Natural Ways to Rid Your Home of Bedbugs

Targeted Housecleaning

• Regular housecleaning will not root out bedbugs from their hiding places. Bedbugs hide in baseboards, seams in sofas and mattresses, carpeting, cracks and crevices in walls and floors. Vacuum these areas. Repair and fill in any cracks in the floors or walls where bedbugs may hide. Immediately place contents of the vacuum bag in a sealed outside trash can. Check picture frames, mirrors and furniture for any grooves where bedbugs can hide. Using a stiff bristle brush should remove them from their hiding places. Discard infested items that cannot be cleaned, such as an old, ripped-up mattress.

Steam

• Temperatures of over 120 degrees Fahrenheit kill bedbugs, notes University of Kentucky entomologist Michael F. Potter. Steam cleaning can kill bedbug eggs. Professional exterminators may offer steam cleaning instead of pesticide use, notes “Bed Bugs – And All You Need to Know About Them.” Steam cleaning machines can be rented. Your home needs to be prepared with targeted housecleaning before the steam cleaner is brought in. Ensure steamed items, like soft furniture, are dry before using them again.

Freezing

• Bedbug nymphs and adults die when temperatures drop below 32 degrees F. However, it takes about 14 days of these temperatures in order to kill the insects. Placing bedbug-infested items outside on a winter’s night will not kill them. Freezing temperatures also kill bedbug eggs, but only if the eggs are constantly exposed to these temperatures for 30 days, according to Cornell University New York State Integrated Pest Control Program. Some professional exterminators use Cryonite, or carbon dioxide snow, as a way to suddenly deep-freeze the bedbugs. A 2006 study performed by private company Insect Investigations, Ltd recommended using Cryonite in conjunction with diatomaceous earth. Cornell University notes that more research into extreme cold for bedbug control needs to be done.

Diatomaceous Earth

• Also known as DE, diatomaceous earth is dust made from the fossilized skeletons of diatoms. Diatoms are microscopic creatures. It kills bedbugs by dehydrating their bodies. Bedbugs must first come into contact with the dust. DE is especially good around areas such as a child’s room where someone living there may be especially sensitive to conventional pesticides. Food grade DE and insecticide DE both kill bedbugs, notes Virginia Tech University entomologist Dini M. Miller, Ph.D.