DO NOT move yourself or your furniture from room to room. Bed bugs will not go away if you sleep in another room. Instead, they will follow you and create new colonies wherever you move.
Younger bed bugs, or nymphs, may perish within several weeks without a blood meal, while adults can survive on average for up to 4.5 months. In ideal conditions with optimal temperature and humidity this time frame is extended dramatically to up to 400 days without feeding.
Bed bugs can go without feeding for 20 to 400 days, depending on temperature and humidity. Older stages of nymphs can survive longer without feeding than younger ones, and adults have survived without food for more than 400 days in the laboratory at low temperatures.
A bed bug infestation can become a full-blown population within months. They also pop up in places you do not want them to exist, such as on your bedding or bed itself. The bed bugs that cause this problem will not go away on their own unless there is no food supply.
When you discover bed bugs, throwing away your mattress or box spring will not solve the problem. The bed bugs are likely in other spots beside your bed, meaning the infestation can't be controlled by just tossing your bed.
It can be difficult to eliminate bed bugs, but it's not impossible. Don't throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing stuff out is expensive, may spread the bed bugs to other people's homes and could cause more stress.
Blood Orange Oil
This essential oil is proven to be one of the most effective solutions when bed bugs are the matter as it can kill the pest successfully.
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.
Generally, when the itchy bites stop and you don't see further signs of bed bugs, you can be comfortable that your treatments worked, but if you're still experiencing bites or seeing bed bugs, you're probably still battling an infestation.
Bed bugs have no preference when it comes to who they want to attach themselves to.
Key Takeaway: Baby powder may seem like a simple and inexpensive solution for bed bug infestations, but it unfortunately isn't very effective. In fact, there is no scientific evidence that suggests baby powder can be used to kill or even repel bed bugs from an area.
DO NOT move yourself or your furniture from room to room. Bed bugs will not go away if you sleep in another room. Instead, they will follow you and create new colonies wherever you move.
Bed bugs are like vampires, they feed on the blood of humans and other mammals like dogs, cats, rodents and etc. Since bed bugs can go a significant amount of time without eating it is strongly recommend that if you decide to vacate your home that you do so for an extended period of time.
Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins. Both compounds are lethal to bed bugs and can flush bed bugs out of their hiding places and kill them.
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.
"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."
Bed bugs do not like to climb or stay on smooth plastic materials. Placing small items in plastic containers or in sealed heavy-duty plastic bags will prevent bed bugs from infesting the items. In an infested home, placing clutter in plastic containers will make bed bug elimination efforts easier.
Tea tree oil, renowned for its antibacterial properties, is like a natural bug repellent that bed bugs can't stand. Peppermint oil, with its invigorating minty freshness, overwhelms their acute senses. And eucalyptus oil, known for its refreshing aroma, is a formidable deterrent against these tiny intruders.
While some people believe that the strong smell of VapoRub might repel bed bugs, there is no reliable data to support this claim.
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.
Bed bugs can live for up to a year without a blood meal, so they could potentially stay alive in an empty house for quite some time. However, there are some factors that will determine how long they last.
Other studies have shown that peak season for bed bugs runs from June through October. Bed bugs appear more prevalent in warmer months likely due to an increase in travel and hotel visits during spring break and summer vacation, as well as college students moving into dorms at the beginning of the school year.