Essential oils like lavender, tea tree and peppermint are popular choices. These oils not only smell good but also act as natural repellents. To get rid of bed bugs, mix a few drops of these oils with water and spray it on your mattress, bedding and around your room.
Peppermint
One of the most researched solutions for keeping bed bugs away is peppermint. This plant can provide a smell which bed bugs and other pests hate. The scent will drive any pest which will keep your home pest-free and fresh at the same time.
If bed bugs have one weakness, it's that they're intolerant of extremely high or low temperatures. Washing clothes and bedding at the highest possible setting followed by drying for at least 30 minutes at high heat should do the trick. You can also freeze clothing or other objects you suspect of being infested.
Regularly wash and heat-dry your bed sheets, blankets, bedspreads and any clothing that touches the floor. This reduces the number of bed bugs. Bed bugs and their eggs can hide in laundry containers/hampers Remember to clean them when you do the laundry.
The limits of natural predators
Good to know: there are other potential natural predators of bed bugs. These include spiders, cockroaches, myths and pharaoh ants.
Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are the most common compounds used to control bed bugs and other indoor pests. Pyrethrins are botanical insecticides derived from chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins.
If you have to go into a home with a known bedbug infestation, applying a commercial repellent containing DEET to your clothes and shoes can be effective. But be careful, DEET sprays shouldn't be applied to furniture and certain fabrics because it could be damaging.
Encase mattresses and box springs in protective plastic covers. Vacuum frequently, especially in areas near where you sleep. Cut down on clutter in your home, which will eliminate some hiding places for bed bugs. If you live in an apartment or other shared housing, try to close off your unit.
While some people believe that the strong smell of VapoRub might repel bed bugs, there is no reliable data to support this claim.
Bed bugs are not known to spread pathogens through their bites. Bed bug bites can be itchy and stressful. Do not squish a bed bug as it will release the blood and any pathogens it may be carrying.
"If you think you're ever going to get rid of them the answer is no," says Booth. "Unfortunately, bed bugs are with us until we disappear from this planet."
The strong smell of peppermint is a powerful deterrent for bugs like bed bugs. Create a peppermint spray mixing a few drops of this oil with water and use it in areas prone to bed bug infestations to keep them away.
Courtesy of its insecticidal properties, tea tree oil is an effective natural remedy to kill bed bugs instantly. You can spray the tea tree oil on furniture joints, headboards, cracks, and corners.
You can eliminate bed bugs with vinegar by spraying the pests directly. However, you'll have to find the location of your bed bug infestation and thoroughly saturate the area to stop them completely. However, before you try this DIY trick, you should consider the limitations of the product.
Currently there are no insect repellents registered for use against bed bugs that can be applied to human skin. The Pesticide Specialist also explained that using outdoor products indoors is not only against the law, it may cause the bed bugs to spread out from one or two hiding places to several.
Using Vaseline For Bed Bugs
While this could stop the bed bugs from traveling up the bed, it won't kill them. Bed bugs will find another way to a food source. They have been known to climb up walls and drop from the ceiling, and they can also jump, so they can probably jump right past the vaseline.
Essential oils. While essential oils like tea tree, lavender, and peppermint are popularly recommended for DIY bed bug treatments due to their strong scents and supposed insect-repellent properties, there is not much scientific evidence to support their effectiveness in eradicating bed bug infestations.
Answer: “Hitchhiking” from an infested location or item to a previously non-infested location or item are the main causes of bed bugs.
Although it sounds like a grim choice, it is best to continue sleeping in the infested area using the population reduction methods described above, until the bed bugs are eliminated.
Wiping down furniture and other infested items with dryer sheets will not eliminate or repel bed bugs. Sure, you can buy ultrasonic bed bug repellers on Amazon and in brick-and-mortar stores but that doesn't mean you should. In fact, don't. There is zero evidence to suggest these devices will eliminate bed bugs.
Washing bed linen and other bedding such as pillowcases, rolls, and blankets with hot water is the easiest way to avoid bed bug bites while sleeping at night.
Heat is non-toxic, and can kill all bed bug life stages including bed bug eggs.