Reddit mentions of ZappBug Heater bed bug killing chamber

That is the best advice. There are also products for frequent travelers like this. You keep it at home in your garage or whatnot. Drop your suitcase into it as soon as get home, zip it up, turn it on, come back a few hours later and any tiny hitchhikers have been cooked to death.

Not legal advice but a practical suggestion. I have friends who live in NYC and travel a lot for work. They are always worried about bedbugs. They all use a portable "bedbug oven." You can set it up and pop your clothes etc in it for a period of time and let them basically cook. Not necessarily the most cost effective thing to do (electricity and cost of unit), but maybe since you said you're feeling really freaked out this could mitigate some of those fears? Honestly knowing people who've dealt with bedbugs before, if I felt at risk I'd jump on this rather than deal with the hell that comes with those critters. Good luck!



https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F6EV306/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493676618&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=ZappBug&dpPl=1&dpID=31cK2Rwj2HL&ref=plSrch

I do not have experience with carpet beetles, but [this thing(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F6EV306/ref=s9_dcbhz_bw_g60_i2_sh) works really well with bedbugs, and if they have similar temperature limits, it should work for carpet beetles too. I know this thing is a little expensive, but it might be worth a try?

There are much better options than black bags. These will actual get your luggage up to sustained temperatures to kill the bugs and the eggs.

Source - frequent traveller that bought this overnight on my way back home from a bug infested hotel.

Just a note on this- I have a similar paranoia and I have benefitted IMMENSELY from a clothing heater I got off amazon

I originally got it bc I used to travel for work and was nervous about picking anything up, and it’s great- toss the whole suitcase in, set the timer, good to go :)

Now I use it whenever I get something pre-owned from posh or from thrifting- totally worth the investment for peace of mind if you travel or frequent thrift shops :)

A good alternative for things that can't be dried, such as shoes, is to leave them in the freezer. Temperature below -18 celsius will kill bedbugs. The additional upside to this is that freezers won't damage your clothes the way dryers do, but the downside is that the recommended time to leave clothes in the freezer is 4 days.

The other option that I can think of is to use a bedbug oven , which theoretically should be friendlier on shoes than dryers, although some of the reviews on Amazon were complaining that the oven melted some of the rubbery parts of their shoes- so use at your own risk.