This article will look at home remedies for bed bugs, discussing natural products and methods to eliminate them.
Bed bugs are tiny blood-sucking pest that feeds on human and animal blood. They have very flat bodies that make them slip through small or almost invisible cracks.
They love the dark and are very active at night, making the bed their dining table, which is why they are called bed bugs.
The way bugs appear and disappear is somewhat magical to the point that it makes you wonder where the hell they came from.
Natural Solutions To Bed Bug Problems
Bugs, like most other blood-sucking insects, come from somewhere; the outdoors, a friend’s house, the neighbor whose home is infested visits you carrying a bug on her clothes and sitting on your couch during your travels while touring the world, buying used clothes or items and so on.
They can come from anywhere, but once they are around, they are around for the stay because they love to stay. And so it takes more than a gut to get them out of your home for good.
Warning Signs of A Bug Infestation
Bed bugs can be very creepy and are quite capable of living with you without you knowing.
Unfortunately, if you don’t know they are around, you won’t know how to get rid of them, which might be pretty infuriating.
The following are the signs that the bugs are around;
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Skin Bites
These little carnivorous insects like to take a tour around the body, and they want to take a sip of blood here and there. So one of the apparent signs they are around is the evidence of skin bites by the time you wake from sleep.
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Blood Stains On Your Sheet
Once you begin to see bloodstains on your bedspread, there is no doubt that they are around, and it is a sign that the level of infestation is high. Taking an immediate decision is your following line of action.
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Black Stains and Dots
When you notice black dots around a small crack by the window or the door, that is evidence that the bugs are around. The black dots could be their fecal matter (the waste of a bug) or the shedding of their baby skin as they grow to become adults.
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Egg Shells
Watch out for any speck of ivory material on your bed, furniture, or other surfaces; you will find the eggs shells of bugs around.
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Living Bugs
There are also times when you meet the crawling pest while they’re moving from one place to another. They are very tiny and get bigger after they’ve been fed.
Home Remedies to Get Rid of Bed Bug Permanently
You may be interested in getting rid of this pest but got stuck at some points. Check out the wonders of some of these homemade remedies you can use to get rid of the problem;
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Vacuum
A vacuum cleaner can do the trick of eliminating the pest. If you are faced with an infestation, you can keep vacuuming every nook and cranny of your apartment thoroughly.
A strong vacuum cleaner with a firm hose extension is reliable to help you eliminate all the eggs and bugs in your couch, mattress, furniture, etc.
While vacuuming, pay attention to every detail of the house, the carpets, floors, every tiny crack, your chairs, bed, and all appliances, including electrical appliances.
Bed bugs are what they are- bugs; you never get to see them unless you are thorough.
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Use Steam
Steaming is another good option. A bed bug cannot survive at a temperature above 140 degrees F.
If there are places your vacuuming can’t reach, steaming will help fish them out and exterminate them. But then you have to follow the steam cleaner’s manual to avoid damage to your home appliances and furniture.
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Wash Clothes and Bedding
Both hot water and heat dryers will help kill the bug and their family. So washing your clothes and beddings in hot water will solve the problem, but you must ensure that those materials can tolerate hot water.
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Silica Gel
The silica Gel is kept in food products or shoe boxes to keep contents dry.
Surprisingly those gels can help exterminate insects and bugs. You have to grind the gel into a powdery form and then sprinkle it around your home, but you must get your pets out if you want to use this method of extermination.
The silica gel is potent, and the inhalation of the product is very harmful to pets.
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Rubbing Alcohol
Alcohol is also a contract killer of bugs, so you can pour some rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle and spray it directly at suspected areas of infestation.
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Hair Dryer
The hair blower will emit heat above 140 degrees F, and bugs can’t stand that temperature.
Just blast your hairdryer towards the area of infestation, and they will soon be gone, and then you can have a good night’s rest.
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Baking Soda
Baking soda is known to absorb moisture; it can also absorb moisture from the bugs- suck their life out.
To use baking soda, just spread it wherever you think the bugs might be hiding in cracks and holes.
Try as much as possible to vacuum from time to time as you reuse it.
FACT: Do Mothballs Work For Bed Bugs?
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Diatomaceous Earth
I call Diatomaceous Earth a miracle killer of all creepy household pests, including bed bugs. It is gotten from the sedimentary rock and grounded into a powder.
This product may be slow, but it is pretty efficient in getting rid of bugs and insects using its tiny shards against them.
But then, the tiny shards also harm us, so don’t put them on your mattress or even sniff them. Also, keep your pets off the powder.
HOME REMEDIES FOR BED BUGS WITH VINEGAR
Another effective home remedy that can work well in exterminating bed bugs is vinegar. You heard right. Vinegar can upset the functioning of an insect’s nervous system, bed bug inclusive.
But then, vinegar alone cannot deal with a bug infestation in your household, so for effectiveness, you can mix it with essential oils like tea tree oil, citrus oil, neem oil, lavender oil, etc., all of which are capable of penetrating the hard casing of the bed bug eggs and make it possible for the extermination of the bugs and their eggs.
Vinegar is the end product that has gone through a combination of alcohol and acid fermentation. It is a solution made up of acetic acid and water.
Vinegar is an acidic compound because of its acetic acid content and antimicrobial properties. There are different vinegar types, but most are at 2.5 pH levels. They usually serve as household cleaning agents, especially the white distilled types.
The acid level in vinegar makes it potent and dangerous to the nervous system of insects or bugs. It is a natural type of contact insecticide that implies that you have to spray directly on the bugs for it to work effectively in getting rid of bugs.
How to Make A Homemade Vinegar Bed Bug Spray
Homemade vinegar is much safer, unlike chemical insecticide, is cost-effective, and can help manage an early infestation. Following the following steps to make a homemade vinegar bed bug spray
Step 1– Buy white vinegar, but you don’t have to buy it if you already have one.
Step 2- Get an empty spray bottle; you can use an old container or buy a new open container.
Step 3- Pour the vinegar into the bottle; you can add a few drops of tea tree oil, anise oil, and peppermint oil and shake properly.
Step 4- Gently soak the infected area and wash every crack and crevice. Follow up on the signs of infestation and ensure every infested perimeter is soaked with vinegar.
After this, they begin to spray directly at their hiding places. You will see them running out of hiding places, but the soaked perimeters will get them down.
To prevent another infestation, soak every infested surface- windows, sills, walls, mattresses, carpets. Spray every area of the house, and you need to do this time after time to get rid of them completely.
This bug extermination method is safer, and you don’t need to keep your pets or younger children away to use it.
Vinegar alone can only get rid of bed bugs on a short-term basis.
If you need a complete eradication, combine it with essential oils like lemongrass, clove, tea tree peppermint, cinnamon, and lavender which will not only get rid of the bugs but get rid of their eggs as well.
Using homemade remedies to get rid of pest infestation will work as much as using those chemical insecticides or maybe work better, especially when dealing with a bed bug infestation.
It is a cost-effective method; sometimes, you don’t have to buy anything, especially when using your household appliances.
Apart from this, you don’t need to waste your time scheduling an appointment with an exterminator and have them bill you for consultation.
You can also avoid exposure to toxic chemicals that may harm you or your pets.