Natural Ways-How to Kill Bed Bugs
Are you awaking in the morning to find itchy red welts or a rash on your arms, face, legs – any exposed piece of flesh? Is it happening every morning? Then there is a good chance you have bed bugs. So, how do you kill bed bugs? Follow these 5 easy steps:
1. Be certain that you really do have an infestation of these little blood suckers. Your bites might be the work of some other beasties who come out at night like for instance bird mites.
To determine whether or not you have these bugs you will have to do some detective work. Strip back the bedding on your bed. If you have a bug infestation you will definitely find dark fecal marks, eggs (which look similar to a grain of rice), and possibly discard exoskeleton shells. You may even come across some live bugs. These signs are most often found in the folds and creases of the mattress, around buttons, handles and along the headboard. If you come across any of these clues, it’s time to take action and kill bed bugs.
2. You will have to clear and treat the whole room, not just the bed. The bugs will take up residence in any crack or crevice which is dark, so you will discover them in cracks or holes around floors and walls, in clocks, picture frames, smoke alarms, the folds of curtains and in furniture. So you see to successfully kill bed bugs you need to be both methodical and thorough.
Get rid of clutter. Anything you don’t need, items such as books, magazines and newspapers, bag it securely and bin it. All clothing and bedding should be taken from the room in sealed plastic bags and laundered at as high a temperature as possible, alternatively place garments in a tumble dryer on a high setting for approximately 10 minutes. For garments, curtains, carpets and soft furnishings which cannot be de-bugged in this way, it is best to use a steam cleaner to kill the bugs.
3. The next step to kill bed bugs is to use a vacuum cleaner. Vacuum the entire room including the bed, soft furnishings, furniture (remember to check drawers and closets.) Do this in a methodical manner and cover every inch of the room. Don’t forget to empty your vacuum cleaner immediately into a plastic bag, seal it tight and dispose of it!
4. In the same methodical way repeat step 3 using a steam cleaner. These little vampires cannot withstand heat, so steam is an extremely effective way to kill them. It kills them off at all stages of development, even the eggs which is something that not all bed bug sprays can achieve.
If you do have any cracks and crevices around floors and walls, now is a good time to have them repaired.
5. As a precautionary measure, use a spray to kill bugs which may have escaped the vacuum cleaner or steam cleaner. Some of these can be toxic so be careful what you purchase. Something like Bed Bug Patrol works well and is totally safe around kids and pets. Another option would be to use something like fossil shell dust which can penetrate the waxy skin of the bug thus dehydrating and killing it, or traps work well when attached to bed posts or furniture close to the bed. These work on the theory that bugs are attracted to the carbon dioxide we exhale so as they climb to reach their nightly meal they become stuck in the sticky trap.
If you have an infestation which is extremely bad and in more than one room to kill bed bugs in this way will take a lot of time and effort because bear in mind you may have to repeat the whole cycle more than once before you kill all the bugs. You could of course call in exterminators but this option may kill your bank balance as well as the bugs.
Kill Bed Bugs
The key to finding out how to kill bed bugs is finding out what they don’t like. To give you a few tips, this can include acids and different kinds of vegetables that can really turn them off. Adding these as some natural remedies will help you to get rid of them. However, if you want to find out how to really kill them, you’re going to have to use something that has a little more punch.
Using a spray is really the answer to kill bed bugs. Find some bed bug spray that works well and spray a few times per week for a month or so. The key here is to use a chemical that not only kills the bugs but also their eggs. Eggs can live for a long time after the parents have gone. Basically if you stopped spraying they can hatch and start an entire new colony on their own. To prevent this from happening you need to spray well after you haven’t seen any for a while. It will make sure that you have successfully defended your home from future attacks of bed bugs.
The easiest way is to contact a professional exterminator. Professional exterminators know the timing, where to spray, what attracts bed bugs, the best ways to prevent future infestations, and more information that is beneficial in dealing with these insects.
If you don’t want to hire an exterminator, then you can still easily kill bed bugs yourself. However, you have to be on the ball, and set up a few things to make it happen soon. A lot of things can be done to prevent them from entering. One thing that you should do is use a mattress cover, and you should wash all of your sheets in very hot water. This will make sure that there is no residue, eggs, or living bed bugs inside your sheets while you’re sleeping.
Killing bed bugs is all about preventing them in the first place. They find you by seeking out your carbon dioxide. You give off carbon dioxide each time you take a breath. They simply smell it, and find their way into your bedroom. They’ll come through window cracks, outlets, and even water pipes if they have to.
They each suck about 3 times their body weight in blood. So that means that if an infestation is present, you’re pretty much going to lose tons of blood. This is why killing bed bugs is so important. It can become a very serious health risk.
How to Control Bed Bugs
No other insect is more unwanted than the bed bug, so learning how to control bed bugs is necessary. Compared to the cockroach, they are not as gross and scary. As the problem becomes even more widespread, learning how to control bed bugs is becoming even more necessary as people are losing sleep over these nasty critters.
You see the small holes, cracks and crevices in your walls and floors, it’s the perfect place for a bed bug to thrive in. Dark and untidy corners of the house, is their favorite breeding place.
Blood is their food source for their survival. So you are not likely to see them as they prefer to come out at night and suck the blood of their victims who are unaware of it.
Fortunately for us, bed bugs do not carry any known disease even though their bite can get really itchy, especially to sensitive people, even posing some serious health problems for them.
First, not allowing the existence or occurrence and preventing bed bugs from coming into your home. Do you know how to avoid bed bugs so that your home does not get infected?
That leads us to the second way to control bed bugs and that starts with a clean environment. That is key in preventing bed bugs from thriving in your house. Preferably concentrating on the furniture, walls and floor and making them spotless.
Since the bed is the place where bed bugs thrive, keeping a good routine of changing the sheets regularly and checking for holes and tears, goes a long way in protecting the bed. If you find that bed bugs are already in your home, the simplest and best way to control them is by applying pesticides or insecticides to the infected areas.
If you choose to go this route, there is no shortage of pesticides made especially to control bed bugs that are available in the marketplace. Since these chemicals can surely kill insects like bed bugs, they can also pose health hazards, so when using harsh chemicals, you will want to read all labels and instructions before you use them.
Control Bed Bugs – Calling The Professionals
When you have an infestation, the best and probably the smartest thing for you to do is seek professional help from pest control experts.
As much as we would like to just spray and forget about it, this approach will not work. Thorough planning is what you will want to do before you even start doing something about it.
Most people hesitate to seek the advice of professionals because they do not understand that bed bugs are not as easy to get rid of as they think. Also, the remedies of these professionals may not be what most people want to hear. For example, you may have to prepare yourself to discard infected furniture and bedding. So before you call on the professionals, you may want to think about these issues beforehand.
The responsibilities of a home owner differ from someone renting an apartment. Your landlord or land lady is responsible for making all the necessary arrangements, so you will want to coordinate with them when calling pest control companies. Keeping their buildings safe and pest-free is mandatory from the standpoint of the State and Civil Laws.
When deciding to use the help of professionals to control bed bugs, you will want to notify your neighbors prior to doing so. This is because insecticides and pesticide chemicals could reach them while posing some serious health issues.
Not Easy to Control Bed Bugs
Don’t be surprised if the process to control bed bugs becomes tedious. Bed bugs are known to be very persistent, resilient and their systems are strong – a general characteristics of insects.
Set aside several hours if you seek professional help. In order for them to be thorough, they will have to inspect all the crevices, cracks or holes in order to locate bed bugs’ hiding places. The process also involves inspecting furniture and home accessories so as not to miss one bed bug.
Trying to save furniture or beds when trying to control bed bugs is not a smart move. These experts will tell you that the best thing for you to do is discard most of them if not all of them. Beds especially since they are made of foam with tiny holes on them, which is the preferred hiding place for bed bugs.
Caution is advised when discarding or disposing of beds or furniture. These pieces should never be given away because bed bugs are known to travel in them to their home. Resist the temptation of burning these items as well because they can pose environmental concerns. The next best thing is to properly dispose of them by encasing all bedding or bagging them in order to trap bed bugs inside.
Yes, controlling bed bugs is not something you want to take lightly. Whether or not you chose to seek the help of professionals or do it yourself, keep in mind the safety of your household members as well as your neighbors when you seek how to control bed bugs.
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