What temperature kills bed bugs?

Bed bugs start to die at around 45°C, but slowly. In laboratory work by Kells and Goblirsch (2011), adults held at 45°C took about 95 minutes to die and eggs about seven hours. That is why a treatment aims higher: the BPCA target is 50°C for two hours or 52°C for one, measured inside the furniture. Read the study.

How long does a heat treatment take in a flat?

Most of a working day. A one-bedroom flat can be finished in six or seven hours; a three-bedroom flat with full wardrobes and a sofa bed can run to nine or ten. The slow part is getting heat into thick items such as mattresses and upholstered chairs.

Will heat damage a tenement flat?

Not when it is run properly. Specialists keep the room air below about 60°C, move fans to avoid hot spots, and protect things that cannot take heat. Lime plaster, timber floors and sash windows cope well. Old fuse boxes and fragile cornicing are worth pointing out on the day.

Do the neighbours need to know?

In a tenement, yes. Heat can push a few bugs through gaps in shared walls and floors, and the noise of fans and heaters runs all day. A note to the flats either side and above and below is good manners and, if they have signs too, a chance to treat together.

Can anyone stay at home while the heat is on?

No. People and pets stay out from set-up until the specialist says the rooms are safe, usually after the cool-down in the afternoon. Plan to be out all day.

Is heat guaranteed to work first time?

Nothing is guaranteed, but a treatment where every probe reached the target and held it is very likely to have killed everything inside the treated rooms. The usual reasons for bites returning are rooms left out of the treatment and bugs coming back from a neighbour.

Bed bug heat treatment in Edinburgh

Heat treatment raises a room and everything in it to a temperature that kills bed bugs at every stage, eggs included, then holds it there. It is done in a single day with no insecticide on the bed.

It costs more than a spray course, so it is worth knowing when it earns its price, how the day runs in an Edinburgh flat, and what to ask for at the end.

Arrange a visit

Target: 50°C at the hiding places, held 2 hours
Time on site: 6 to 10 hours
Visits: One day, then a check
Typical cost: £700 to £1,100 (1 bed)

When heat is the right choice

Choose heat when

A spray course has already been tried and the bites came back.
The bugs are in a sofa, divan, sofa bed or a cluttered room that a spray cannot reach well.
The room has to be back in use within a day, as in a short let between guests.
Someone at home is pregnant, a baby or sensitive to chemical treatments.

A spray course may suit better when

It is one room, caught early.
Neighbours in the stair have bugs and are not being treated. Heat leaves no residue to stop them coming back through the walls.
The flat cannot be cleared of things that heat damages.

How the day runs

A typical example for a two-bedroom flat starting at 8am. The specialist works to the probe readings, not the clock.

Time	Stage	What happens
8:00	Survey and set-up	Rooms are checked against the preparation list. Heaters and fans go in, and wireless probes are pushed into the mattress, the sofa, drawers and gaps at the skirting.
9:00	Heating	The air warms quickly; heavy items take hours. In a stone tenement the outside walls soak up heat, so the first two hours are the slowest.
11:30	Holding	Once the coldest probe reaches 50°C the hold begins. Cushions are turned, drawers opened and fans moved so no pocket stays cool.
14:00	Cooling	Heaters go off and windows open. Some firms apply a residual product along skirting at this stage, which you should be told about in advance.
15:30	Hand-over	You are shown what was found and given the temperature record. Ask for it: it is the evidence the target was reached in every room.

Targets from the BPCA: 50°C for two hours or 52°C for one hour, measured at the hiding places. BPCA guide to heat treatment.

Heat in Edinburgh flats

The city's buildings make a difference to how the day goes.

Tenement flats

Thick sandstone walls hold heat well once warm, but take time to get there, especially on outside walls and in rooms with tall ceilings and big sash windows. Expect the specialist to cover windows and block chimney openings. Shared walls and floor voids are the weak point: tell the firm which neighbours have had bites, and ask how they treat the edges of your flat so bugs are not driven next door.

The stair

Heaters, fans and cabling are heavy. On the third or fourth floor of a tenement with no lift, setting up takes longer and some firms charge £50 to £150 more. Tell them the floor when you ask for a price, and check whether parking is available close to the main door.

Modern blocks

Flats in newer developments are usually quicker to heat: lower ceilings, better insulation and a lift. Check with the factor or building manager first, because some blocks have rules on contractors and fire alarm isolation. Heat detectors in the flat must be dealt with by someone authorised before the heaters go on.

Short lets

Heat is popular with short-let hosts because the flat can take a guest the next day. Book the treatment for a changeover with a clear day either side, and keep the temperature record with your other licence paperwork.

Preparing the flat

Heat needs less preparation than a spray course, because clothes and bedding can usually stay in the rooms to be heated. What matters is removing things the heat would damage:

Aerosols, lighters, gas canisters and anything flammable or pressurised.
Candles, crayons, lipstick and anything else that melts.
Medicines, cosmetics and food that spoils.
Vinyl records, photographs, musical instruments and some electronics.
Houseplants and any pets, including fish tanks.

Anything taken out of the flat may be carrying bugs, so the specialist will tell you how to bag and check it. Do not take items to a neighbour's flat or a friend's house.

What heat costs

Rounded from UK price lists checked in October 2026, VAT in. Use them as a guide; they are not a quote.

Job	Typical range
One confirmed room	£500 to £800
Studio or one-bedroom flat, whole home	£700 to £1,100
Two-bedroom flat, whole home	£900 to £1,400
Three-bedroom flat or house, whole home	£1,000 to £1,700
Four-bedroom flat or house, whole home	£1,200 to £2,000
Top floor, no lift	add £50 to £150

For comparison, a spray course for a two-bedroom flat is typically £320 to £650. The cost estimator puts the two side by side.

Questions about heat treatment

What temperature kills bed bugs?
Bed bugs start to die at around 45°C, but slowly. In laboratory work by Kells and Goblirsch (2011), adults held at 45°C took about 95 minutes to die and eggs about seven hours. That is why a treatment aims higher: the BPCA target is 50°C for two hours or 52°C for one, measured inside the furniture. Read the study.
How long does a heat treatment take in a flat?
Most of a working day. A one-bedroom flat can be finished in six or seven hours; a three-bedroom flat with full wardrobes and a sofa bed can run to nine or ten. The slow part is getting heat into thick items such as mattresses and upholstered chairs.
Will heat damage a tenement flat?
Not when it is run properly. Specialists keep the room air below about 60°C, move fans to avoid hot spots, and protect things that cannot take heat. Lime plaster, timber floors and sash windows cope well. Old fuse boxes and fragile cornicing are worth pointing out on the day.
Do the neighbours need to know?
In a tenement, yes. Heat can push a few bugs through gaps in shared walls and floors, and the noise of fans and heaters runs all day. A note to the flats either side and above and below is good manners and, if they have signs too, a chance to treat together.
Can anyone stay at home while the heat is on?
No. People and pets stay out from set-up until the specialist says the rooms are safe, usually after the cool-down in the afternoon. Plan to be out all day.
Is heat guaranteed to work first time?
Nothing is guaranteed, but a treatment where every probe reached the target and held it is very likely to have killed everything inside the treated rooms. The usual reasons for bites returning are rooms left out of the treatment and bugs coming back from a neighbour.

Arrange a heat treatment

Three short stages. The more you tell us about the building and what you have found, the better the match and the closer the first price.

First: We read your request and choose a bed bug specialist who works in your part of Edinburgh and handles your type of building.
Then: We contact you with the firm's name. Nothing is passed on unless you say yes.
Cost to you: None for this service. You only pay the firm, and only if you book them.

We are an introduction service, not a pest control firm. How this works.

Stage 1 of 3Location

Postcode of the property