how to get rid of bed bugs, home remedies?

Answer 1

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh !
MOVE HOUSE!
Bed bugs are very difficult to eradicate once established
the only sure way to get rid of them is to seal and fumigate each room .
burn bedding and soft furnishings and carpets

It is not a CASE for" home" remedies ;

you need to get a professional fumigator in for this job.

good luck
>^,,^<

Answer 2

Sorry, forget home remedies, they just don't work. A few years ago I was in temporary accommodation with my daughter, who was then 4. We were plagued by these things and it was so stressful and utterly soul destroying. You'd wake up and see the litte (not so little)things running all over the beds, and the bites itch like mad and get infected really easily, we were covered in them and had them on our faces, it was disgusting. I called the Housing Association for advice and they said the only method that works is getting a professional pest controller to come out and spray the place. Which they did. Six times. They'd dissapear for a few weeks, then they would come back, the eggs would hatch or they would need to feed, but they always came back. The pest control guy said the adults could feed once and not need to feed for a whole year! Each time they used a stronger and stronger solution. Once sprayed, you can enter the room after half an hour, but must have duvets and pillows dry cleaned and wash all your bedding on the highest temperature you can.

They did eventually go, after those six visits, and admittedly I didn't have to pay for the pest control, which was great, as I had no money. I did try several recommended home remedy sprays bought from hardware stores, but none of them worked. I know it may seem expensive, but it will be worth it to have these horrible little biters gone for good.

In victorian times, slum-dwellers were often plagued by them, they had little sanitation and many people, often filthy people, sleeping in one bed, making the hot and humid conditions perfect. Believe it or not they don't live in sheets and mattresses as a rule, they prefer cracks in wood or walls, but they can lay their eggs in the sheets and mattresses. The victorians often used to put jars with oil or grease under the feet of the bed then grease the legs and sides of the beds so the bugs couldn't climb up, but I don't know how effective this was. If you have wooden floorboards or beds, they nest in between and in the cracks there, so make sure they are sprayed well.

I hope you get rid of them soon, they really are a horrible pest. God bless.

Answer 3

Be prepared for a lot of work. Rip up the carpet and replace it with hard floors. Throw away or burn all beds and all bedding including pillows if you can't fit it in a big pot and boil it. Boil everything you can for a minimum of 15 minutes to sterilize it all. Clean the bare room from top to bottom with a clorox and soap mixture. Throw away or burn curtains if they can't be boiled and replace with blinds. Throw away all toys - bugs can live in doll hair and get inside toys. Clean out the overhead light fixture if it has any open parts where bugs can get in. Clean on top of doors and molding in the room. Seal any crevices and cracks along moldings and edges of walls and windows with a good caulk. Before putting anything back in the room, monitor the room to be sure there are no more bugs or droppings. Bugs can move to other rooms through walls, so you'll probably need to clean the entire house this way. The house and all clothing must be kept clean at all times. Everyone should stand in the tub or shower before showering and use a dry bristle bath brush to brush their skin. A light touch will remove lots of dead skin. This is more effective than brushing when skin is wet. If this is done once or twice a week, you'll lessen the amount of dead skin in your bed. Everyone should wash their hair with a good tar type shampoo or shampoo that kills eggs. Bedding should be washed frequently in hot hot water. Boil as much of it as possible each time you do laundry to make sure all bugs and eggs are dead. Bed bugs and lice were more common years ago and people always had a large boiling pot on hand for big jobs. Diligent cleanliness can get rid of them and keep them away. Spraying with chemicals is not healthy for people, but might be a way to supplement your cleaning. Be sure to rinse any strong solutions off after wiping surfaces because they could be contact irritants for you and your children.

Answer 4

Lots of good and bad advice so far. You CAN definitely tackle the problem yourself - you have the advantage of being able to act every day if necessary - the professionals only come once in a while with a sledge hammer.

First you need to understand how bed bugs live and survive. The first link is extremely worthwhile reading, some people have touched on some points but the article is the best reference.

From personal experience of moving into a place that was infested, this is what I would recommend:

1) Find out where the bedbugs are hiding. There will usually be a large concentration somewhere, usually in a crevice (sometimes behind the wall-paper as Mike10613 suggested - sulfur dioxide method sounds really dangerous though...). Bed bugs are lazy - they prefer to be close to the meal and will only travel long distances (up to several metres) when their usual meal is no longer there.
They will tend to disperse when you start addressing the problem.

2) Use insecticide - it will save you a lot of effort. You need CYPERMETHRIN or DELTAMETHRIN-based products (see the links for consumer products). The application is very important - there's no need spraying it everywhere - it will make you cough and is not good for infants or nursing mothers.

3) Bed bugs must crawl to their destination (they cannot fly). Apply insecticide to the "access points" - the places the bed bugs must travel over to get to the meal. Pull your bed away from the wall. Remove anything from under the bed that the bed bugs can crawl over to get to you. You can use double-sided sellotape on the bed legs or apply vaseline, or you can put the legs in large plastic cups filled with a strong dessicant or insecticide. If you have a box-type bed, it might be worth removing the bottom cover so you can access the inside.

4) Turning your mattress over does tend to confuse the bed bugs. With some products it is not recommended to spray your mattress, but you can use a 1% tea-tree oil (in water) spray to deter them.

5) Vacuuming helps by disturbing the bed bugs' environment (if you vacuum properly - i.e. moving furniture). If you've ever tried to vacuum up a bed bug, you'll find it's not that easy, especially if it's crawling over carpet or textiles (e.g. clothing), but it helps you be systematic about identifying where they are hiding.

6) If you get bitten, act immediately to prevent further propagation. Go through your routine once a month so that you disrupt the life-cycle of the bed bugs (it's difficult to kill the eggs).

7) If you find a bed bug, squeeze it to see if there's any blood - this will tell you if they are feeding successfully.

8) Use a thermal / CO2 trap laced with insecticide. You can buy these or use a candle in a suitable metal box (but you have to be careful not to set your house on fire).

Changing your bed or mattress is NOT effective in itself - the bed bugs will simply colonise the new furniture.

There are lots of "scare facts" out there. While it is technically true that bed bugs can survive for months between feeds - they are typically in "suspended animation" most of this time if there is nothing to feed on - every time they make a trip they lose energy (i.e. there is a maximum number of trips they can make before they definitely need to feed again). They CAN travel several metres, but they WON'T if there's a good meal within one metre.

Answer 5

I think they had a problem with that in New York. One guy got rid of everything in his house. Even his clothes and tv's and everything. But when he got new stuff, they just came back. They were saying that perhaps everywhere was infected. You know like homewares departments and so on. I'd suggest throwing everything out, and then getting new stuff that you know that you can check or clean straight away when u buy it. Into the washing machine. Another way maybe could be to find another bug who would prey on the bed bugs. But hey I am no expert.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

i now for a fact that if you wont to get rid of bed bugs for one hour go buy a Kirbee Hoover there is no remedy for bed bugs that's what we are one big bug

Answer 8

This is difficult. they aren't just in the bed - they get everywhere! So you have to kill them and hoover them up. if you have wallpaper - strip it - they appear to like to hide behind wall paper. if the bed has a tubular frame - they will be inside the tubes if they can get in. You should obviously crush and you see, hoover them, and anything else you can think off. But getting a sulphur candle and burning in the room will kill them dead - but be careful - toxic fumes will fill the room. you can buy sodium metabisulphite from a winemaking shop. Mixed with hot water this will produce sulphur dioxide. I did it once - I nearly passed out breathing it in! So, put it in a bucket (couple of tea spoons) and pour on the hot water - hold your breath and run like hell - closing the door behind you. Do this early morning. Late afternoon - go in hold your breath - open windows and let the poison gas out. This is risky. Get a pest control expert if at all unsure you can't do this safely.

Answer 9

you cant bed bugs are already present in even brand new mattresses in fact after a 5 year period pillows and mattresses contain almost an 80% content of matter that wasn't there when new including bed bugs , dead skin , hair , dust mites , dust etc although cleaning wiht a steam cleaner can help

Answer 10

Clear the house!! Beds are of course the main problem so re-new all mattresses, if possible change the carpet to wooden floorboards and wash everything.

I have been there and done it and you will always call in the council - the little buggers just keep on coming back.