Steam – Bed bugs and their eggs die at 122°F (50°C). The high temperature of steam 212°F (100°C) immediately kills bed bugs. Apply steam slowly to the folds and tufts of mattresses, along with sofa seams, bed frames, and corners or edges where bed bugs may be hiding.
Lemongrass is an effective home remedy used for keeping bed bugs at bay. The compounds in lemongrass will not only repel bed bugs, but also kills them off by increasing the acidic condition inside the insects. Spray lemongrass in affected areas until your bed bug problem is no more.
Bed bugs are easy to kill using heat. Their thermal death point is reported to be 114-115° F. Putting infested clothing in a hot dryer is an excellent way of killing bed bugs and their eggs. Heat can also be used to kill bed bugs and their eggs in furniture and carpeting.
Vacuum your mattress and floors often.
Wash all sheets, clothing, and textiles at least once a week in hot water. Use caulk to seal cracks around baseboards, electrical outlets, light sockets, and furniture, so bed bugs can't hide in them. Check for bed bugs in hotels, hostels, and guest rooms you sleep in.
Steam Clean Often
Steamers are a great tool for maintaining a bed bug-free home. The heat of the steam can kill bed bugs and their eggs. Take your steamer and slowly spray each room with it. Pay extra attention to the baseboards, closet shelves, window trim, and even the carpet.
Travel – Bedbugs may find their way onto luggage in hotels and motels with a high number of occupants. If you have stayed at a hotel or other home recently, leave bags and clothes in the garage or somewhere far from upholstered surfaces, suggests Allan Bossel, to avoid unintentionally transporting them to your home.
Lemon (Or Any Citrus)
Like many other animals, bed bugs hate the smell of citrus plants. Citrus, particularly oranges and lemons, will smell gross to them. As a result, most bed bugs will not want to stick around this aroma for too long. There are several ways to make this work for you if you want to repel insects.
Heat is non-toxic, and can kill all bed bug life stages including bed bug eggs. However, heat treatment of any kind (except your home clothes dryer) is still relatively expensive and has no residual (long lasting) activity. The lack of residual activity means that bed bugs can re-infest again the day after treatment.
Among the popular and most effective DIY home treatments for bed bugs is rubbing alcohol. You can dilute it and place it a spray bottle and simply spray the infested areas. The alcohol will kill bed bugs almost immediately. It also evaporates quickly, leaves no traces or bad smells.
Bed bugs are generally considered to be nocturnal and prefer to forage for a host and take a blood meal during the night. They also will come out in the daytime or at night when lights are on, in order to take a blood meal, especially if there were no human hosts in the structure for a while and they are hungry.
Although vinegar can kill bed bugs upon contact, it is not advisable to be used as a single treatment for an entire infestation. You can kill bed bugs with it one at a time but it is not capable of repeling the pests out of your property.
Pyrethroid products are often mixed with other types of insecticides; some of these mixtures can be effective against bed bugs. Look for products containing pyrethroids plus piperonyl butoxide, imidicloprid, acetamiprid, or dinetofuran.
Bed bugs hate scents such as lemon scents, cinnamon oil, neem oil, spearmint, and silicone. They will hide from you when you use these smells. This is so that they can easily attack and feed off of you! Even just the threat of these scents will keep them away from your house for good.
So, for a worst case scenario, the residence would have multiple people who travel frequently and could bring bed bugs home. There is clutter that would allow bed bugs multiple places to hide. The temperature would be within the range of 65° and 85° F.
FACT: Bed bug infestations have nothing to do with the cleanliness of the home or the people living there. While cleaning up excessive clutter and frequent vacuuming can prevent largescale infestations, the truth is that bed bugs don't discriminate.
Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body? Bed bugs do not typically hide on the body. They prefer to feed, then move back to their hiding place until they are hungry again. In some cases, they may hide in your clothes or the soles of your shoes.
Wash everything on a high temperature or sanitary cycle for at least 30 minutes. Placing everything in the dryer on the hottest setting for 30 minutes will also kill bed bugs and larvae. Immediately after you're finished putting clothing in the washer, tie up and throw out the empty garbage bag in an outdoor trash bin.