Kill Bed Bugs

Launder infested garments and bedding on high heat. Wrap furniture in plastic and place it in front of direct sunlight or, if during the winter, in a shaded area on a cold day. Vacuum up visible pests or apply the appropriate pesticide inside your home. Call a pest management professional to treat the affected rooms.

Steps

Using Heat

  1. Place infested garments and bedding in the dryer. Infested fabrics that are able to be laundered should be placed in a clothes dryer set to high heat for 10 to 20 minutes.[1]
    • "Dry-clean only" garments can usually go through a dryer cycle safely as long as they are completely dry at the start and the dryer is only set to medium heat, which is less than 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
    • Heat is an effective way to kill bed bugs, but garments must be laundered at temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) in order for the heat treatment to be effective.
    • Avoid taking your garments to a dry-cleaner. Dry-cleaning your garments will usually kill the bugs, but your infested garments may cause a bed bug outbreak at the dry-cleaners.
  2. Allow furniture to sit out in direct sunlight. Upholstered furniture, rugs, and other fabrics that cannot by washed or dried can be placed outdoors on a hot, sunny day.
    • Loosely wrap the item in plastic bag material. Any plastic will work, but dark colors absorb more heat, so a black plastic bag is ideal.
    • Place the wrapped item in direct sunlight. Choose the sunniest, hottest day possible.
    • Let the wrapped item sit in that position for at least 24 hours, if not longer.
    • The internal temperature of the bagged item needs to reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) or higher.
  3. Freeze furniture, instead. If your bed bug problem occurs in the middle of winter, you can use freezing temperatures to kill bed bugs, as well.
    • Wrap each infested item in plastic bag material. Sit it in a shaded area on the coldest winter day possible.
    • Note that this method will take longer than sitting your furnishing out in the sun. If the temperature is consistently at 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 degrees Celsius), you will need to wait two to four days. If temperatures reach up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 degrees Celsius), you will need to wait for about a week.[2]
  4. Use a portable heating device. A portable heating device designed to kill bed bugs can be difficult to find and may cost you $300 or more.[3]
    • A portable bed bug heater is large enough to treat items like suitcases, backpacks, clothing, sleeping bags, purses, pillows, and shoes.
    • Place your items on the support rack inside the device and follow the instructions to heat the interior.
    • The heat will automatically turn off when the cycle is complete.
    • Note that a portable heating device is ineffective at treating an entire room or large space.
  5. Call the professionals. If you need to treat an entire room, hire a pest management professional to treat the room with steam or specialized heaters.
    • A professional steamer session can range in price from $300 to $1200. Steaming takes a long time to complete, and the temperature of the steam must reach 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (71 to 82 degrees Celsius).
    • One of the most effective treatments is the use of a whole room heating system. Industrial heaters heat the air inside an entire space to a temperature between 120 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit (49 and 57 degrees Celsius).
    • Ask your pest management professional if your beds and furniture must be stripped or moved before the company's arrival. Some companies will ask you to do so, while others like to inspect the items first.[4]
    • Note that turning up the heat in your home will not accomplish the same results as a professional heating session.

Using Insecticides

  1. Find the right pesticide. Many commercial pesticides can be used against bed bugs, but you must make sure that the pesticide you choose is specifically labeled for bed bug use. Many general pesticides or those used for other insects, like ants or wasps, are not effective against bed bugs.
    • Choose a pesticide geared toward use in a specific location for the strongest results. In general, there are pesticides used to treat the outdoors, mattresses, the whole home, a whole room, and cracks or surfaces.
    • There are also certain active ingredients that are commonly found in pesticides used against bed bugs. These include bifenthrin, boric acid, cold pressed neem oil, deltamethrin, tetramethrin, and propoxur, among others.
    • When possible, purchase a product that has been registered with the EPA. These products have been officially tested for effectiveness.[5]
  2. Follow the instructions carefully. There are not general instructions that apply to all pesticides; you must follow the instructions provided on the label of the specific pesticide you choose.
    • Never use an outdoor pesticide indoors.
    • Using a pesticide incorrectly could be dangerous for your health. It may also prove ineffective against the bed bugs.
    • Only throw the instructions away once the pesticide has been completely used up. Save the instructions as long as some of the chemical remains inside the container.
  3. Call an exterminator. If commercial, home-use pesticides fail, call a professional. The chemicals used by professional exterminators are often more powerful, and the techniques used to apply those chemicals are also more thorough and expertly performed.
    • Find out from the exterminator if he or she wants you to prepare your home in any particular way before fumigation occurs. The exterminator may have you discard bedding or fabrics that are damaged beyond repair or remove anything that can be harmed by the chemicals being used.

Unconventional Treatments

  1. Vacuum away the bed bugs. Use your vacuum cleaner to remove and visible bed bugs. During an infestation, you should also regularly vacuum all carpets, rugs, beds, and other upholstered furnishings.
    • While vacuuming may seem like an obvious remedy, it is fairly unconventional in the sense that it does not usually prove effective against the majority of the bed bugs in a contained area. Due to its low level of effectiveness, it is generally not recommended as a sole treatment. Vacuuming can, however, increase the effectiveness of other treatments.
    • The reason that this treatment does not kill all bed bugs is simply that a vacuum cleaner is unable to reach all the places that bed bugs might hide out in.
    • To improve your success rate, make sure to get in all cracks and crevices, and scrape the vacuum against all fabric surfaces to yank any eggs or stubborn adult bugs up.
    • Place the contents of the vacuum inside a sealed plastic bag when done. Placing the bag in direct sunlight for several hours to days may help kill any of the bugs that managed to survive the vacuuming.
  2. Spread Diatomaceous Earth. Apply a thin layer of this powder around problem areas, including both known and suspected hiding places. Gently rub the powder into carpeted areas so that it gets deeper into the carpet.[6]
    • This product is made from ground, fossilized shells. In fact, it is sometimes labeled as "fossil shell flour" or "bed bug dust."
    • Once a bed bug crawls through the dust, it immediately becomes dehydrated. Infected bugs should die within a few hours.
    • Use food-grade Diatomaceous Earth. There are some DE products marketed for use in swimming pools, and this can prove dangerous to humans. Food-grade DE should be perfectly safe, though.
  3. Create a barrier of kidney bean leaves. If the problem is still fairly minor, you could try killing off a small population of bed bugs by scattering the leaves of the kidney bean plant around your bed, couch, or other problem locations.[7]
    • This is an old folklore remedy that hails from eastern Europe.
    • Kidney bean leaves have microscopic hairs that hook the bed bugs' legs at their weakest points. Bed bugs that try to escape will be killed when their trapped leg is ripped off. Most bed bugs, however, will remain trapped. From there the leaves and the bugs can be burned.
    • Some scientists are looking for a way to develop a synthetic material that will mimic the fine hairs of the kidney bean plant while simultaneously remaining comfortable enough for human use.
  4. Take a dewormer. Studies suggest that a minimal dose of a prescription deworming agent known as ivermectin is effective at killing roughly 60 percent of bed bugs within a contaminated area.[8]
    • Note that these studies only began in December 2012, and unless they are officially accepted within the scientific community, your doctor may not be willing to prescribe ivermectin for your bed bug problem.
    • Ivermectin is considered to be a safe drug, however, and is used in deworming medications for both humans and animals.
    • This remedy relies on a technique called "xenointoxication." If using this solution, you would take a dewormer before going to sleep. The bed bugs will bite you in the middle of the night, as usual, but will die within a few days since the dewormer will be transmitted to them through your blood.



Things You'll Need

  • Dryer
  • Plastic bag material
  • Portable bed bug heater
  • Commercial bed bug pesticides
  • Vacuum cleaner
  • Diatomaceous Earth
  • Kidney bean leaves
  • Deworming pill

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/158065.php
  2. ↑ http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/factsheets/bed-bugs-faq-fs.html
  3. ↑ http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/pdffiles/bb-heat1.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp
  5. ↑ http://cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/bedbug/
  6. ↑ http://www.badbedbugs.com/how-to-kill-bed-bugs/
  7. ↑ http://news.discovery.com/earth/plants/how-to-kill-bed-bugs-without-sprays-130410.htm
  8. ↑ http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/pill-could-join-arsenal-against-bedbugs/

__SUMMARIZE__

You may like

Retrieved from "https://kipkis.com/index.php?title=Kill_Bed_Bugs&oldid=356993"