiny worms and they feed on keratin, a protein contained in natural fibers. In nature, larvae feed on nesting materials or carcasses of birds and mammals.

Webbing clothes moths

Tineola bisselliella, also known as the webbing clothes moth is the most common species in the USA. It has whitish wings, a golden head, and reddish hairs on the top of the head.

Adult webbing clothes moths grow to between 1 and 2 cm in length. Eggs of this species are tiny, most measuring less than a millimeter in length.

A female lays several hundred eggs during her life. Eggs are instinctively laid in hard-to-reach places where they have the highest chance of survival.

The larvae of the webbing cloth moth roll into tubes or patches of silk webbing as they move around. Each larva has the same goal – to spin a cocoon in which it will pupate and grow into an adult webbing clothes moth.

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Are mattress worms dangerous?

The moth and carpet beetle larvae themselves are harmless if we don’t count any psychological distress you might get, but their adult forms are actually more problematic.

For some people that are allergic to pests, carpet-beetle larvae may cause skin reactions similar to bed bugs.

Bed worms don’t bite but their hair-like bristles may cause rashes that look like they do. Even though they don’t bite humans, they cause damage to clothing, furniture, and chewable organic materials.

Pinworms often cause no symptoms but they may cause infection followed by itching of the anal or vaginal area, insomnia, irritability, stomach pain, and restlessness.

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FAQs

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Conclusion

Keeping your bed tight and clean is the best prevention against bed worms. If you confirm suspicions of their presence, you can either use natural or chemical methods along with professional help to get rid of them. Washing bedding in hot water, using a steam cleaner, or freezing will suppress and eliminate bed worms. If the infestation is widespread, pesticides and pest control companies may be the last resort.

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Next step: Consider buying a copper-infused mattress. Copper is naturally antimicrobial and is great at helping mattresses stay clean. If you’re having trouble battling bed worm infestations, then a mattress that’s infused with copper could help.

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