Home Remedies and Tips for Bed Bug Infestation
After a long hectic day, a good and comfortable sleep on the bed is what everyone desires. It’s time to spend some quality time with the family, sharing thoughts and love. But wait! Something might be interrupting your comfort and disturbing you while you are asleep. That’s a bed bug. The bed bug is just like a parasitic insect which feeds only on the blood. Omex Lectularius is the common bed bug that feeds on the human blood.
As the name suggests the bed bug is derived from their preferred habitat that is inside bed or surrounding areas. These bugs are active at night only. These bugs mainly feed on their hosts without being noticed. Therefore they most frequently feed during the night on sleeping peoples. The bed bug bite can result in itching and red rashes around the skin. Bed bug bites can result in a number of adverse health effects like skin rashes and allergic symptoms. However, bed bugs do not transmit any pathogens. Bed bug shed their skins through the ecdysis at each of their five life stages. Bed bug females can reproduce each day, laying three to four eggs which can possibly generate around 500 eggs during their lifespan.
Here are some home remedies for bed bugs that will help you eliminate them.
Vacuuming everything
Another way of eliminating the bed bug infestation is through vacuuming. As bed bugs can hide anywhere, therefore complete vacuuming of the whole area and bedding is required especially in the warm dark area and various furniture regions. Not only this will work out, but you are required to perform vacuuming once in a week for 3-4 times. And after vacuuming you must properly dispose the bugs collected in the vacuum cleaner.
Heat and drying treatment
By increasing a temperature of the infected area or room by up to 45 °C or more, or by decreasing the temperature by less than -17 °C, kills them effectively. The bed bug cannot survive high temperature and if exposed to the temperature higher that 50 °C for two minutes results in 100% mortality. For this you can use dry steam cleaner only as wet steam can harm your furniture or fabric quality.
Baking soda
A bed bug can survive in moist dark place and baking soda can absorb the moisture that ultimately kills bed bug. Spreading baking soda (very thin layer) throughout the infected area, around the bed, corners, allowing it there for a week as it absorbs the whole moisture in that area, results in the elimination of bed bug. This is an easy home remedy for bed bugs and after that, you can vacuum the whole area thoroughly.
Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is derived from plant Melaleuca alternifoliate and is well known for its antiseptic, antimicrobial and anti-parasitic properties and is very effective in eliminating bed bugs. Tea tree oil contains terpenoids which repel bed bug. Spraying a mixture of tea tree oil and water thoroughly in the whole infected area can result in the elimination of the beg bugs. Perform this home remedy for bed bugs 3-4 times, once in a week.
Mint leaves
This home remedy for bed bugs helps in preventing the bed bugs enter your bedding or sleeping area. You can spread it throughout the infected area and nearby your bed and mattress. Mint leaves are an effective repellent in keeping bed bug away.
Turmeric powder
Turmeric powder is a powerful anti-microbial agent and has been used in keeping bed bugs away for many years. Turmeric contains curcumin, that depletes the oxygen level nearby the place where it been placed for bed bugs, leading to the death of the parasite. This is an effective home remedy for bed bugs.
Black walnut tea
Black walnut tea also has antibacterial, insecticidal effect on bed bugs. Its leaves have the repellent property that helps to eliminate bed bug from their habitat. Boiling Black walnut leaves in water and taking bath can help is getting relief from the itching caused by the bed bug bite.
Pyrethrins and pyrethroids
These two compounds are commonly used to control bed bugs. Pyrethrin is a botanical insecticide and Pyrethroid is a synthetic insecticide. Both compounds can be used for the treatment of Bed bugs and can flush bed bugs out and kill them. However, if there some resistant bed bug exists; these two compounds can cause them to move out from their place.
Additional tips
Here are the few additional tips that you can follow for the complete elimination of the Bedbugs from your house.
- Regular check the mattress and bedding.
- Wash your clothes kept at the site with hot water before you use them again.
- Operating vacuum cleaning at the areas with bed bug infestation.
- Use double-sided tape around the bed base. The bed bug gets to stick to the tape, prevent them from spreading.
- Discard all furniture items that are unnecessary.
- Repairing and closing all cracks and holes that act like bed bug habitat.
- Do not shift the infected furniture to another clean space or room
Use all these home remedies for bed bugs and get rid of them.