One of the biggest non toxic enemies a bed bug has is extremes of temperature. If it gets too hot or too cold the little blood suckers die which is exactly what you want if you have an infestation. so why not take full advantage of this fact and kill bed bugs with steam? It's safe, non toxic and very effective.

The most important point to note when using heat to kill bed bugs is that it has to be an extremely high temperature and it must not be allowed to build up gradually. In other words trying to heat a whole room to a temperature which will kill bed bugs will just not work. The main problem being that the slow rise in temperature will just force the bed bugs to try to escape which could lead to an infestation spreading to other areas of your home. Not a good idea!

The minimum temperature required to kill bed bugs is 45oC. The fastest and most efficient way to reach such temperatures is using steam. Steam is a fantastic weapon in the battle against bed bugs because it will kill bed bugs at every stage of development from eggs to full size bugs. This level of success in eradicating bed bugs is unrivalled. Even the vast majority of insecticides are unable to kill eggs because they are intermeable to these solutions.

It has been proven over and over again that a treatment combining steam and insecticides are highly effective. However the risks to human and animal health are high. Would you really want to spray the mattress you sleep on with potentially harmful chemicals? There are even pest control companies who refuse to treat mattresses and box springs with insecticides for fear of litigation arising from health problems liked to them in the future.

If you decide to kill bed bugs using steam here are six tips to consider.

1. If you are to prevent the bed bugs from being blown about the flow of steam must be minimal and this will also stop the surface becoming over wet.

2. The steam cleaning machine must be capable of producing steam which has a low vapour flow but a high enough temperature.

3. To kill bed bugs with steam it is essential that a full and thorough inspection of the infected room be carried out before treatment begins. If this is not done successfully eradication will not be achieved.

4. Make sure that the instructions for the steam machine are read properly to ensure that every safety measure is followed.

5. Due to the low vapour output it is essential that the nozzle is placed directly onto the surface of the mattress or whatever is being treated. Any little gap between the end of the nozzle and the surface will allow the temperature to drop quite dramatically and reduce the effectiveness of the steam in killing the bed bugs.

6. It is a fairly long process as the nozzle must be moved over the surface slowly and meticulously - around 30cm every 10-15 seconds is recommended.

Knowing where to start can be a bit daunting but the best place to make a start is with the mattress. It is vital that you are very thorough and give extra special attention to the areas around seams, handles and labels where the little buggers will hide out. Remember that the base of your bed will also require steam treatment both inside and out. This will mean that the fabric which covers the sides of the base will have to be removed. However if you do this with care it should be possible to staple it back on once the treatment is complete and the bed bugs dead.

Once the bed has been treated you can then move on to other pieces of furniture in the room suck as chairs, sofas paying special attention to potential hiding places for the bed bugs such as round buttons and seams. If your sofa is also a bed be sure to use steam treatment on the mattress too.

Having completed the treatment of all the furniture it is time to move on to the soft furnishings in the room. Steam cushion, pillows, curtains etc. Remember these bugs are good at climbing so leave no area unchecked or untreated!

Last of all it is a good safety measure to use the steam machine in any carpets and rugs in the room to be sure that you have eradicated all these horrid bugs. When doing this remember to concentrate round the edges next to skirting boards and furniture where the bed bugs are most likely to hide.

This whole process may seem long and arduous but it is effective so check out some steam cleaners and get ready to kill your bed bugs with steam!