If you do not know the do-it-yourself home remedies for bedbugs at home, they will forever be a menace in your home. A day does not go by without any house running into a problem with one insect pest or another. A horrific fact is that some attacks on the insects may even lead to the death of the inhabitants of the house. Shocking?
Thanks to scientific control methods and natural remedies to curb the incessant troubles. Let’s find out the do it yourself natural methods in treating the menace of bedbugs at home.
All pests need water, shelter, and food to survive. By limiting one or more of these necessities you can significantly impact the number of pests present. Combined with natural control measures (listed below), a longer-lasting, more significant impact is made
Among the list of most destructive insects in the home, bed bugs stand affirmative. They are difficult to dispose of because they can hang out in your container spring, on your headboard, in the dividers, in the floor covering, and even between pages in books. This implies it can take various expert medicines to at last dispose of them.
Natural Remedies For Eradicating Bedbugs
1. Use a Baking Soda
The application of baking soda at predictive surfaces is a preventive measure to solve the problem of bedbugs infestation. It is not a corrective but tested and trusted for preventive reasons. It is a top-notch recommendation for a do it yourself natural treatment for bedbugs.
2. Thermal remediation
The Achilles heel of bedbugs is that they are non-adaptive to hot humidity. Turning on the heater of your house can save you from the infestation of bedbugs.
3. Rubbing Alcohol at Infested areas
Alcohol is a potent weapon for eradicating not just germs but tiny pests too. To treat bedbugs using home remedies you can use alcohol as a natural treatment method, just apply it to infected areas randomly.
Herbal Remedies For Eradicating Bedbugs
4. Apply Tea Tree Oil
Tea Tree oils are used to wipe out massive invasions of pests. Among all recommended home remedies for bedbugs, it has a 95% success rate. Before use, it is usually recommended to mix with water before applying it to infected areas.
Oils are highly recommended due to their harmless feasibility. One of such essential oils which can be used to chase out completely bed bug is the Oregano oil
5. Use Vinegar
Vinegar is an emergency home remedy to kill bedbugs but it does not apply to removing the eggs completely. It destroys the immune system of the bedbugs and they flee for safety never to return to the applied area.
6. Rubbing Alcohol at Infested areas
Using alcohol to treat bedbugs is sometimes not recommended due to the fast rate at which the liquid evaporates. If you are looking for a lasting solution, alcohol is not an option you should consider.
Similarly using alcohol lets you miss out on some bedbugs which are quick to hide. Despite the potency of alcohol to t treat bedbugs at home, it is not a potential weapon to kill all bedbugs. There are records that alcohols only kills about 50% of bugs in the infested area. How much more in the entire home.
Another con of using alcohol is that a young bedbug known as a nymph can withstand its attack. They have tougher skin which makes them invulnerable. The same goes for the eggs of bedbugs.
Not only because alcohol evaporates quickly, the young one and eggs of a bedbug are very difficult to see when applying alcohol as a remedy. They are tiny, unlike the fully grown bug which can be seen from a distance.
7. Laundry
An effective method to do remove not only bedbugs but other likely pests from your bedsheets and clothes is to the laundry for your clothes. Clothes piling is not advisable as this can give room to breed more.
After every wash, heat your cloth well to chase out the unrepentant bugs that refused to leave during the washing stage. Ironing your bedsheets and pillowcase will leave no single bedbug on them. So to achieve maximum do it yourself success in eradicating bedbugs, you have to do your laundry well – every four days is possible.
8. Mattress Cover
Your mattress cover must be able to prevent bedbugs from having access to your mattress. You should purchase mattress covers that are bedbug proof. You can get that here. The mattress cover could also go for your box spring for full prevention.
You can do this just after you have done your laundry. Or even if you do it days after your laundry, the cover will create heat for any bedbug or pest still hiding inside the mattress or spring corners. Also, they will die of hunger since they can no longer have access to your skin, where they can bite your skin to feed on your blood.
9. Vacuum cleaner
Vacuum cleaning is another effective method to remove bedbugs from an area. It is about 70% effective. Running your vacuum in places like your bed, dresser, rugs, and shelf will give you success at reducing the number of bugs in your house. When you are done, you can seal up the vacuum content and trash before cleaning your vacuum. Vacuum with high proficiency percolated air is best to do this job.
10. Use chemicals
Chemicals are not the best for home use but you can decide if you notice you are incapable of containing the infestation by yourself. The only chemicals you should use are the ones approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Here are some of the chemicals you can use;
- Pyrroles
- Neonicotinoids
- Foggers or bug bombs
- EcoRaider and Bed Bug Patrolare
- Pyrethrins
- Desiccants
11. Diatomaceous Earth
This chemical is less harmful to humans and fatal to insects. It is similar to the cosmetic powder used by women. The chemical is made from ancient silica that is sourced from river banks. It is then dried to get to the texture needed. This earth can be used for so many other things like treating constipation, removing unwanted dead skins and cells, and improving the condition of skin and nails.
However, it very much popular in controlling the infestation of pests. To apply this earth, you can use a duster or a brush to infested areas. You could also go through the wet application process by pouring the powder into four cups of water. Mix randomly, then apply.
For the wet application, it is usually not advisable to do it at home due to stains except places you are very sure to clean after application. The dry application is more effective compared to the wet besides the wet involves extra efforts like mixing with water unlike the dry which only involves the use of a flat brush.
Even though the diatomaceous earth is less harmful compared to other chemicals, it is good to put on safety equipment when applying because it could irritate your eyes and lungs.
This chemical is also great to kill bugs because whenever any bedbug comes in contact with the powder before dying, it spreads to another bedbug when they come in contact. The chemical is powerful as it damages the external structure of any bedbug.
12. Remove infested items
This process is also important in the removal of bedbugs from your home. All items infested should be lay bared in the sun. They should be left for a day in the sun to allow heat to chase them off completely. Bedbugs detest heat. Items that cannot be put out in the sun should be removed before any application. Your food items should stay far away from places of infestation.
For your furniture which is heavily infested, you should replace it. You can get a piece of new furniture here and buy the best kitchen furniture brand here. Do not leave the furniture out, ensure you dismantle it to prevent any other person from using it.
13. Cold and Heat Treatment
Bedbugs love and thrive in warm areas but not cold places. For areas with intense heat, they run away quickly. So you can create alternatives of heat and cold to scare and kill the bedbugs in the infested areas. The heat of 46oF and cold of 32oF will damage any bedbug in that area. Any item or bag containing bedbugs should be put in the freezer at 0oF.
15. Pheromone traps
This method tricks the bedbug into believing they are communicating with another bedbug. It is a scientific method that was designed to make bedbug fall for traps that kills them later on.
16. Monitor Treated Areas
After you are sure of applying all needed treatment, the next step to take is to monitor those places keenly. This will let you detect if there the method you used is effective or not. The best time to monitor these areas is a day or two days after treatment application.
There is another way to keep track of treated places in your house. In the bedroom, you can get bedbugs interceptors to keep track of any bedbug about to climb onto the frame of your beddings.
If after two days you couldn’t find traces of bedbugs in the area, you can check once every 7 days. Let me tell a secret, bedbugs are cunning, they can decide to leave that area only to come back after some days when they feel the coast is clear. This is why you must not relent in checking constantly the places on which you have applied treatment on.
If you notice any movement of bedbugs, do not panic. What you have to do at this juncture is to employ the services of a professional. You have tried your best. I give you accolades for that. To employ the services of a professional pest manager, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are Bedbugs?
The botanical name of bedbugs is Cimex lectularius L. A grown adult bedbug has a physical feature of a beak with three segments; an antenna that has four parts; wings that are not used for flying; and short, and golden-colored hairs. Generally, they have a peculiar body odor which makes it easy for one to sight and locate it in an instant.
Metamorphism of A Bedbug
A bedbug grows in the following order accordingly.
- Eggs (1mm)
- 1st stage nymph (1.5 mm)
- 2nd stage nymph (2 mm)
- 3rd stage nymph (2.5 mm)
- 4th stage nymph (3 mm)
- 5th stage nymph (4.5 mm)
- Unfed adult female
- Unfed adult male
To know more about the entomology of bedbugs you can read it here.
How to Identify a Bedbug’s Bite and Infestation In Your Home
It is always advisable to have residual knowledge of bedbugs; where they can hide and signs of their bite. This helps you to quickly take precautions and avoid an inflammable infestation which at most times requires arduous measures to eradicate.
A trick to quickly identify the bolt holes of bedbugs is to know that bedbugs are always attracted to warmth. All bites of bedbugs are reddish. They appear very tiny and itchy with huge tendencies to grow bigger after constant scratching just immediately after a sting.
Where Do Bedbugs hide?
- Inside electrical appliances
- Between couches
- In drawer joints
- In your bed frames
- Edges of baseboards and carpets
- Idle places in the house
Bedbugs are very tiny and their attacks are sneaky. They feed on blood. To effectively reproduce, they feed on blood every 14 days. Bedbugs need one blood meal once before they develop to every stage of metamorphosis.
Which Bedbug removal method is advisable?
| Scientific Methods | Natural Methods |
|---|---|
| Expensive | Cost-effective |
| Requires expertise | Basic Knowledge |
NOTE: Bedbugs are very difficult to crush with your bare hands. Do not waste your time trying such. Read how to shop for the best bed-bug-free mattress.
Did You Know?
- Bedbugs can produce about 4000 babies in 6 months.
- Bedbugs can go 12 months without eating and still function well.
- Now you know, roll your sleeves and get rid of the menace.
Conclusion
The first removal method of bedbugs is to survey the environment of your prospective apartment. An environment with a record of breeding bedbugs makes your bedroom much more vulnerable to the infestation of bedbugs. Therefore a foundational check and questioning of the your housing area is as important as the natural methods listed above.