Popular Home Remedies for Bed Bugs

Vacuum Your Mattress and More

With strong suction power, a vacuum cleaner may be able to suck bed bugs right up from the surfaces they’re hiding on.

Use your vacuum cleaner to tackle the places where bed bugs can hide during the day. Vacuum your mattress, including the crevices and edging. Vacuum your furniture, especially any cushy pieces like couches, couch cushions, and chairs. Then tackle your flooring – and make sure you pay special attention to any cracks or crevices around the baseboards. You should also vacuum any carpeting or rugs.

It’s a good idea to vacuum every few days while a bed bug infestation is happening. You’ll want to be as thorough as possible, repeating the process on your mattress and any other soft furniture as well as your flooring.

In combination with vacuuming, you can also use a stiff brush on soft items. Run a stiff brush along the edges and seams of your mattress, your cushions and couch, and other items that may have ideal bed bug hiding spots. This may loosen up any bed bugs or eggs that are clinging tightly enough to resist your vacuum power.

Silica Gel or Baking Soda

You know those little packets that come with certain food products and every pair of shoes? They can actually help you combat bed bugs.

These packets, which are filled with silica gel, are added to products to keep them dry. But they can also eliminate insects – insects like bed bugs. If you have silica gel packets, grind up the little beads inside. Once they turn into a powder, sprinkle that powder around the areas where you’re seeing the source of the infestation (like your mattress).

However, it’s important to note that silica gel can be toxic. If you want a safer, less toxic solution, you can use baking soda instead. Like silica gel, baking soda absorbs moisture. It can even absorb the moisture right out of bed bugs’ bodies, killing them. Just spread baking soda wherever you’re finding bugs, then vacuum. You can re-apply baking soda every few days.

Apply Heat With a Hair Dryer

Bed bugs hate heat, so you can try to eliminate them wherever they’re hiding by applying heat directly on them. And a hair dryer can be the perfect tool for this.

Plug your hair dryer in, direct it at your mattress, and set it to the highest temperature setting. Blow this hot air over the infested area for about 30-minutes, moving the hair dryer back and forth to fully cover the bed bugs’ hiding spots.

The high heat from your hair dryer should help to eliminate both fully grown bed bugs and their eggs. And it can be a quick fix before you go to bed at night.

Spray Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is able to sanitize and clean, so why not give it a try for bed bugs? It can actually help kill off live bugs.

To apply rubbing alcohol onto affected areas and items, you’ll want to pour it into a spray bottle first. Then, spray the alcohol right onto items like your mattress and your furniture. It should be enough to kill bugs that come into contact with it.

Steam Clean Your Home

Steam cleaning takes water and turns it into steam at extremely high temperatures. And that makes steam cleaning an excellent solution for bed bugs.

Since bed bugs can’t survive extreme heat, you can use a steam cleaner to tackle everything from your furniture to your flooring. Steam cleaners can also often reach where vacuums cannot, so it’s great for getting into tight spaces and crevices. Just make sure you choose a steam cleaner that can heat the water to at least 140-degrees Fahrenheit – that’s the minimum temperature needed to kill bed bugs.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth may be able to help you tackle a bed bug problem. This product, which is made out of naturally occurring sedimentary rock, is a fine powder that you can spread around to eliminate bugs. The powder contains tiny shards, which kill insects when the powder is ingested. It works on fleas, and it can work on bed bugs too.

Keep in mind that diatomaceous earth can take up to 10 days to deliver results. And this DIY remedy should not be used on your mattress, as the shards in the powder can get into your lungs.

Scented Dryer Sheets

The same dryer sheets that you use to keep your clothes wrinkle-free and freshly scented can help repel bed bugs. Place dryer sheets where you’re constantly being attacked by bed bugs, and they may be able to repel the bugs for a time.

However, it’s important to note that using dryer sheets is nothing but a temporary measure. Bed bugs won’t be dissuaded – they might back off wherever dryer sheets are placed. But they won’t stop infesting areas of your home.

Herbs and Essential Oils

Lastly, you can try using essential oils made out of herbs to combat bed bugs. Certain plants have natural insect-fighting properties, and they can help you eliminate bed bugs – or at the very least, keep them from biting – without any harsh chemicals.

Here are some of the best herbs or essential oils to try:

• Tea tree oil, which can suffocate insects that ingest it.
• Lavender, which repels bed bugs with its scent.
• Peppermint leaves, which also repel bed bugs with a strong scent.
• Black walnut tea, which is a natural insect repellent.
• Bean leaves, which can trap bed bugs.
• Indian lilac leaves, which repels bed bugs.
• Thyme, which repels insects when burned.
• Mint leaves, which repel insects when the leaves are crushed and fragrant.
• Lemongrass, which kills both bed bugs and their eggs with a strong scent and powerful acid.

You can give these remedies a try to combat a bed bug infestation. However, you can also search online to find more ways to get rid of these frustrating pests. Whether you’re looking for home remedies or professional bed bug removal, search online to find answers. You can compare your options and find a solution that’ll get your home free of bed bugs.