Home Methods to Kill Bed Bugs

Even the cleanest home can get infested with bedbugs, which can spread into every crevice if not exterminated quickly. It only takes a single bedbug to start an infestation. It's easy for them to enter your house; any unsuspecting person can pick one up on the bus, at a hotel or a hospital. They can be found almost anyplace where there are people, their main food supply.

Store-Bought Chemicals

• Finding chemicals that say they target bedbugs isn't hard, as lots of stores carry them. Unfortunately, few of them work well, and even if they do they may stain clothes, bedding or baseboards. Some store-bought chemicals also give off an odor that can take days or weeks to dissipate completely.

Diatomaceous Earth

• Non-toxic and pet friendly, diatomaceous earth is an environmentally friendly way to exterminate all kinds of bugs, including bedbugs. It is a powder that can be spread anywhere the bugs might be found, in this case on mattresses, around baseboards and plugs. Bugs that walk through the powder are cut open and eventually die. Diatomaceous earth is messy to use indoors and should be cleaned up within a few day with a vacuum.

Steam

• One of the most effective ways to kill bedbugs without calling an exterminator is with steam. Spraying mattresses and underneath baseboards with a hand-held steam cleaner is an effective way to kill bedbugs as they do not deal well with extreme heat. Bedding, clothes and curtains should go into a washer on a steam setting for 20 minutes. If a washer with a steam setting is not available, put bedding in the dryer for 45 minutes.

Teatree and Neem Oil

• Some oils, like teatree and neem oil, may not kill bedbugs but they work well to repel them. Teatree oil is an extract from the melaleuca alternifolia plant which can cause different health issues with pet birds, cats and small dogs. If there are pets in the home, neem oil may be the safer choice. To use the oil as a repellent small amounts simply need to be applied to the skin. Since bedbugs are more active at night, applying it before going to sleep can be very effective.