Bed bugs are small, oval, and brownish insects that live in the blood of humans or animals. Adult bed bugs have flat bodies, and the size of their bodies is a size of an apple seed. Bed bugs bite people while they are sleeping. They are active mainly at night. Bed bugs feed by piercing the skin and withdrawing blood through an elongated beak.
These bugs feed from 3 – 10 minutes to become engorged, and they crawl away unnoticed. After feeding, their bodies swell, and they have a reddish color. [1]
They do not fly, and they can move quickly over ceilings, walls, and floors. Female bed bugs may lay hundreds of eggs. Each of these eggs is about the size of a speck of dust over a lifetime.
Most bed bug bites are painless at first, but later they can turn into itchy welts. Bed bug bites are on the areas of the skin which was exposed during sleeping. These bites do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites have. [2] Here are some home remedies and natural tips which can help you stay away from bed bugs or to stay protected from their bites:
14 Bed Bugs Home Remedy and natural cures
Lavender oil
The strong scent that the oil has is effective in scaring these tiny animals and ensures that they are kept at bay forever. This aspect makes them a natural repellent; this is effective because the bugs do not like the smell as well as the taste of the oil. In this case, therefore, they tend to keep off from the taste of the plant.
What you should do is get a concentrated form of the oil and then target the corners of the bed frame. These are their hiding places; pour the oil constantly in these places till you completely get rid of them. [3]
Vacuuming
This is an effective natural way of eradicating these insects. These practices should target vacuum everything indiscriminately. This is because most of the furniture and other items like carpet are potential suspects to hide these animals.
Therefore, when using this method to eliminate bed bugs, you should vacuum your chairs, carpets, curtains, and mattresses. Repeat this practice every week at least once, and the outcome will be great when the month elapses. [4]
High-temperature washing
These insects are not able to survive in extreme temperatures; they, therefore, succumb and die. Washing your bedding at high temperatures will really help to eliminate insects.
The practice requires consistency in that it does not give a chance for the newly hatched eggs to grow to maturity and hatch again. The target should be aimed at spoiling the life cycle. Therefore wash your clothes and bedding at very high temperatures, thoroughly dry them, and then keep them in clean plastic bags so as to avoid instances of re-injection. Do this regularly, and the outcome will be greater than what you expect. [4]
Steam cleaning
This is an extreme and radical measure against bed bugs that ensure that they are completely exterminated. The reason why it is another important practice is that some items in your house cannot be easily washed therefore high temperature cleaning is not effective for them.
Steam cleaning eradicates both the bugs and their eggs. It also has the capacity to reach areas that cannot be reached. What you can do is hire a steam cleaner or buy your own steam cleaning gadget, and you will bid goodbye to the bugs.
Tea tree oil
The diving smell in tea tree oil has an amazing reaction with the bed bugs. This is because it discourages them and suffocates them hence their instant death. The oil is also a good antibacterial hence making it essential for eradicating bugs from your home.
This can be done by preparing a two percent solution of it with warm water, putting this solution in a spray bottle, and spraying the items in the house that have the potential of housing the insects. This process should be repeated on a weekly basis so as to improve the level of outcome.
Alcohol
Alcohol has a negative reaction to bed bugs, the substance has the capacity to instantly kill the bugs when they get into contact with it. Therefore the best way to use this remedy is to rub it or spray it on the major suspects’ zone. This will ensure that the moment that they come into contact with it, their metabolism is interfered with hence their instant death. [5]
Baking soda
The soda has drying or desiccation properties which ensures that they are eliminated. The approach you should take is to fetch a paintbrush, put some soda in the bowl and then dip the brush in the soda. Spread the soda along the bedside to prevent the crevices where bed bugs might be hiding. Another area where you should apply a layer of soda is along the mattress and springs of the bed. Vacuum the layer that you placed after a period of one week, then apply another layer. This works in a period of a month to restore order.
Mint leaves
This herb is not familiar to these insects; the bed bugs are not fond of mint leaves, and therefore they tend to flee whenever they detect it. This herb can be useful when the leaves are crushed and then sprinkled around your sleeping area or your bedding or sleeping clothes. The other way is rubbing the crushed leaves of mint on your skin before going to bed or incorporating a sachet of mint leaves between the mattress you sleep on and the linen closet.
Cayenne pepper
This has preventive abilities in that the bugs cannot dear reach where it is sprinkled. The best way to utilize it when addressing bed bugs is to sprinkle it in specific areas which are prone to hide the bugs. In case they are there, they will automatically find their way out and starve themselves to death.
Rosemary
This is a very powerful reactor for bed bugs, the way it affects the bugs do not allow them to survive in the hostile environment it creates for them. For instance, it makes the environment where these insects live to be un-conducive by suffocating them due to their smell. This, therefore, limits their ability to thrive and survive in such an environment. To eliminate them, take a cup of rosemary oil and put it in a sprayer, then spray where they are living as well as your bedding. This will instantly eliminate them within a short time.
Eucalyptus
The treatment has very similar properties to the rosemary one; it is able to eliminate the bugs very first when it is sprayed on them. What can be done is to take a substantial quantity of eucalyptus and put it in a sprayer, then spray it on your bedding. Within a short time, the insects will be lying prostrate on the flour.
Hot sun
Bed bugs cannot survive a temperature of more than 113 degrees; this makes extreme heat an effective method of getting rid of these insects. Therefore, it is recommended that you wash your bedding and clothes which are infested with the bugs and then dry them over the sun or dryer for a constant temperature of more than 113 degrees; this will be enough to kill them.
Scented dryer sheets
The smell that comes from this sheet is very repulsive to the insects; it discourages them and drives them away. What you can do is prepare a layer of kryptonite just before adding around ten sheets of scented fabric softener. This should be in between the mattress and the box spring. The same number of sheets should be placed on your mattress`s surface. Have two sheets of the same type on your pillow, also. Replace these in a period of one week, and you will be able to completely eliminate the bugs.
Fruits and vegetable insecticides
Some of these insecticides have a substantial amount of pyrethrin as well as canola. These are effective components in repelling the insects hence they effectively help to not only suffocate the bed bugs but also ensure that they make their environment un-conducive. As a result, leading to their death, the application of the insecticide should be made on a weekly basis to ensure that there is consistency in eliminating the bugs. [6]
References
[1] Sheele JM, Gaines S, Maurer N, et al. A survey of patients with bed bugs in the emergency department. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2017;35(5):697-8.
[2] Koganemaru R, Miller DM. The bed bug problem: Past, present, and future control methods. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology. 2013;106(3):177-89.
[3] Doggett SL. Bed bug ecology and control. Pests of Disease and Unease Synopsis of Papers. 2005;1-69.
[4] Hwang SW, Svoboda TJ, De Jong IJ, et al. Bed bug infestations in an urban environment. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2005;11(4):533-8.
[5] Nolen JA, Nelson RG. Methods, apparatus and compositions for abatement of bedbugs. U.S. Patent No. 9,686,973. 2017.
[6] Romero A, Potter MF, Potter DA, Haynes KF. Insecticide resistance in the bed bug: a factor in the pest’s sudden resurgence? Journal of Medical Entomology. 2007;44(2):175-8.
