Bye Bye Bugs: Eco-friendly Ways to Eliminate Bed Bugs

Beds are supposed to be the safest and most comfortable furniture at home. It’s where you relax and sleep. However, some beds harbor unwanted bugs, leaving you with painful red bites on your body when you wake up. Hopefully, your room is bug-free. If not, act quickly. And while you’re at it, opt for natural ways to get rid of these nasty insects.

How Bed Bugs Infiltrate Your Homes

Although small and wingless, bed bugs can easily infest your home by hitching a ride on bags, clothing, and furniture. They can also move across multi-unit buildings like apartments and hotels.

• Travel: When you travel, you wait in lines and sit in public places, including airport lounges, restrooms, food courts, taxis, and many more. All these instances are windows of opportunity for these pests to jump from one belonging to yours. You may unknowingly become a host and end up taking them home.

• Used Furniture: One way to save money and go eco-friendly is to purchase second-hand items, like couches and cabinets. However, used furniture can conceal bed bugs. They hide in cracks, crevices, and furniture folds and can easily be overlooked by both buyer and seller.

• Visitors: Having regular guests and visitors can also lead to bed bug infestations. Bed bugs can sneakily settle in your house when people place their bags on your sofa, hang their jackets on your coat stand, or walk around.

Should you then avoid traveling, buying used stuff, or having guests? Of course not. Just be conscious of cleanliness, take preventive measures, ready your eco-friendly bug-repellents, and save your trusted pest exterminators in your contact list for when severe bed bug infestations occur.

Eco-Friendly Products and Treatments to Eliminate Bed Bugs

It’s better to use natural solutions because they don’t harm humans, pets, and the environment. Besides, bed bugs are becoming resistant to chemical insecticides, decreasing their efficacy and increasing the demand for developing stronger treatments.

Herbal Repellents

Some herbs and essential oils help in deterring pests and can be quite effective.

1. Peppermint Leaves & Oil

The scent of peppermint leaves can effectively keep bed bugs away as it contains menthol, an active ingredient that overwhelms the sensory organs of bed bugs.

You can use either peppermint leaves or oil. For peppermint leaves, thoroughly crush them, put them in a sachet, and place them in bed bug-prone areas such as closets, drawers, and corners of your bed and sofa.

2. Tea Tree Oil

Aside from its calming scent and antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, tea tree oil can be a bed bug deterrent.

To create an effective tea tree oil solution, dilute about 50% concentration and spread it on your mattress and bed frame to discourage bed bugs from settling in.

3. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil contains insecticidal properties such as linalool and eucalyptol. These can be toxic to bed bugs. The scent of lavender oil interferes with the olfactory sense of bed bugs, confusing them and making it hard for them to find their food source (human or pet blood).

To use lavender oil as a pest repellent, dilute a few drops in the water and generously spray the solution on infested areas like mattresses, bed frames, and upholstery.

4. Thyme

Aside from being used as a food flavoring and medicine, thyme essential oil can eliminate pests, particularly aphids. Aphids can infect indoor plants and get in your room when wind blows through an open window.

Mix a few drops of thyme essential oil with water. Use it as a spray.

Heat Treatment

If herbal options won’t do the trick, consider heat treatment. It’s a chemical-free method of pest control. The procedure requires commercial-grade equipment, which can only be performed by pest control specialists.

Bed bugs and their eggs can’t survive when temperatures exceed 49° Celsius (120° Fahrenheit), making heat treatment an effective pest extermination method.

Steam Cleaning

Did you know that your steam cleaner can also eliminate bed bugs? If your stream cleaner can reach at least 93° Celsius (200° Fahrenheit), you can try this method even without professional experience. To ensure effectiveness, target all potential bed bug-hiding spots such as cracks, seams, and folds in mattresses.

Vacuuming

Use the power of the vacuum to remove those sticky pests. Use the cleaning wand to extend your reach and the accessories, such as the crevice tool, dusting brush, and upholstery tool, to target areas where bed bugs hide.

Make sure to empty the vacuum bag or canister in a trash bin outside your house. Cover that bin properly.

Professional Pest Control

This is your best option for worst-case scenarios. Look for a company near you with high customer reviews. And since you’re paying anyway, ensure the company is sincerely trying to go green by using eco-friendly products and treatments.

Final Thoughts

Practice preventive measures. Check your luggage before entering your house, especially after traveling. Remove your shoes and put them on a shoe rack outside your door. Politely tell your guests to do the same. When buying used furniture, inspect them thoroughly outdoors before bringing them in. Declutter and clean your room and the entire house regularly.

Bed bug infestations can be stubborn and may require more than one round of treatment. So be patient and diligent. Once your home is free of bed bugs, maintain that condition for the health and safety of you and your family.

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