Bedbugs can be unsightly and are a constant assault on your sense of smell. They can cause minor damage to your garden, but become an even greater nuisance if they enter your home. Chemical insecticides can have many unpleasant consequences, but fortunately, they can also be eliminated using natural methods. Here are some tips on how to get rid of bed bugs naturally.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Natural Pesticides
Step 1. Sprinkle some diatomaceous earth
Sprinkle this white powder inside and out, focusing on access areas like doors and windows, as well as areas where bedbugs seem to collect.
- Diatomaceous earth is a natural sedimentary rock. Contains silicon, alumina and iron oxide.
- The powder is used as a pesticide against a wide range of insects, including bedbugs. It works by destroying the protective waxy layer of an insect's exoskeleton, essentially causing it to dehydrate.
- Look for diatomaceous earth that has not been heat treated, as it tends to lose its effectiveness as a pesticide.
- You can put it directly on the bedbugs you see, as well as distribute the dust in the areas where they collect.
Step 2. Make a garlic spray
Mix 1/2 liter of water with 20ml of garlic powder in a spray bottle. Spray this solution on plant leaves, windowsills, and other areas where bedbugs pass.
- Bedbugs do not like the strong smell of garlic and generally stay away from it. It will only act as a repellent and will not kill insects.
- You can also cut several cloves of garlic and distribute them near the bedbug hiding places.
Step 3. Keep bedbugs away with mint
Mix 500ml of water with 10 drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle. Spray the solution in all possible access points and hiding places.
- Like garlic, mint will act as a repellent rather than a poison. The strong smell will often be enough to keep them away.
- Instead of peppermint oil, you can use two tablespoons of chopped mint leaves (0ml).
Step 4. Use catnip
Sprinkle some catnip dust in your yard and home, focusing on the areas where bedbugs tend to collect.
- Catnip is another repellent that will keep bed bugs away.
- Catnip is a plant that you can grow in your garden instead of buying it if you have the time and want to have a long-term method of fighting bed bugs at your disposal.
Step 5. Spray the bedbugs with soap and water
Mix one liter of warm water with 180ml of mild dish soap. Spray this solution directly on bedbugs or in areas where you notice their presence.
- Soap kills bedbugs by destroying their external protection and dehydrating them.
- You can use antibacterial soap, but it contains more chemicals than regular soap. A mild dish soap is generally considered the safest and most natural option.
Step 6. Use neem oil
Mix a liter of warm water with 5-10 ml of neem oil in a spray bottle. Spray the solution on leaves, window sills, and other potential access points and hiding places.
You may need to apply neem oil for a week before seeing results. The action of the oil disturbs the food and reproductive instincts of insects. As a result, adult bedbugs that come into contact with it will gradually starve and lay no eggs
Method 2 of 3: Physical Removal
Step 1. Vacuum the bedbugs using an industrial vacuum cleaner or one with a bag
Remove and discard the bag immediately.
- After vacuuming them, it is very likely that your vacuum cleaner will stink for weeks or months. For this reason, you shouldn't use one at home without a bag.
- Empty the contents of the bag into a large garbage bag and seal it tightly.
- Alternatively, you can wrap a sock around the vacuum cleaner. Secure the sock with a rubber band and push it into the tube. As long as the sock remains stable, you should be able to "stop" the insects before they are sucked into the vacuum cleaner filter. At that point you can remove the sock by keeping the end closed and get rid of the insects.
Step 2. Drop the bed bugs into a container with soap and water
Pour a liter of water into a four-liter bucket. Add 5ml of dish soap or liquid soap. Place the bucket under the bedbugs that are climbing and drop them into the solution using a glove.
- The soap will make it difficult for the insects to move, which will eventually drown in the water.
- This is one of the systems that will allow you to kill insects almost without having the problem of bad smell.
Step 3. Use an electrical appliance that attracts and kills insects
Place it in the attic or other dark area following the manufacturer's instructions. Turn it on at night and the next morning wipe out or vacuum up dead insects.
These types of devices, also known as "bug zappers", attract insects with bright light. When the insect approaches, it is hit by an electrical discharge strong enough to kill it instantly
Step 4. Spread some fly paper in the entrances
Place it on windowsills, doors, cracks, ducts, and other obvious access points to your home. Check the trap every day, throwing it when full and replacing it if necessary.
- It won't be a quick death, so trapped bedbugs may spread their distinctive foul odor once caught.
- If you don't have fly paper, you can also use double-sided tape.
Step 5. Drop them into an empty bottle
Take an empty water bottle and place it, open, next to the insect.
- Use it to collect bedbugs.
- Close it tightly.
- Freeze the bottle along with the trapped insects (preferably, not in a freezer where you put your food). One night should be enough to be effective.
- Empty the contents of the bottle in the trash and then reuse it if necessary.
Method 3 of 3: Keep Bedbugs Away
Step 1. Seal doors and windows
Seal any cracks or openings in doors and windows with putty.
The most common entry points for bedbugs include windows, doors, baseboards, and attics. Filling openings or re-applying sealant should significantly reduce the number of bedbugs entering your home
Step 2. Put mosquito nets or protective screens on the ventilation ducts
Use tightly woven grates to cover the ducts, chimneys, and other open areas that connect the outside of the house to the inside.
Step 3. Patch all the holes
Holes larger than 2.5cm in diameter should be patched.
You can use instant adhesive and epoxy to patch up the small holes in the grates. The specific kits to plug the holes contain the necessary tools together with instructions for how to proceed
Step 4. Rub some fabric softener on your mosquito nets
Take some regular fabric softener and rub it against the mosquito nets on doors and windows every day until you have solved the bed bug problem.
- Softeners with a very strong odor will work better than those without perfume or with a mild aroma. The aim is to keep bedbugs away thanks to the powerful smell of the fabric softener.
- This remedy should reduce the bed bug population by 80% within a week or two.
Step 5. Collect bedbugs on a damp towel outdoors
Hang a damp towel on a chair outside at sunset. By the next morning, a good number of bedbugs should have landed on the towel.
- You can arrange the towel anywhere in your yard. It is better to hang it vertically rather than placing it horizontally.
- Quickly exterminate bedbugs by throwing the towel and its contents into a large bucket with soapy water.
Step 6. Kill some of them outside
Crush them with an old pair of shoes or a stone.
- Be prepared for the bad smell. When you squeeze them, the bedbugs emit a bad, distinctive odor.
- The smell emanating at the moment of death sends a warning to all other bedbugs in the area, which will move away.
- You should only kill bedbugs outdoors, where you can get rid of the smell more easily.
Step 7. Check your garden plants
Remove or mow areas with a lot of grass.
Bedbugs tend to be attracted to grass. Reducing the amount will make your garden less attractive to the insect, so fewer will come. Fewer bugs in the garden… fewer bugs in the house
Step 8. Attract bed bug predators
Natural predators include flies, wasps, birds, frogs, spiders, and praying mantises.
- Grow wild flowers and herbs. These will attract flies and wasps.
- Attract birds, frogs, spiders and praying mantises with perennial herbs and flowers.
- You can also buy praying mantises from a garden supply catalog.
