1. Bed Bugs Hate Peppermint
The first method to try for solving a bedbug problem naturally is to use peppermint oil, which is a substance extracted from the flowers and leaves of the peppermint plant. As an insect sensitive to smells, bed bugs hate the strong odours of peppermint oil, and any hint of it will send them running. This minty essential oil is easily found online to buy and is very affordable in bottle form.
To ensure that the peppermint oil is applied efficiently, mix an amount of the oil with water and use a bottle to spray your bed all over. If necessary, repeat this process a number of times until these critters get the message.
While peppermint oil is extremely useful, some care must be taken when deciding to use this method. In particular, make sure that yourself or anyone else in your household are not allergic to peppermint oil, as it may cause irritation and other undesirable reactions.
2. Diatomaceous Earth: The Bane of all Insects
Natural pesticides offer another effective alternative to the commercial solutions. A popular choice in this category is diatomaceous earth, a powdery substance that is made from naturally occurring sedimentary rock. This type of pesticide is essentially a rough abrasive for bed bugs and will kill them by either drying them out of cutting them up. Simply put some if this substance on any affected surface and leave it for at least a day. The bed bugs will walk over this stuff and die along with their eggs, which is why this is a particularly effective method.
You can purchase diatomaceous earth online in bulk quantities at affordable rates. As a non-toxic powder, this is ideal for those that want to avoid the more extreme solutions, but take care when sprinkling this substance; when breathed in, diatomaceous earth can harm the lungs, and so should be vacuumed up immediately after it has had the desired effect.3. Killing Bugs and Eggs with Steam
A popular method for killing bedbugs and their eggs is steam penetration, a simple remedy many homeowners rely on every year. Due to the intense temperatures that are reached with this method, the bedbugs can't handle the heat and die. Pest controllers commonly use this method, so it's clearly an effective way to go about killing bedbugs. To complete this method yourself at home, you'll need a dry vapour steam cleaner, which is what is required to penetrate into the fibres of the mattress.
As the temperatures reached with this method are dangerously high, it's important to be careful when steaming a bed and to avoid skin contact with a freshly steamed surface. A respirator mask is also recommended to prevent breathing in of the steam that often escapes from the machine and treated surfaces. For well-established bedbug problems, other methods should be used together with this one.4. Baking Bedbugs in the Sun
After steaming a bed, a simple way to prolong the effectiveness of this method is to place a mattress out in the sun for a day. Not only are you exposing any remaining bugs to the sun, but also leaving them with nowhere to escape. A temperature over 90 degrees is enough to kill bedbugs, so this method is of course best in the summer months. Even without a prior steaming, placing a mattress in the sun will kill a significant proportion of the bedbugs. This is the simplest remedy for a bedbug problem, requiring no special sprays or solutions to mix together.
However, if you're bed bug problem extends beyond the mattress and to other other areas such as the floor or other furniture, one of the other methods listed here will help. For smaller infested items such as pillows, putting them in bin bags and placing them out in the sun will increase the temperature exposures.5. Bugs Hate the Clove Smell
A spice that is common for warding off and killing bugs is the clove, an aromatic spice native to Indonesia. Luckily, they are readily available in large quantities over the internet and can solve a bedbug problem easily or even prevent one happening in the first place. The spice works by giving off a pungent smell that is acidic to bedbugs, owing to the chemical compound known as eugenol that is found in the spice.
Those with a bed bug problem can either use the oil extracted from the spice to create an effective spray for bed surfaces, or place the physical buds in a sachet and hang them in strategic positions. While cloves are incredibly useful for bug problems, they will most likely not kill the eggs bed bugs lay, so using cloves with any of the other methods is advisable.6. Utilising the Oil of Lemongrass
An especially natural way to eliminate bedbugs is with lemongrass, which is a citrus herb commonly found on tropical islands. The effect this herb's oil has on bedbugs is to increase the levels of acidity inside the bug to high levels, causing them to die. Their eggs also suffer the same fate, making this method particularly effective for killing off a bedbug problem for good. Like with a lot of natural spices or herbs, you can either use the extracted oil as a spray and apply it to many surfaces, or sprinkle the lemongrass powder on the mattress and bedding.
As well as killing the bedbugs, lemongrass acts as a repellent for preventing future infestations, as this insect will be in search of somewhere that has the ideal conditions for a continuous lifecyle. This includes the right acidic levels and smells.7. Rubbing Potent Turmeric on Surfaces
Rubbing turmeric, a type of powdered ginger, on mattresses, bedding and furniture is a powerful way to disrupt a favourable environment for bedbugs. Specifically, turmeric will cut off the oxygen supply to the inner reaches of a mattress, trapping and suffocating the bugs. The ingredient curcumin is the active agent in turmeric that bedbugs hate, acting as a microbial substance against all kinds of insects and bacteria. Turmeric is also great for curing bedbug bites.
A mix of turmeric and water creates a tick paste which can be applied to areas where you have been bitten, and within hours your bites will have reduced in redness and soreness, and the urge to itch will also have diminished. Be careful not to breathe in the turmeric when either creating the paste of sprinkling it over a bed.8. The Unpleasant Smell of Alcohol for Bedbugs
Alcohol is another useful remedy to try when dealing with a persistent bedbug problem. The best way to approach the issue using alcohol is to soak your mattress and bedding in alcoholic, which you would then leave out in the sun to dry. Doing so creates an unpleasant smell for the bugs and eventually kills them due to a lack of oxygen.
This process needs to be repeated over the course of a week to eliminate all the bugs. With the smell of alcohol in the mattress and bedding, the breeding environment for the bed bugs is ruined, thus braking the cycle of reproduction and warding off any further intruders. Whilst carrying out this method, make sure to avoid open flames as alcohol is flammable. Also, this method requires persistence and patience for it to work effectively.
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