Here, we’re looking at the effect of salt on bed bugs. Can salt kill these bugs? This is a question that has been asked a lot.
In this article, we’re seeking to provide answers that could be of help to your pest control efforts. These bugs are notorious for being difficult to deal with.
Will Salt Kill Bed Bugs?
You’re likely to have heard a lot of crazy stuff about pest control.
While some of the ideas may sound clearly illogical, other ideas may be a bit reasonable. However, you’ll have to either implement these to see if they work or find out from other sources (such as this) if they actually work.
Salt is one of the most common substances, yet very vital.
A lot of rumors about the use of salt for pest control have spread. But how true are these claims? Well, you aren’t alone as we are also interested.
Join us as we find out if can be used successfully on bed bugs, fleas, and termites. It will be good news if it does because apart from being common, it has no toxic effects on humans.
First off, DIY Bed Bug Control isn’t a Great Idea
DIY bed bug control can sound like a good idea for enthusiasts as it helps them get the feeling associated with doing something worthwhile.
While getting rid of pests such as bed bugs is totally worth the effort, the right effort needs to be made. With most DIY methods, unproven or unreliable treatments are used.
First, there’s a clear lack of understanding of bed bug behavior. This places you at a disadvantage as these bugs could be hidden in plain sight.
You’ll need to know where to look and also find out if your treatment has been successful or not.
There are several instances where bed bug infestations have worsened after DIY treatment.
Hazards such as exposure to dangerous chemicals, fires resulting from heat treatment, and the likes are quite common with DIY treatments.
The main objective is to get rid of these pests using the most effective strategy.
Salt and Its Many Uses – What Does it Do to Insects?
Common salt, in its basic form, is composed of sodium chloride.
This has a crystalline structure and has a white appearance. It is an abundant and common food item found in arguably every home. Salt has so many uses.
However, we are most interested in how it can be used in pest control as you’d soon find out.
Salt And Bed Bugs
Salt might sound like a great remedy for bed bug problems because it’s used as a dehydrating agent on other pest types. However, the reality is quite different for bed bugs. Salt has little to no effect on them.
In a nutshell, salt won’t kill bed bugs.
This method has been tried by a lot of homeowners with little results. This might sound disappointing to some readers due to the strong beliefs they had about the efficacy of salt for bed bug treatment.
To understand why salt won’t work, it will be necessary to read on.
Salt For Bed Bugs: Does It Work?
If you’ve tried to sprinkle ordinary table salt on slugs, you’ll find that these are killed from the dehydrating effect of salt. This dehydrating effect is known as osmosis.
Because their skins are thin and permeable, salt-sprayed on slugs causes such water to be sucked out, thus leading to their deaths.
The same process applied to bed bugs turns out ineffective because the exoskeleton of these bugs isn’t as permeable as those of slugs. In other words, the exoskeleton won’t allow the salt to penetrate or get in.
With salt unable to get into their system, bed bugs don’t get to dehydrate.
Due to this fact, applying or sprinkling salt around infested areas only wastes precious time that would have been used to implement more effective treatments. In a nutshell, salt is simply not toxic to these bugs.
You’ll need to find something that works.
When Salt Fails
You’re unlikely to have any results with your salt treatments for bed bugs. However, that isn’t an excuse to give up. Salt use is clearly an unreliable DIY treatment technique you want to avoid.
With its inefficacy confirmed, it’s best to shift your focus to treatments that work.
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Other DIY Methods could help kill Bed Bugs but…
You can have bed bugs eliminated to an extent using natural remedies such as diatomaceous earth, freezing infested items, using steam treatments, hot dryer treatments, and encasing mattresses and pillows.
While these treatment methods may work to an extent in killing bed bugs, they do not provide comprehensive results. In other words, the results obtained aren’t reliable enough.
No matter how thorough your control methods and actions are, leaving behind a single bed bug or un-hatched eggs can lead to re-infestation.
Here, you only succeeded in suppressing the problem for a short period of time before these bugs return with a bang.
Professional Pest Control to the Rescue
As stated earlier, bed bug infestations are among the most difficult pest problems to deal with. With such knowledge, it’s only proper that you seek professional help.
These are experts with the skill and experience of bed bug control.
These technicians fully understand bed bug behavior and know just what to do to address the problem. When called upon, they come around to inspect the level of infestation.
This is followed by choosing the treatment strategy to adopt and finally the treatment itself.
The good thing with professional pest control is that such treatments come with a guarantee. So, when bed bug treatment persists after initial treatment, repeat treatment is carried out at no added cost to the client.
However, who you hire for this job is important.
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Tips for Hiring the Best Pest Management Company
The success of bed bug extermination procedures depends heavily on the reputation of the service provider.
So, it’s necessary to look out for reputable bed bug control companies with memberships of national, state, or local pest control associations.
This is important because, as active participants of these associations, their commitment to providing unrivaled services is very strong.
Also, there’s a high tendency that such associations will translate to strict adherence to state and federal regulations.
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Ask for References and Understand Service Agreements
To increase your chances of getting the best possible service, you must ask or request references. Such references are a testament to the reliability of the service provider.
Also, you mustn’t rush into signing agreements. It’s necessary to have a thorough understanding of the contents of such agreements.
Here, you should look out for pests covered as well as the services included and any guarantees that may be made available. Understanding these terms helps with ensuring you aren’t short-changed.
Also, it enables you to know which service provider best meets your requirements.
Conclusion
If you’re reading this, chances are that you’ve read or been told that salt kills bed bugs. Well, it’s nothing more than just a rumor. There is no clear and definite proof about its efficacy on bed bugs.
Sorry to dampen your spirit but salt won’t be of many benefits. So what do you do? There are several other harmless DIY (Do-It-Yourself) strategies.
These are proven techniques to rid your home of bed bugs.
They include the use of desiccants like diatomaceous earth. This off-white powdered substance is spread around infested areas and left for 24 hours.
It is then vacuumed to suck up dead bed bugs as well as their eggs. There’s also the heat treatment. You can do this yourself or call the professionals.
Freezing is another alternative. Infected clothing is packed in a plastic bag. This is then placed in the freezer for at least four days. The subzero temperature kills all hiding bed bugs.
So many DIY alternatives are available for you to choose from.
Salt won’t kill bed bugs due to the reasons given above. However, these pests can be exterminated using other reliable treatment methods. Professional bed bug control best serves such needs.