Homemade bed bug killers can be used as a cheap remedy for the bed bug menace. Read this article to learn of both modern and old home remedies for getting rid of bed bugs permanent, including vinegar and spray alcohol. I will also highlight how to use salt and baking soda for bed bugs.
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Old Home Remedies for Bed Bugs Eradication
What are the old home remedies for bed bugs eradication? This is the most popular question asked by readers regarding the best home pest management options for getting rid of bed bugs.
Logically, contracting professional exterminators is both a big hassle and expensive. Moreover, when there are abundant old home remedies for bed bug eradication readily available, why not apply them?
In this article, I will briefly take you through the best bed bug products and remedies used many years back since much was discussed in my other article on home remedies to get rid of bed bugs yourself.
Medieval Rope Beds
The ancient proverb “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite” depicts much information regarding the past of bed bugs.
According to this old saying, “Sleeping tight” denotes close-fitting ropes knotted around the slumbering man’s body.
It was meant to keep the sleeping man tied to timber beds which were designed with a net-like matrix.
The meaning of this ancient proverb is that traditionally, the barbaric rope beds used by people might have been common spots for hiding bed bugs.
Bed Bug Sprays
Bed bug sprays were other old home remedies for bed bugs eradication. They are pyrethroid or insecticide based, alcohol-based, or even 100% organic and herbal. These bed bug remedies were eco-friendly.
Additionally, the sprays were safer for use around pets and kids because they have low levels of toxicity. However, they are only effective if they are in direct contact with the bugs.
Alcohol-based bed bug sprays are somewhat unsafe since they are extremely flammable. Thus, one must take maximum care before spraying them. Before their use, all electrical goods and other related items must be removed first.
Bed bug products that are pyrethroid based, on the other hand, are more effective. But then again, they are also somewhat toxic and not environmentally friendly.
The application of these products around pets and kids must be avoided.
There are aerosol and liquid pyrethrin sprays. Many people preferred to use aerosol sprays because they left a lasting action and thus, remained active long after application.
On the contrary, liquid insecticidal sprays usually become useful via direct contact.
Natural Ways to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
Most people don’t know how to use natural ways to get rid of bed bugs in their homes. Given that this subject is highlighted in other articles. I will only focus on a few common ways used.
The natural methods one can use to eradicate bed bugs include:
1. Wash All Bedding: Collect all bed-covers and other infested and even uninfected clothing around the sleeping area and washed. The laundry must encompass sheets, blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals, pillows.
Clean and dry the items on a hot cycle. The extraordinary temperature will get rid of bed bugs and their larvae and eggs.
2. Apply Diatomaceous Earth (DE): The use of diatomaceous earth has been praised before for multiple uses including treating bed bugs infestations. DE is also used by professional exterminators.
Using a dust mask, sprinkle carpet, bed frames, and mattresses with DE. Before sleeping, vacuum up the surplus.
3. Remove Bed Bugs You Can See Physically: Declare a battle. Flick bed bugs you can see out of crevices. Use a business card to brush them out and in a paper towel, crush them. Use sticky tape to catch them or vacuum them up.
4. Attempt the Use of Essential Oils: Orange oil, cedar oil, and tea tree oil when contacted by bed bugs, are harmful. Blend these oils with water. Using a spray jug, lightly moist the bedbug-infested areas regularly.
5. Take Away Clutter around Beds: Bed bugs infest both clean and messy houses. However, removing mess around and under beds, assists cut down hiding places of bed bugs. Treat the confiscated items using one of the ways discussed above if you find any symbols of dust bugs.
Home Remedies for Bed Bugs with Vinegar
Vinegar is one of the old-fashioned home remedies for bed bug infestation. People regard Vinegar a contact killer. It has no residual effects, thus, needs regular treatment.
It does not work on getting rid of bed bugs but also other types of creepy crawlers.
This mild acid is proven to repel or kill a various variety of bugs. However, vinegar is sometimes not that effective in killing bedbugs.
These stubborn pests can hide in cracks or tiny headboard or mattress crevices. They also hide between floorboards. That makes it hard to eliminate bed bugs using home remedies.
Most people find it difficult to get rid of bed bugs using conventional repellents and pesticides including home remedies like vinegar.
Even vinegar treatments known to eradicate adult insects seldom fail to destroy their eggs. That weakness of vinegar allows bedbugs’ re-infestation after treatment.
You can also refer to the other articles for more information on vinegar as a bed bug killer.
Homemade Bed Bug Killer Spray that Works
There are several homemade bed bug killer spray that works. Chemicals are used on bed bugs to eliminate them.
But, some homeowners don’t prefer using treatment methods involving pesticides for safety and health risks involved.
Pesticides containing Malathion, dichlorvos, and pyrethroids are believed to be effective in eradicating bed bugs in an infested house.
However, people need to understand that studies indicate bed bugs show some kind of resistance to insecticides. Those using pesticides at home should keep them off children because they are potentially toxic.
Application Procedure
Use white vinegar to fill a spray jug. Use waterproof material to seal cracks. By doing so, the bugs are killed since they don’t find easy areas to hide.
Immerse the perimeter surrounding the bedbug-infested furniture, take away drapes, and spray all house items together with other hard-surfaces like walls and window sills.
Natural Homemade Bed Bug Killer Recipe (How to Make)
Here is the step-by-step procedure of how to make natural homemade bed bug killer:
Ingredients:
- ½ cup or vinegar or water
- ½ cup of ordinary witch hazel
- 1 teaspoon plant/vegetable glycerin (elective)
- 10 droplets of rosemary essential oil
- 30 droplets of geranium essential oil
- 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol or vodka
- 20 droplets of lemon eucalyptus essential oil
- 30 droplets citronella essential oil
- 20 droplets of lavender essential oil
Procedure
- Using a glass spray jug, empty essential oils. Add alcohol or vodka and jiggle well to mix.
- Place in witch hazel and jiggle to integrate.
- Add 1/2 tablespoon of plant or vegetable glycerin when necessary. It’s optional but aids to retain the mixture integrated.
- Add vinegar or water jiggle for a second time. Before each use, shake the oils in the spray bottle because water and oil as expected, detach after some time.
Homemade Bed Bug Spray Essential Oils
Homemade bed bug spray essential oils encompass orange oil, cedar oil, and Tea tree oil. These oils are detrimental to bed bugs on interaction.
Like said before, using a spray bottle, blend the oils with water and lightly moist the affected areas regularly.
Successful repulsive essential oils comprise of eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil, thyme oil, lavender oil, peppermint oil, clove oil, lemongrass oil, and finally, cinnamon oil. Users of these oils say that they both repel and eliminate bed bugs.
Most people prefer to mix the following quantities of ingredients to make homemade bed bug spray essential oils:
- Ten droplets of lavender essential oil.
- Ten droplets of thyme
- Six droplets of tea tree oil
- Six droplets of lemongrass essential oil.
- ¼ blend cup of any carrier or base oil like jojoba, almond, or grapeseed oil (optional but good for individual protection).
This mixture when applied as a body oil helps to keep off bed bugs from you at night. In fact, when used without adding a carrier oil, they help disinfect any earlier bitten spots besides treating the current bites.
However, tea tree essential is sometimes toxic to pets and humans as well if applied in an inappropriate or incorrect dosage. Ingesting these oils can also cause death.
Bed Bug Insecticide
There are 300 registered bed bug insecticide products that fall into seven organic categories of pesticides. All these brands are widely used to control bed bug infestations.
As highlighted in the article on how we get Bed Bugs in our homes, these include:
- Insect growth regulators,
- Pyrethrins,
- Biochemicals,
- Pyrethroids,
- Neonicotinoids,
- Desiccants, and
- Pyrroles
People in developed countries including the United States fought bed bug infestation problems for years. However, they managed to eliminate them for good in the past 30 to 40 years ago using pesticides.
The most significant thing our esteemed readers ought to know is that these insecticides should not be directly used on mattresses. Thus, they should be applied together with other appropriate bed bug eradication methods.
Insecticide applications are classified under different groups such as Diatomaceous Earth, Crease and Crevice, Deltamethrin, Hydroprene, Indoor Surface, Fumigation, and Indoor Space.
In most cases, a mixture of insecticides is applied to bed bug infestation to get rid of the problem.
The fact that these pests hide deep in cracks and crevices and have the ability to live for long without feeding, it will be necessary to repeat the applications several times.
Does salt and baking soda kill bed bugs?
Yes, you can use salt and bed bugs to kill bed bugs at home. The common approach used is to wash the clothes and bedding in warm salty water. The salt here may be borax.
This is then followed by applying baking soda generously in different corners of the furniture or bed. You can read this in detail in this article.
References on Homemade Bed Bug killers
- Where Can I Purchase Bed Bug Bombs? - January 30, 2023
- Where Can I Buy Something to Kill Bed Bugs? - January 30, 2023
- Where Can I Buy Bed Bug Spray? - January 30, 2023
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