The state’s position
From the Washington Department of Health’s bed bug guidance: “Bug bombs, or total release foggers, are not effective in controlling bed bugs.” Its March 2026 school guidance repeats it: foggers “are not effective and NEVER recommended,” and chemicals “should only be applied by a licensed pest management professional.”
Why
A fogger fills the air. Bed bugs are not in the air; they are in the box-spring frame, the baseboard gap, the screw hole in the headboard. The mist does not reach them, the irritant drives the ones it does reach deeper and sideways — into the next room or the next unit — and the eggs are untouched. Three weeks later the household has a wider problem and a false memory of having treated it.
The other DIY mistakes
- Outdoor pesticides indoors. DOH: “Never use pesticides that are intended to be used outdoors, inside your home.”
- Spraying the mattress. WSU Extension: “Do not treat bedding or mattresses with pesticides yourself.”
- Throwing out the bed. The bugs are also in the frame, the wall, and the nightstand; the new mattress is colonized in a week.
- Moving to another room. They follow the host. Now two rooms are infested.
What does work at home
Encasements, the dryer on hottest for 30 minutes, daily vacuuming with the bag sealed, and interceptor cups — all DOH-endorsed, all cheap, all useful alongside professional treatment rather than instead of it. When it is beyond one seam of one mattress, heat.
Already fogged?
Tell us. It changes where we look first, and there is no judgment in it.
Call (253) 683-8516