What Are Home Remedies for Bed Bugs? | eHow

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Tyler Lacoma

Tyler Lacoma has worked as a writer and editor for several years after graduating from George Fox University with a degree in business management and writing/literature. He works on business and technology topics for clients such as Obsessable, EBSCO, Drop.io, The TAC Group, Anaxos, Dynamic Page Solutions and others, specializing in ecology, marketing and modern trends.

While natural remedies are not the most effective method for removing bed bug infestations, they can help with small problems and pave the way for wholesale pest control. For bed bugs closer to the surface, vacuuming or spraying them with rubbing alcohol will take care of them. Sheets and removable fabrics can be heated in the drier until the bugs die, while those in hot or very cold climates can leave mattresses outside for extended periods of time.

Vacuuming will not kill all bed bugs. There will usually be those that hide too deep within the fabric to be pulled out by the average vacuum cleaner and will remain to start the infestation again. However, careful and methodical vacuuming of infected fabrics and surrounding material can remove many of the bed bugs that plague the room, along with dead skin and other materials that bugs feed on. This will make it easier to remove the infestation with other methods.

Outdoor insecticides should not be used indoors. They can be harmful to inhale, and residue left on fabrics can be absorbed into the skin. Even sprays designed to kill insects indoors are harmful and should not be used to treat bed bug infestations. Instead, diatomaceous earth works as a people-friendly pesticide. A chalk-like material made from fossilized plankton, earth has qualities that make it dangerous to bugs without poisoning humans.

Bed bugs thrive in temperate conditions, so exposing them to prolonged heat or cold will kill most of them. Sheets and blankets can be heated for extended periods in the drier, but many bed bugs live in the mattress itself and cannot be killed so easily. If you live in a very cold or very hot climate, you can put the mattress outside for a long period of time, enough time kill many of the bugs. This is not always effective and requires that you leave the mattress outdoors for up to several weeks.

For killing bugs on contact, when they are seen, some people choose to spray rubbing alcohol on them, which is too potent a chemical for them to survive. This will kill the bugs you can see, but is not always effective at reaching the bugs that live at deeper levels. Some use other chemical agents, but none cannot penetrate deeply, so it should not be assumed that all bugs have been killed.

Generally, pest control companies will not advise home remedies against bed bugs because it is difficult to target all the bugs in a given space. While beds might be the center of an infection, bed bugs can live on in carpets, drapes,and upholstery to renew the attack. Calling in an exterminator for a full-house sweep can be expensive, but there will be a much higher guarantee of effectively removing the infestation. Home remedies used beforehand can heighten the effectiveness of pest control as well.

Bed bugs are small, blood-feeding insects that occur worldwide. Long associated with seedy, "fleabag" hotels, bed bugs are moving uptown: surprisingly high-end...

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What Are Home Remedies for Bed Bugs? | eHow