10 Home Remedies For Bed Bugs
While most of us have heard of bed bugs, some may not know that the number of bed bug infestations are steadily on the increase. In fact, only a decade or so ago, many of us had heard of bed bugs but not nearly as many of us had actually seen them. The problem is particularly prominent in the United States.
Bed bugs are small insects that love to feed on human blood, and they can be found in a variety of climates and places throughout the world. Bed bugs have very flat bodies and they can fit into very tight spaces. This means that they can live in parts of our furniture that we may not be able to see them in, where they can hide out and reproduce. Bed bugs don’t transmit diseases. However, they certainly leave bites that can become red and unsightly, as well as being extremely itchy. In some cases, the bites can be so itchy that they impede a person’s ability to get to sleep. If a person scratches their bites too much, then they may bleed and become infected.
Bed bugs aren’t always easy to spot, but you can be suspicious of them if you notice things like small blood stains on your bed sheets. Your first reaction might be to call some form of pest control, but you need not shell out the money for that right away. There are plenty of natural remedies that can be used to help eliminate or reduce the amount of bed bugs in your home without the use of any dangerous chemicals. In this article, we’re going to outline some of the most common and effective home remedies for fighting off bed bugs.
Home Remedy #1: Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth is arguably the most effective form of natural bed bug control on the planet. In fact, this substance is used in large-scale agricultural production because it’s a highly effective way of killing many different types of bugs without using any chemicals.
Diatomaceous earth is made from fossilized remains of small sea creatures. It contains a lot of silica and is able to kill even hard-shelled insects like bed bugs. Diatomaceous earth can be found in agricultural stores and hardware stores, and food-grade diatomaceous earth, which can kill intestinal parasites, can be found in health food stores.
Home Remedy #2: Wash Everything
The first thing you’ll want to do is take some serious time washing everything that you think that bed bugs might have come into contact with. This should be done even before you’ve tried any of the other remedies on this list.
This should help to eliminate the bulk of the bed bugs, and using some of these other remedies can help to ensure that they don’t return.
Home Remedy #3: Vacuum Everything
Unfortunately, washing is only practical for things like clothes, linens, and sheets. The next thing you’ll want to do is make sure that you vacuum anything in your house that you think that bed bugs could be hiding in.
That could be a lot of different things: bed bugs love to live in soft cushions, on furniture, in carpets, and in the depths of your box springs. It’s a good idea to try vacuuming all of these things in addition to applying some of these other methods.
Home Remedy #4: Baking Soda
Baking soda has a huge number of uses around the house. In addition to killing the bad odors in your fridge, baking soda can be useful for helping to ward off bed bugs.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply sprinkle baking soda anywhere that bed bugs are known to thrive. This helps to dehydrate their skin and some suggest that the abrasive nature of baking soda can be enough to kill them. Regardless of the reason, it’s a good idea to try this in addition to some of these other methods.
Home Remedy #5: Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is another fantastic home remedy that stands up to scientific analysis. In regard to killing bugs, it also works quite well. Tea tree oil works not only to kill these bugs but to mask the odors of people that attract the bugs in the first place.
Mix a couple dozen drops of tea tree oil in with a cup of water and spray this all over anything you think is affected by bed bugs.
Home Remedy #6: Vinegar
Vinegar is another home remedy that can be very useful for helping to ward off bed bugs, though it doesn’t smell nearly as good as tea tree essential oil.
You can mix some vinegar in with water and spray it in any affected areas. This will also kill off mold and fungi, but be careful—vinegar won’t actually kill bed bug eggs, so you’ll have to prepare for those another way.
Home Remedy #7: Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is another effective home remedy that can be used for killing bed bugs.
However, due to the nature of its powerful smell and the harmful effects it can have on the skin, rubbing alcohol is best used to kill bugs on contact instead of using as a preparatory measure to prevent them from appearing.
Home Remedy #8: Borax
Borax is one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs and other parasites. In the case of bed bugs, you can sprinkle a bunch of borax on your mattress or any other surface that you think is affected by bed bugs.
Spray some water on top of the borax so that it soaks in and you’ll notice a significant reduction in the number of bed bugs that are present.
Home Remedy #9: Oregano Oil
Oregano oil is a very powerful essential oil that’s most often used as an antibacterial to help ward off internal bacteria or parasites. That said, it’s not exclusively useful for helping fight off diseases.
Oregano oil, when lightly diluted with water and sprayed in an area that bed bugs are known to be present, can be useful for helping to prevent infestations.
Home Remedy #10: Peppermint
Peppermint, in either the form of fresh leaves or extracted essential oil, can be very useful for helping to ward off bedbugs. The leaves contain the essential oil within them, and the oil itself is known to be too strong for bugs to enjoy.
The powerful oil will repel any bugs, though you may need to use some of the other tactics in this list to actually kill them.
