Bed Bugs in Your Car: How to Find Them and Get Rid of Them for Good

Can Bed Bugs Live in Your Car?

Bed bugs can live in your car. Their flat bodies let them hide in extremely small spaces (Health Canada), such as the seams of a seat or the gap around a seatbelt buckle, and they can survive there for a long time without feeding. A car is not their favourite home, because nobody sleeps in it, but every trip gives them a chance to feed on the driver or passengers.

How Long Can Bed Bugs Live in a Car?

Bed bugs can live in a car for months. According to Health Canada, bed bugs can live from several weeks to up to a year and a half without feeding, and adults usually live about 10 months. They tend to do best at temperatures between about 21°C and 28°C, which is a range many people keep their car at while driving. Leaving the car unused for a few weeks is not enough to starve them out.

How Do Bed Bugs Get Into a Car?

Bed bugs get into a car the same way they get into a home: they hitchhike. They do not fly or jump (Health Canada), so they need a ride on something you carry: a suitcase after a hotel stay, a backpack, a coat, a box from a move or a piece of second-hand furniture. Pest control companies note that bed bugs end up in vehicles on luggage, clothing and personal items rather than seeking out cars as a home. Health Canada's own advice for vehicles is simple: check items before you put them in your vehicle, and check your vehicle after helping a friend move. Our guide on how bed bugs spread explains the other ways they travel.

Can Bed Bugs Survive a Canadian Winter in a Car?

Bed bugs can survive a Canadian winter in a car more often than you might think. Health Canada says freezing generally only works when the cold is kept for a prolonged period: about 4 days of consistent cold at -19°C. A parked car warms up every time you drive it or the sun hits it, so the cold is rarely steady enough. Do not count on winter to solve the problem.

Can Bed Bugs Spread From Your Car to Your Home?

Bed bugs can spread from your car to your home on the same things that brought them in: bags, coats, car seat covers and anything you carry inside. Health Canada notes that bed bugs are easily moved from room to room on infested objects, and a car works the same way. If you find bed bugs in your car, check your bedroom too. Our guides to where bed bugs hide in a house and the signs of a bed bug infestation show you where to look.

What Are the Signs of Bed Bugs in a Car?

Bed bugs in a car leave the same signs as in a bedroom. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) tells people who clean vehicles to look for signs such as live bugs, shed skins, spotting and eggs. Look for these signs.

Live Bed Bugs

Live bed bugs are the clearest sign. Adults are flat, oval and brown, about the size of an apple seed, and Health Canada says they can be as long as 10 mm. They turn blood red after feeding. Young bed bugs (nymphs) look like small adults, about 1.5 mm long and lighter in colour, so they are easy to miss. If you have found only one, read our guide on what to do when you find one bed bug.

Dark Spots

Dark spots on seats, seat belts or floor mats may be bed bug droppings. They look like small black or brown dots and often sit in clusters near seams. Small reddish blood stains on the upholstery, left by bugs crushed after feeding, are another clue.

Shed Skins

Shed skins are the empty, pale shells bed bugs leave behind each time they grow. Finding them in seat seams or under the mats means bed bugs have been living and growing in the car, not just passing through.

Eggs

Bed bug eggs are white and about one millimetre long, so they are almost impossible to see on most surfaces (Health Canada). Their eggs are cemented to the surface where they were laid, which is why vacuuming alone often does not remove them all.

Bites After Driving

Bites after driving can point to bed bugs in your car, but they are not proof on their own. According to Health Canada, bites can take as long as 14 days to appear, depending on the person, so it is hard to tell where you were bitten. The good news: bed bugs are not known to spread disease, and their bites do not generally require medical attention.

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide in a Car?

Bed bugs in a car hide close to where people sit, in the seams, creases and crevices of the seats and the spots around them. Check each of these places.

Seat Seams

Seat seams are the first place to check. The NPMA lists the seams, creases and crevices of upholstered seats as likely bed bug hiding places in vehicles. Fabric seats usually offer more hiding spots than smooth ones, and the same goes for fabric child car seats and their straps.

Under Seats

Under the seats, bed bugs find dark, quiet spots close to the people they feed on. Slide each seat forward and back, and check the rails, the springs and the underside of the cushion.

Floor Mats

Floor mats are a likely place to find evidence of bed bugs, according to Terminix. Lift each mat and check both its underside and the carpet edges below it.

Seatbelt Buckles

Seatbelt buckles are an overlooked hiding spot. The NPMA notes that the inside of seatbelt buckle assemblies can be a place to vacuum in vehicles.

Console and Glove Box

The console and the glove box collect papers, napkins and small items that give bed bugs cover. Empty them completely and look into the corners and seams.

Ceiling Panel

The ceiling panel above each seat is on the inspection list of some pest control companies, such as Terminix. Check the edges where the fabric meets the trim.

Trunk

The trunk is where luggage, gym bags and moving boxes ride, so it is a likely starting point. Luggage storage areas are typically among the places to check in vehicles, according to the NPMA.

How to Inspect Your Car

Inspecting your car for bed bugs takes about as long as a careful clean. Use a bright flashlight and a magnifying glass, and work slowly along every seam. Run wide tape, sticky side out, along seams and mat edges to pick up bugs and skins. If you catch a suspected bed bug, seal it in a small plastic bag and put the bag in the freezer, so a pest control professional may be able to identify it later.

How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs in a Car

Getting rid of bed bugs in a car works best when you combine several methods, then check again, because each method alone misses some bugs. Health Canada stresses that treatment only works when physical control methods are used together. Follow these steps in order.

1. Empty the car
2. Wash and dry everything made of fabric
3. Steam clean the seats and carpets
4. Vacuum every crevice
5. Check again after treatment

Empty the Car

Empty the car completely before you treat it: the trunk, the glove box, the console, the door pockets and the seat-back pockets. Put everything in sealed plastic bags right in the car, so no bugs fall off on the way to your home. Throw out clutter you do not need.

Wash and Dry Fabric Items

Washing and drying kills bed bugs on fabric items. Wash removable seat covers, blankets, clothing and fabric mats in hot water, then put them in a hot dryer. Health Canada recommends a hot dryer, usually for 30 minutes or more, for items you cannot wash. Keep clean items in new sealed bags until the car is done.

Steam Clean the Seats

Steam cleaning kills bed bugs and eggs where vacuuming cannot reach. Health Canada says bed bugs die at 50°C (122°F), and steam cleaners generally put out steam at 100°C or more. Steam only kills the bugs it touches, so move the nozzle slowly along every seam, crease and carpet edge. The US EPA recommends a diffuser tip and no forceful airflow, so you do not blow bugs away. Health Canada also suggests steaming before vacuuming, because the steam flushes out the bugs it does not kill. Test the steam on a hidden spot first, and keep it away from electronics and screens.

Vacuum Every Crevice

Vacuuming removes bugs, eggs and droppings from the spots you just steamed. Use a crevice tool and a stiff brush attachment with a back-and-forth scraping motion (Health Canada), working along seams, under seats, around seatbelt buckles and in the trunk. When you finish, seal the vacuum bag in a garbage bag and throw it out right away in an outdoor bin. Health Canada also recommends washing the brush and nozzle attachments in hot water with detergent.

Does Parking in the Sun Kill Bed Bugs?

Parking in the sun can kill some bed bugs, but it is not reliable. The US EPA says you can use black plastic bags in a hot, closed car in the sun, but success depends on your climate, and do-it-yourself heat treatments might not work. A car often heats unevenly: the dashboard can get very hot while the console and the spaces under the seats may stay much cooler. Eggs also tend to be the hardest stage to kill: University of Minnesota research found that eggs needed about 54.8°C, compared with about 48.3°C for adults.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is a fine dust that dries out insects that crawl through it; Health Canada lists it among the tools used against bed bugs, and Texas A&M AgriLife notes that some pest control companies use desiccant dusts. If you use it in a car, choose a product registered for bed bugs with a PCP number on the label, and apply a thin layer only where the label allows, such as under mats and deep in crevices. Do not use food grade or pool grade powder, which the US EPA warns can harm you when you breathe it in. Keep children and pets out of the car while you apply it, and vacuum it up when the label says to.

Insecticides

Insecticides should be a last DIY step in a car, not the first. Health Canada says to use only pesticides registered by Health Canada, only as directed on the label, and to check for a Pest Control Products (PCP) registration number. Few products are labelled for use inside vehicles, so read the label before you spray seats or carpets, and never try to fumigate your car yourself. Bed bugs are also increasingly resistant to pesticides (University of Kentucky), and Purdue Extension notes resistance to most classes of pesticides. For tested products, see our picks for the best bed bug spray, and to learn what professionals use, read what chemicals exterminators use against bed bugs.

Check Again After Treatment

Checking again after treatment tells you whether it worked. The NPMA recommends inspecting a vehicle again about 1 to 2 weeks after treatment to make sure all bed bugs are gone, because eggs that survived will likely have hatched by then. Repeat the steam and vacuum steps if you find anything, and keep checking for a few weeks.

When to Call a Pest Control Professional

Calling a pest control professional makes sense when bed bugs keep showing up after you have treated the car, when you also find them at home, or when the car is your work vehicle for rideshare or deliveries. Health Canada strongly recommends hiring a licensed professional pest control operator for bed bugs. For vehicles, the NPMA lists professional options such as insecticide applied into cracks and crevices (an effective treatment, according to Purdue Extension), steam, vacuuming, and heat treatment or fumigation of the whole vehicle. Not every pest control company treats cars, so ask before you book, and use our questions to ask a bed bug exterminator. If you want help, you can get a quote from a recommended local exterminator through Pest Agent's referral form.

How Do You Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Car?

Keeping bed bugs out of your car comes down to checking what goes into it. A few habits make a car much less likely to pick up hitchhikers.

Check Items Before Loading

Checking items before loading them is Health Canada's main vehicle tip. Look over second-hand furniture, used mattresses, boxes and bags before they go in the car, and check the car after you help someone move. Health Canada also says never to take a mattress or sofa from a curb. If you are moving, our guide to avoiding bed bugs when moving covers each step.

Travel Habits

Travel habits keep bed bugs from riding home with you. Health Canada recommends inspecting a hotel room before you bring in luggage, never putting luggage on the bed, and choosing light-coloured plastic luggage, since bed bugs are less attracted to plastic and a light colour makes them easier to spot. When you get home, check your luggage before it goes in the house, wash all your clothes in hot water whether you wore them or not, and dry non-washable items on the highest heat for about 30 minutes or more.

A Clutter-Free Car

A clutter-free car gives bed bugs fewer places to hide and makes them easier to spot. Clear out bags, blankets and papers, vacuum the seats and mats regularly, and take a quick look at the seat seams now and then. For more prevention habits at home, visit our bed bug hub.