Bed Bug Certified Mattress Encasements: Who Tested Them and How

Test documentation

Who did the testing

Snell Scientifics, LLC tests pest-control products and barrier materials for manufacturers. Its reports on Bargoose fabrics and zipper closures were written by Eric Snell and Todd Smith, with Brooke Clark on the 2008 study. The laboratory is named on every report, and each one carries its own test date, method, insect counts and results table. You can check all of it yourself. The full reports are linked below and download directly, with no request form.

What was tested, and what happened

How a feed-through test works

Bed bugs are starved first, then sealed in a glass jar with the test fabric stretched across the opening. The jar is held against a person's skin for up to 15 minutes, so the only way to a blood meal is through the fabric. Afterwards the bugs are inspected for signs of feeding. The Bargoose tests used mixed life stages, from first instars, the smallest, up to adults. For the zipper tests, the bed bugs were held behind the closed zipper at the end of a length of PVC pipe. The pipe was first turned over and shaken for 30 seconds to see whether bugs or debris fell through the closure, then held against a person's skin for 15 minutes.

The 2008 and 2011 reports note that the work was done under sound scientific principles but not under the EPA's Good Laboratory Practice standards (40 CFR 160). That is normal for a barrier-fabric evaluation, and we would rather you read it here than find it on page one of the PDF.

The zipper

The end of the zipper track is where most encasements fail. A small gap at the zipper end is enough for a young bed bug. The BugStop® Seal closes that end with a folded, sewn-down flap. It is protected by U.S. Patent No. 8,413,276, Mattress cover with bed bug barrier, assigned to Bargoose Home Textiles, Inc. It is built into the BedBug Solution® Elite and Hybrid encasements, the zippered stretch knit box spring cover and the 6-gauge vinyl mattress encasement.

Snell tested the sealed zipper directly in February 2010, using the design patented as the BugStop® Seal. About 500 bed bugs of mixed life stages went through a 30-second shake-through and a 15-minute feed-through on a human host. None got through the closure, none fed and none escaped. An earlier test of a #9 encasement zipper, in October 2009, gave the same result. Read the 2010 zipper report (PDF).

What "bed bug certified" should mean on a spec sheet

There is no federal certification program for bed bug encasements, so "bed bug certified" means whatever the seller's evidence supports. Before you accept the phrase, ask for six things:

1. The name of the laboratory.
2. The test date.
3. The method, including exposure time and whether a live host or a blood membrane was used.
4. What was tested: the fabric, the seams or the zipper closure.
5. How many bed bugs, of which life stages, and how many fed or escaped.
6. The full report, not a badge or a summary.

Every item on that list is answered for Bargoose on this page. If a supplier can answer only the first question, or none of them, weigh the claim accordingly.

What these tests do not cover

• All four tests are on fabric samples or zipper closures, not on a whole encasement after months on a bed.
• The 2008 test covers the stretch polyester and urethane fabric submitted that year. The current BedBug Solution® Elite uses a laminated stretch knit with a TPU membrane. That fabric has its own fluid-barrier and flammability reports, listed below, but a Snell report on that exact fabric is not published here.
• The zipper tests date from 2009 and 2010. The closure design is unchanged, but the reports predate the current encasement fabrics.
• None of the tests measured barrier performance after laundering. See Laundering Durability for what has been tested.

Other barrier and safety reports

• Viral penetration, ASTM F1671/F1671M-25a, Procedure B: no penetration on all three specimens. SGS report 14SN2600006282, May 2026, Elite laminated knit. View PDF
• Synthetic blood penetration, ASTM F1670-08(2014)e1: pass. Intertek Testing Services Taiwan, report TWNC00910279, August 25, 2020, polyester laminated to TPU film. View PDF
• Mattress ticking flammability, 16 CFR 1632: Class A. SGS report AJFTS26003352R01, May 27, 2026. View PDF

Every report Bargoose publishes is on Test Reports & Lab Results.

Buying for a hotel, hospital or agency

Commercial orders ship by the case. The BedBug Solution® Elite ships 6 per case, CleanAir® pillow protectors 24 per case and 6-gauge vinyl pillow encasements 12 pairs per case. Bargoose is a New York State certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise and a SAM.gov registered federal vendor (UEI JGXFJ6W392N8, CAGE 8CRR4). See the hospitality program, wholesale and case-pack pricing or government and GSA purchasing.

Frequently asked questions

Who tested Bargoose mattress encasements for bed bugs?

Snell Scientifics, LLC, an independent pest-product testing laboratory in Georgia. Snell tested Bargoose encasement fabrics in September 2008 and June 2011, and the zipper closure in October 2009 and February 2010. All four reports are published in full.

Can bed bugs bite through a Bargoose encasement?

Not in the published tests. With a human host on the other side for up to 15 minutes, 0 of about 250 bed bugs fed through the 2008 stretch polyester and urethane fabric, and 0 of about 500 fed through the 6-gauge vinyl in 2011. Every life stage was tested, including first instars.

Was the zipper tested?

Yes. In February 2010 Snell tested the sealed zipper design patented as the BugStop® Seal (U.S. Patent No. 8,413,276): about 500 bed bugs, 0 shaken through the closure, 0 fed and 0 escaped. An October 2009 test of a #9 encasement zipper gave the same result.

Is "bed bug certified" a regulated term?

No. There is no federal certification program for bed bug encasements. Ask any supplier for the laboratory's name, the test date, the method, what was tested, the insect counts and the full report.

Can I attach these reports to a bid or RFP?

Yes. Every report on this page is published in full and downloads directly. For product-specific documentation call (516) 255-1736 or email orders@bargoosebedding.com.