Rubbing alcohol is usually the first thing people reach for when they find a bed bug. It is in the medicine cabinet, it is cheap, and a bug sprayed with it does seem to stop moving. The question is whether that adds up to getting rid of bed bugs, and two university labs have tested exactly that.
Not reliably. In Rutgers University tests, spraying bed bugs directly with 70% or 91% isopropyl alcohol killed at most half of them. In an Ohio State study, alcohol applied to adult bed bugs left none dead after 24 hours, and most sprayed eggs still hatched.
It also burns. Rubbing alcohol can give off vapor that ignites at normal room temperature, and people trying to kill bed bugs with it have started fires that destroyed apartments. Heat, hot laundry, steam and mattress encasements work far better, and they don't put your home at risk.
What the Tests Actually Found
Most pages on this question say alcohol "kills bed bugs on contact." The labs that tested it found something messier.
| Test | What was done | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Rutgers University (Changlu Wang's lab) | Bed bugs sprayed directly with 70% and 91% isopropyl alcohol | At most 50% killed. About half were still alive four days later |
| Ohio State University, adults | 50%, 70% and 91% isopropyl and 100% ethanol applied directly to adult bed bugs | Fewer than 15% affected, none dead after 24 hours |
| Ohio State University, nymphs | Young bed bugs sprayed directly, at light, medium and heavy rates | The heaviest rate killed 77% to 100% within 7 days |
| Ohio State University, eggs | Eggs sprayed directly with the same products | 63% to 100% of eggs still hatched within 3 weeks, even at the heaviest rate |
Two details in that table matter. First, the Ohio State researchers noted that their heavy spray rates were far more than anyone would realistically apply at home, and may not be practical or safe. So the best numbers in the table are a best case. Second, the stage alcohol handles worst is the egg, and eggs are the stage that rebuilds an infestation.
Rutgers' bed bug fact sheet, written by Wang and Richard Cooper, files rubbing alcohol under "money-wasting" methods alongside mothballs, dryer sheets, foggers and ultrasonic repellers. Texas A&M's urban entomology blog reached the same verdict: rubbing alcohol is not a good solution for bed bugs.
Why a Spray Can't Clear an Infestation
Even if alcohol killed every bug it touched, it would still lose. A settled bed bug population is about a third eggs at any moment, according to a Virginia Tech life-table study, and it can double in size every 13 days. Most of the rest are hiding in mattress seams, box spring corners, headboard joints and wall cracks during the day, where a spray never lands.
Alcohol also leaves nothing behind. It evaporates within minutes, so a bug that walks across the same spot an hour later is untouched. And it does nothing for eggs that hatch next week.
The clearest proof comes from laundry research at the University of Sheffield. Soaking infested fabric in cold water for a full 24 hours killed every adult and nymph, and not a single egg. If a full day underwater can't kill a bed bug egg, a mist that dries in five minutes isn't going to either.
The Fire Risk Is Real
Isopropyl alcohol is flammable, and the risk is easy to underestimate. Safety data sheets put the flash point of 70% rubbing alcohol at about 72°F, which is roughly room temperature. At or above that temperature, the vapor coming off a soaked couch or mattress can ignite from a cigarette, a candle, a space heater or a spark.
That has happened, repeatedly:
- Cincinnati, December 2017. A woman using rubbing alcohol on bed bugs started a fire that caused about $250,000 in damage to a five-unit building. Three people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and ten were displaced. CBS News reported it was the second such fire in the city in two weeks.
- Detroit, 2016. A man sprayed his sofa and himself with rubbing alcohol before dawn, then lit a cigarette. Four apartments were destroyed, about two dozen more had water damage, and he was badly burned. A few months earlier, another bed bug treatment attempt in the city destroyed a 48-unit complex.
Fabric holds alcohol, and so does the air above it in a closed bedroom. That is the setting people spray in. Please don't.
What About Hand Sanitizer?
Hand sanitizer is the same idea in gel form, and it has the same problems. The FDA describes alcohol-based hand sanitizers as containing at least 60% alcohol, usually ethanol, and warns plainly that hand sanitizer is flammable and should be kept away from heat and flames.
No study has tested hand sanitizer on bed bugs. The Ohio State team did test 100% ethanol, the alcohol in most sanitizers, and it performed no better than rubbing alcohol: it barely affected adults and most eggs still hatched. A gel is also harder to get into seams and cracks than a liquid. Rubbing a little on a bite is fine. Smearing it on a mattress is not a treatment.
Which Is Better for Bed Bugs, Alcohol or Vinegar?
Neither, but for different reasons. Alcohol has at least been tested, and it failed to clear bed bugs while adding a fire risk. Vinegar has never been tested against bed bugs in any published study at all, despite the claims online. We go through what is and isn't known in can vinegar kill bed bugs? Mixing the two doesn't make either one work.
What People Report When They Try It
Search forums for people who say rubbing alcohol "worked" and a pattern shows up quickly. In one long-running AnandTech thread, three people describe getting rid of bed bugs with alcohol. Read their full accounts and every one of them did far more than spray:
- One sprayed the mattress, then vacuumed, hot-washed and dried the sheets, pulled the bed away from the walls and coated the bed legs.
- One soaked bedding in alcohol and sprayed every surface, but also hot-laundered everything, steam-cleaned the carpets and spread diatomaceous earth along every baseboard, repeating the whole process every three months for a year.
- One used alcohol alongside rented steamers, mattress and box spring encasements and several visits from an exterminator, and noted they had the time because they were out of work.
Those are the methods that the research says work: heat, steam, vacuuming and encasements. The alcohol was along for the ride. Meanwhile, answers on Q&A sites such as Quora confidently claim alcohol "kills the eggs," which is exactly what the Ohio State test disproved.
What Actually Kills Bed Bugs
Rutgers' list of cost-effective methods and the published laundry and heat research point to the same toolkit:
- Hot laundry, done properly. A wash at 140°F for 30 minutes killed every life stage, eggs included, in the Sheffield study. A hot dryer for 30 minutes with a load of about 7 pounds did the same. Ten minutes was not enough, and an overstuffed dryer never heats through.
- Encase the mattress and box spring. A bed bug-proof encasement traps any bugs inside so they can't feed, and leaves fewer seams for new ones to hide in.
- Vacuum and steam the seams. Vacuum mattress seams, bed frames and baseboards and empty the vacuum outside in a sealed bag. Steam reaches into seams in a way a spray can't.
- Heat or freeze what can't be washed. Bed bugs and their eggs die with enough heat for long enough: researchers at the University of Minnesota found eggs need much longer at temperature than adults. A freezer at 0°F works too if you leave items in long enough for the center to get cold, which can take 10 to 12 hours for a bundle of clothing.
- Don't fog and don't move to the couch. Rutgers lists foggers and switching where you sleep as money-wasting. Sleeping elsewhere just spreads bed bugs to a second room.
For the full plan, see how to get rid of bed bugs and what to do before the exterminator comes.
When to Call a Professional
If you've confirmed bed bugs, with live bugs, shed skins, eggs or dark spotting along mattress seams, the fastest fix is usually a professional treatment. Infestations grow quickly, and every week of spraying alcohol is a week the population keeps doubling.
Our bed bug service starts with a free inspection to confirm bed bugs and see how far they've spread. From there we recommend heat or chemical treatment based on what we find. With a chemical program we treat mattress seams and interior panels and install an encasement that traps any survivors. We schedule follow-up visits to make sure they're gone. See bed bug control for details, or how much bed bug treatment costs.
Key takeaways
- Rubbing alcohol killed at most half of bed bugs sprayed directly in Rutgers tests, and Ohio State found it barely affected adults.
- Most eggs survive. 63% to 100% of sprayed eggs still hatched in the Ohio State study.
- It is a fire hazard. 70% rubbing alcohol can ignite at about room temperature, and bed bug alcohol fires have destroyed apartments.
- Hand sanitizer is no better. It is also flammable, and pure ethanol performed no better than rubbing alcohol.
- What works: hot laundry and drying, encasements, vacuuming, steam, heat, and professional treatment for an established infestation.
Sources: C. Wang and R. Cooper, "Cost-Effective and Money-Wasting Bed Bug Control Methods", Rutgers NJAES FS1251, 2019; S. Milius, "Mothballs, rubbing alcohol score poorly in tests of DIY bedbug control", Science News, 2013; O. Ferguson and S. C. Jones, "Effectiveness of Alcohol as a Do-it-Yourself Treatment to Combat the Bed Bug", The Ohio State University, 2015; Texas A&M AgriLife, "Rubbing alcohol not a good solution for bed bugs", 2014; A. M. Polanco, C. C. Brewster and D. M. Miller, "Population Growth Potential of the Bed Bug", Insects, 2011; R. A. Naylor and C. J. Boase, "Practical Solutions for Treating Laundry Infested with Cimex lectularius", Journal of Economic Entomology, 2010; S. A. Kells and M. J. Goblirsch, "Temperature and Time Requirements for Controlling Bed Bugs under Commercial Heat Treatment Conditions", Insects, 2011; U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Safely Using Hand Sanitizer"; CBS News reports on the 2017 Cincinnati and 2016 Detroit fires; isopropyl alcohol 70% safety data sheets; owner accounts from AnandTech Forums and Quora.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not reliably. Spraying bed bugs directly with 70% or 91% isopropyl alcohol killed at most half of them in Rutgers tests, and about half were still alive four days later. In Ohio State tests, alcohol applied to adult bed bugs left none dead after 24 hours.
Mostly no. In an Ohio State University study, 63% to 100% of bed bug eggs sprayed with 50%, 70% or 91% isopropyl alcohol or pure ethanol still hatched within three weeks, even at spray rates far heavier than anyone would use at home.
There is no evidence it can clear them. Hand sanitizer is at least 60% alcohol, usually ethanol, and pure ethanol performed no better than rubbing alcohol on bed bugs in lab tests. The FDA also warns that hand sanitizer is flammable, so don't spread it on bedding.
Neither works. Rubbing alcohol has been tested and killed at most half of the bed bugs it hit while creating a fire risk. Vinegar has never been shown to kill bed bugs in any published study. Hot laundry, encasements, vacuuming and heat are what work.
It isn't safe or effective. A soaked mattress gives off flammable vapor, and 70% rubbing alcohol can ignite at about room temperature. It also misses the bugs and eggs hidden in seams and leaves no residue. Vacuum the seams, steam them and put the mattress in a bed bug-proof encasement instead.
Enough heat for long enough. A 30-minute wash at 140°F or 30 minutes in a hot dryer killed every life stage, eggs included, in published laundry tests. Whole-room heat treatment works the same way, as long as every hiding spot reaches the target temperature.
Neither did well. Rutgers tested both 70% and 91% isopropyl alcohol and neither killed more than half of the bed bugs sprayed. Higher concentrations evaporate even faster and are just as flammable.
Because the spray never reached most of the population. About a third of a bed bug infestation is eggs at any given time, most bugs hide in seams and cracks, and alcohol leaves no residue. The survivors and new hatchlings rebuild the population, which can double every 13 days.
Photo credits: Craig Spurrier, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; CDC / Harvard University, Dr. Gary Alpert; Dr. Harold Harlan; Richard Pollack, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.