Do It Yourself: How to Kill Bedbugs

Finding bedbugs in your home can cause understandable feelings of disgust and embarrassment, but understanding these pests and how to kill them, can help restore your sanity. Even the cleanest and most hygienic person can unknowingly transport bedbugs. Facilities where bed occupants change frequently, such as hotels, hostels or shelters, are like mass transportation centers for bedbugs. They can survive up to six months without any food, allowing them to hide contently in your curtains, mattresses, wall crevices and furniture cushions. Given the tenacious nature of bedbugs, you should use thorough elimination methods to rid your home of these pests.

Things You'll Need

• Garbage bag
• Vacuum
• Washing machine
• Drying machine

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Instructions

• 1

  Vacuum your house and remove the clutter. Clutter provides hiding spots for bedbugs, so discard those old boxes and piles of magazine. Vacuum every possible floor, furniture and mattress surface using the necessary attachments to really get into any cracks in the floor boards, base-boards and carpeting. Promptly bag and dispose of vacuum contents.

• 2

  Wash and dry every cloth item possible using the hottest setting on your washing machine. This includes not only your sheets, bed skirts and clothing, but also your curtains, slip covers and stuffed animals. Kill any bedbugs, eggs and larvae by washing your laundry in water of temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit and finishing with 30 minutes of high heat in the dryer.

• 3

  Place any heat-tolerant toys or personal items in a plastic bag. Leave the bag in the car for 48 hours during the summer with the windows shut. Only put a few items in each bag to maximize the heat exposure. Sufficient heat exposure will kill the bedbugs, their eggs and larvae. This is only an effective solution only if the temperature inside your car reaches at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

• 4

  Freeze the bedbugs, their larvae and eggs by leaving your furniture, mattresses and pillows outside in the winter for a week. Maximize the exposed surface area of your items by removing couch cushions, hanging pillows from clothes lines and resting mattresses at an angle against a tree. Freezing is only an effective option if the temperature stays consistently below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.