How to get rid of bed bugs, With news out today that a movie theater in New York City has had to close down to fumigate for bed bugs, bed bugs are again coming to the nation's attention. With more than 25% of hotels in the US infected with bed bugs, as well as many offices, movie theaters and other public places, bed bugs are becoming a national problem. If you are unlucky enough to get bed bugs in your home and don't want to use chemicals to get rid of them, you can kill bed bugs the natural no chemical way. Here's how.
What Are Bed Bugs? - First of all, before you start trying to kill bed bugs naturally, you need to know what they are. Bed bugs are tiny dark brown insects, about the size of an apple seed. They mostly come out at night to feed on a human or animal host, but you can find them during the day if you look closely enough.
How Do I Know If I Have Bed Bugs? - The easiest way to find out is check your shoulders, arms and legs for bites. Bed bugs bite into you while you sleep, then spend a few minutes sucking your blood. If you have bed bugs, you'll usually find itchy red bumps on your body, mostly on your shoulders, arms and legs. To see what a bed bug looks like, check out this National Geographic video.
Bed Bugs In Your Bedroom Or Your Entire House? - First of all, you need to figure out if you have bed bugs just in your bed room, which would be an early stage, or if they've migrated to your entire house. If in only the bedroom, just follow the cleaning steps to get rid of them naturally. If they're in the whole house, you'll have to follow cleanings steps in every room.
How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs Naturally - To get rid of bed bugs naturally, you need to follow every one of these steps - precisely and properly.
1. Remove all of your bedding - sheets, pillow cases, blankets, comforters, bed liners and mattress covers. Wash everything in extremely hot water and dry in a dryer. Do NOT put back on your bed until your entire bedroom (or house, if they're everywhere) has been cleaned.
2. Any other fabric-type object in your bedroom, or other rooms in the house, should be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner using the hose, then put into plastic bags, sealed with tape and left for 3 days. This kills any remaining bed bugs. Items to do this to include soft toys, computer bags, pillows etc.
3. Inspect all your cupboards and drawers. If you find bed bugs or bed bug eggs in your cupboards and drawers, you will have to take out all your clothing and wash that in hot water too.
4. Now vacuum your whole room or apartment and use a vacuum hose in the nooks and crannies, paying particular attention to cracks and openings in the wall. Throw away the vacuum bag as soon as you're finished.
5. If you have any cracks or openings in your walls, particularly at light sockets, outlet areas etc. use caulk to completely close the hole. This will stop any more bed bugs getting into your room.
6. Check your bed and mattress for bed bugs. More than likely you will find an infestation in your bed or in the box springs. At this point, it's up to you if you want to get rid of the bed or keep it. If you decide to keep it, as it's incredibly difficult to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress, even if you used chemicals which you don't want to do, just about the only way to get rid of them is to buy a plastic mattress cover and a box springs cover. Put these covers on, zip them up and leave them on for a least a year. A year is how long the life cycle of bed bugs is, so you need to make sure nothing can get out of the mattress before the year is up.
7. Throw out your pillows. You can treat them with chemicals, but for a few dollars per pillow, it's best to just throw them out and buy new ones.
8. Now, clean the entire room or house with a natural cleaner. One of the best cleaners on the market is a product called Kleen Free Naturally. It's a product made specifically to clean insect-infested places, it's natural and it's biodegradable, so not harmful to you, your children or your pets. Make sure you clean every surface, behind every piece of furniture, inside every cupboard and drawer, along the baseboards, light fixtures, wall sockets - basically everything in your room or house.
9. Once everything is clean, you can safely put back all of your belongings, sheets, pillows etc.
10. Repeat everything on this cleaning list again in 10 days, again in another 10 days, and one more time in a third 10 days. Bed bugs are a nightmare to get rid of, either naturally or with chemicals, but if you make sure you keep cleaning (and follow all the steps!), you should be able to get rid of them naturally within a 30 day period.
What Are Bed Bugs? - First of all, before you start trying to kill bed bugs naturally, you need to know what they are. Bed bugs are tiny dark brown insects, about the size of an apple seed. They mostly come out at night to feed on a human or animal host, but you can find them during the day if you look closely enough.
How Do I Know If I Have Bed Bugs? - The easiest way to find out is check your shoulders, arms and legs for bites. Bed bugs bite into you while you sleep, then spend a few minutes sucking your blood. If you have bed bugs, you'll usually find itchy red bumps on your body, mostly on your shoulders, arms and legs. To see what a bed bug looks like, check out this National Geographic video.
Bed Bugs In Your Bedroom Or Your Entire House? - First of all, you need to figure out if you have bed bugs just in your bed room, which would be an early stage, or if they've migrated to your entire house. If in only the bedroom, just follow the cleaning steps to get rid of them naturally. If they're in the whole house, you'll have to follow cleanings steps in every room.
How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs Naturally - To get rid of bed bugs naturally, you need to follow every one of these steps - precisely and properly.
1. Remove all of your bedding - sheets, pillow cases, blankets, comforters, bed liners and mattress covers. Wash everything in extremely hot water and dry in a dryer. Do NOT put back on your bed until your entire bedroom (or house, if they're everywhere) has been cleaned.
2. Any other fabric-type object in your bedroom, or other rooms in the house, should be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner using the hose, then put into plastic bags, sealed with tape and left for 3 days. This kills any remaining bed bugs. Items to do this to include soft toys, computer bags, pillows etc.
3. Inspect all your cupboards and drawers. If you find bed bugs or bed bug eggs in your cupboards and drawers, you will have to take out all your clothing and wash that in hot water too.
4. Now vacuum your whole room or apartment and use a vacuum hose in the nooks and crannies, paying particular attention to cracks and openings in the wall. Throw away the vacuum bag as soon as you're finished.
5. If you have any cracks or openings in your walls, particularly at light sockets, outlet areas etc. use caulk to completely close the hole. This will stop any more bed bugs getting into your room.
6. Check your bed and mattress for bed bugs. More than likely you will find an infestation in your bed or in the box springs. At this point, it's up to you if you want to get rid of the bed or keep it. If you decide to keep it, as it's incredibly difficult to get rid of bed bugs in a mattress, even if you used chemicals which you don't want to do, just about the only way to get rid of them is to buy a plastic mattress cover and a box springs cover. Put these covers on, zip them up and leave them on for a least a year. A year is how long the life cycle of bed bugs is, so you need to make sure nothing can get out of the mattress before the year is up.
7. Throw out your pillows. You can treat them with chemicals, but for a few dollars per pillow, it's best to just throw them out and buy new ones.
8. Now, clean the entire room or house with a natural cleaner. One of the best cleaners on the market is a product called Kleen Free Naturally. It's a product made specifically to clean insect-infested places, it's natural and it's biodegradable, so not harmful to you, your children or your pets. Make sure you clean every surface, behind every piece of furniture, inside every cupboard and drawer, along the baseboards, light fixtures, wall sockets - basically everything in your room or house.
9. Once everything is clean, you can safely put back all of your belongings, sheets, pillows etc.
10. Repeat everything on this cleaning list again in 10 days, again in another 10 days, and one more time in a third 10 days. Bed bugs are a nightmare to get rid of, either naturally or with chemicals, but if you make sure you keep cleaning (and follow all the steps!), you should be able to get rid of them naturally within a 30 day period.
