Bed bugs are tough bugs to destroy. They are little vampires that interrupt your sleep. They invade mattresses and coverlets without warning, always leaving their telltale blood spots in their wake or small but scratchy bumps on your skin.
However, with some diligent detective work, you can find the source of a bed bug infestation. A popular solution is the use of heat. You can also use essential oils to kick out these uninvited nighttime visitors and pests.
What Causes a Bed Bug Infestation and How Do the Bugs Spread?
While bed bugs are blood-sucking fiends, you can banish them without using toxic chemicals. The parasites feed on the blood of humans and pets. Adult bugs are oval-shaped and about the size of an apple seed. Their eggs are yellowish-whitish in color. While the bugs don’t have wings, they do have six legs that allow them to crawl quickly over just about any surface.
Some Bed Bug Facts
Below are some facts about bed bugs that will give you pause for thought as well as plenty of reason to take the necessary actions to get rid of them.
- Bed bugs spread by hitchhiking on luggage, clothing, and bedding. They crawl between rooms and apartments through cracks and crevices.
- A single female bed bug can lay up to 5 eggs per day, so even a small infestation can quickly become a major issue.
- Bed bugs feed at night when you’re sleeping, piercing your skin with two hollow feeding tubes. They use the tubes to drink your blood. Their bites often appear as red, itchy welts on your skin.
Getting to the Source of the Problem
The key to eliminating bed bugs naturally is to cut off their food supply, suffocate them, or make your bedroom an inhospitable place to land.
You can do this by following the steps below:
- Wash and heat treat all clothes, towels, and bedding. The heat will kill bed bugs and eggs.
- Vacuum frequently, using the hose attachment to suction up bed bugs. Seal the vacuum and dispose of the bag.
- Repair or seal any cracks and crevices in walls, cabinets, baseboards, and floors where bed bugs can access and easily enter.
- Use diatomaceous earth or steam cleaning to kill bed bugs in carpeting, furniture, mattresses and box springs.
- Isolate your bed by pulling it away from the wall and placing bed bug interceptor cups under each leg.
With diligence and patience, you can eliminate these little bloodsucking beasts from your home in a natural, non-toxic way.
The Dangers of Toxic Pesticides for Bed Bug Control
When it comes to banishing bed bugs, you have two options: call an exterminator to spray your place with a toxic pesticide or try to get rid of the tiny bloodsuckers yourself. If you make bed bug extermination a DIY project, again, it best to use natural, non-toxic methods. When you have pets or kids, a more natural approach is best.
The Dangers of Commercial Pesticides
Commercial pesticides may kill bed bugs, but they also contain harsh chemicals that are dangerous to humans and pets. Many of the ingredients in popular bed bug sprays have been linked to health issues like cancer, infertility, cardiovascular disease, and neurological damage.
Because of these types of health problems, conditions, such as sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), figure prominently in fatalities in the U.S. Not only do rescue efforts include knowing CPR, prevention may also include using natural alternatives for removing bed bugs and other pests.
After all, do you really want that toxic stuff clinging to surfaces in your home or contaminating the place where you sleep?
Also, remember this: bed bugs can build up an immunity to pesticides, so repeated treatments are required to get rid of the insects. This means more exposure to dangerous chemicals.
There are safer ways to banish bed bugs that will not put your health at risk. Methods like heat treatments and the application of natural essential oils can effectively kill bed bugs without the use of toxins or strong and distressing pesticides.
Heat Treatment: The Most Effective Non-Toxic Bed Bug Killer
If there’s one thing bed bugs can’t stand, it’s extreme heat. While bed bug eggs and adult bugs can survive a brief exposure to freezing cold temperatures, their kryptonite is actually high heat. We’re talking temperatures that would make most humans break into an immediate sweat. The little bloodsuckers start literally cooking at around 113°F.
If you want to take a DIY approach, you’ll need to buy a high-powered space heater, a thermometer for temperature monitoring, and caulk to seal bed bug access.
Crank Up the Thermostat
Place the space heater in the center of the room and turn it on full blast. Seal any cracks or crevices in walls, floors, windows and doors to contain the heat. You want it to be really hot in the room—again, at least 45 degrees Celsius The higher the temperature, the better. Bed bugs exposed to 48 degrees Celsius will die within 90 minutes. At 50 degrees Celsius, they’ll perish in under an hour.
Monitor and Maintain
Use an indoor/outdoor thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in the room. Make sure it stays at or above 45 degrees Celsius for a little over an hour and 30 minutes. Doing so will ensure that all the bed bugs and eggs become toast. Re-seal any areas where the heat may escape. Add additional space heaters, if needed, to raise and maintain a super hot temperature.
A Few Caveats
Be extremely cautious when using space heaters, as they may also create fire hazards. Never leave them running unattended. The heat treatment may also damage certain items, so remove anything that could melt, warp or combust before you crank up the heat.
When the time is up and the room has cooled, thoroughly clean and vacuum the area. While the heat will kill the bed bugs, their dead carcasses may still trigger allergic reactions.
Essential Oils as a Natural Bed Bug Remedy
Essential oils are natural extracts from plants that can help repel and eliminate bed bugs without the use of dangerous chemicals. Rather than spraying your entire home with pesticides, essential oils allow you to target problem areas in a natural way.
You’ll need to go on the offensive with a strategic assault. Assemble your ammunition: lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree oils. These potent fragrances naturally repel bed bugs and kill them while lending a pleasant scent.
Mix a few drops of each oil in a spray bottle filled with water. Shake well and commence firing the sweet-scented oils around the infested room. Spray your bed frame, mattress, box spring, headboard, and baseboards. Reapply every few days until you’ve won the war.
If bed bugs have already invaded, it’s time to call in the special forces. Tea tree oil contains terpinen-4-ol, a compound toxic only to bed bugs that kills them on contact. Add 20-30 drops of tea tree oil to a spray bottle and aim the sprayer directly on any visible bugs.
The oil will dehydrate their exoskeletons, leaving them dead within minutes. You can also put a few drops of tea tree oil on cotton balls and place them in areas where you see the tiny invaders crawling around.
A Essential OIl Recipe Spray
A potent essential oil recipe is made up of the following:
- 10 drops tea tree oil
- 10 drops eucalyptus oil
- 5 drops lavender oil
- 5 drops peppermint oil
- 1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol
- 1 cup water
As mentioned, spray this solution in areas where you see bed bugs, especially around and inside of cracks and crevices if they haven’t yet been sealed. The blend of fragrances and alcohol will quickly dispatch the pests. Reapply, as needed, until you’ve eliminated the infestation.
Using essential oils is a natural and non-toxic way to send bed bugs packing for good.
Preventing Bed Bugs Without Harmful Chemicals: More Tips and Tricks
Before you get rid of the bugs, you need to go on a bed bug hunt.
- Pull your bed away from the wall and inspect every nook and cranny.
- Look for the bugs themselves, as well as their telltale signs like blood spots, eggshells, and poop. The poop of the bugs appears as tiny rust-colored or black clustered spots on your bed clothes. They’re about the size of a dot from a marking pen
- Vacuum everything thoroughly since bed bugs can hitchhike on dust and debris.
- Besides bed bug interceptors, you might also try using double-sided tape or masking tape or adding diatomaceous earth (DE) inside the interceptor cups. DE represents the fossilized remains of diatoms, which are microscopic aquatic organisms. The DE damages the bed bug’s cuticle with the sharp particles of the organisms cutting up the bug’s organs.
Wash everything
Toss all linens, clothes, towels, and any washable items in the hottest water possible and dry on high heat for at least 30 minutes. The extreme heat will kill any bugs or eggs that have hitched a ride in the interim. Just like CPR, you have to stay committed to what you’re doing.
Seal up any cracks or crevices in walls, cabinets, baseboards, and floors. Use caulk or masking tape. Don’t give the bugs any chance to gain entry. Repair or remove peeling wallpaper where bed bugs like to hide.
Conclusion
No more creepy crawly bedfellows, no more red welts and scratch marks – just sweet, uninterrupted slumber. Once you’ve successfully “debugged” your sleeping quarters using the above methods, you’ll rest much easier for a long, long time.
Reclaim your right to snooze without the fear of infestation. Some all-natural solutions are at your fingertips. Heat things up in your bedroom – give those bed bugs a permanent send-off and get a well-deserved rest.
Author: Donna Ryan
Author Bio: Donna Ryan is a published writer who regularly writes about home improvement, home decorating, landscaping, and gardening. You can reach her at donnar668@gmail.com with any questions about home improvement, gardening, or writing content for your blog or company.
