The fact that you or someone close to you was bitten by an arthropod bloodsucker is evidenced by a chain of five to seven bites. You may not see insects during the day. But at night, if you turn on the light suddenly and first make the bed with snow-white linens, you can see this disgusting riot. From an unexpected bright flash of light, bloodsuckers will run away in all directions and will not be able to go unnoticed.
There is no scientific evidence that bed bugs carry deadly infections. However, proximity to these insects worsens the quality of life, often ending in prolonged depression, especially among representatives of the younger generation and squeamish people.
Chemical substances
Many Internet users write on forums about their unwillingness to use insecticides. The reason is the toxicity of the main components. We must admit that there is some truth in this opinion. Most professional pest control products, if used incorrectly, can lead to poisoning of a person or warm-blooded animal.
Some poisons are especially dangerous for aquatic inhabitants, such as aquarium fish. With the help of others, they carry out not only the destruction of bedbugs, but also the correction of the population of some birds. In addition, after using insecticides, the apartment needs to be ventilated for a long time, washed, and personal belongings treated with soda solution. All these difficulties force people attacked by bedbugs to opt for traditional methods of control.
Recipes with turpentine
If you know exactly where the nests of bloodsuckers are located, and are ready to go on the warpath with them yourself, look into the pantry or garage. There will probably be components for one of the three “combustible mixtures”, with the help of which you can precisely neutralize the enemy.
- Turpentine, clean water, kerosene and laundry soap. Take 10, 100, 40 and 30 ml of components, respectively. The soap is ground with a grater. All components are mixed until dissolved. Treat sites where insect nests are located.
- Turpentine, kerosene, naphthalene. You need 100 ml of the first two components and 20 ml of the third. The nests are treated with a spray bottle.
- Turpentine, phenol, salicylic acid. Take 40, 20 and 3 ml, respectively. Apply using a cotton swab.
“Turpentine” methods have a targeted poisoning effect on insects, but do not in any way affect the shell of bloodsucker eggs. In one and a half to two weeks the population will be renewed, and the treatment will have to be carried out again.
Solutions with vinegar
Vinegar is no less popular a remedy for bedbugs than turpentine. The reason for the demand is not only the relative effectiveness, but also the low cost of the main ingredient of homemade emulsions. The “stronger” the acetic acid, the stronger the effect will be, especially if this substance is correctly supplemented with other chemicals. Vinegar “insecticides” will not be able to destroy eggs, but they can easily eliminate several dozen adult bedbugs. Recipes for preparing drugs are presented in the table.
Table - Recipes for folk remedies based on vinegar
| Ingredients | Proportion | Peculiarity |
| — Vinegar 90%; - alcohol; - naphthalene | 1:1:1 | — Is an alternative to purchased aerosol; - works in direct contact with bloodsuckers |
| - Vinegar; - wormwood decoction | 1:2 | — Means for prevention; - repels insects with a pungent odor; - suitable for treating potentially hazardous areas |
Most often, bedbug nests are located in hard-to-reach places. For example, behind cabinet furniture that is tightly pushed against the walls, on curtains under the ceiling, behind wallpaper that has come loose from the wall, in the upholstery of upholstered furniture and under baseboards where the owner cannot reach with her hands.
Treatment with boric acid is ineffective. If in the case of cockroaches this substance can serve as bait, then bed bugs are not at all interested in it.
Valerian bait
Valerian has a special property. It is well known to cat owners who have repeatedly observed how a mustachioed pet goes crazy from the cloying smell of the tincture. Drops can be used as bait for blood-sucking insects. The algorithm of actions consists of three steps.
- Installation of "traps". Place sticky traps on the headboard and base of the bed.
- Luring by smell. Add a few drops of valerian to each trap.
- Waiting for the result. Wait until the bed bugs come running to the smell of the bait and stick to the adhesive tape.
If there is a cat living in the house, you will have to stop using the drug. The animal will lick the drops faster than the bugs can smell its characteristic aroma.
Vinegar
The popularity of vinegar in exterminating bed bugs in an apartment is explained by its safety for human health, cheapness and availability.
Vinegar can be counted among the drugs that, like aromatic herbs - chamomile and others, do not kill bedbugs, but only repel them. Processing will require a lot of effort and time, identifying places where bed bugs accumulate. The stronger the solution, the more effective it will be. As for humans, it is destructive for parasites only in large quantities.
It is usually used to treat window sills, perimeter windows, cracks in walls, and ventilation. Since the smell disappears quickly, the treatment will have to be repeated often. Showed itself well at home in combination with other chemicals. Here are some good recipes. Mix vinegar, 90% alcohol and naphthalene in equal proportions.
The mixture is effective if it comes into direct contact with the pest. When a parasite is detected, its effect is practically equivalent to an aerosol. For prevention, it is recommended to use vinegar together with a decoction of wormwood. They need to treat insect entry routes.
Herbs against bloodsuckers
“Poison” does not come from the word “grass.” But if you think about it, you can identify an obvious connection between representatives of the flora and the destruction of parasites. It is not possible to eliminate bed bugs with the help of plants, but it is easy to scare them away. The table will tell you which herbs can “poison” blood-sucking insects.
Table - Plants against bedbugs
| Plant | Characteristic | How to use |
| Chamomile | Natural insecticide | — Place bouquets of fresh flowers on the windowsills; - scatter dried plant material in the corners; - wash the floors with a decoction; - spray the broth with a spray bottle onto the identified nests |
| Ledum | ||
| Tansy | Natural repellent | |
| Sagebrush |
Plant repellents work well as preventive measures. But they are not able to drive bedbugs out of the house once and for all. Most likely, the insects will find a secluded corner, protected from unpleasant herbal odors. And when the “insecticide” plants lose their aromatic properties, the pests will return.
It is useless to fight bedbugs with garlic. Insects are not disgusted by its pungent smell.
Reviews
Mikhail, 38 years old: “I arrived at the dacha and found a small insect on my sofa. At first I thought it was just an illusion. Unfortunately, no, it turned out that there were bedbugs. The situation is unpleasant, but solvable. First, I decided to use folk remedies to kill insects. I remembered that as a child, my grandmother treated the place where parasites accumulated with kerosene. That's what I did. The mattress, bed linen - everything was thrown out and burned, and the room was thoroughly treated with kerosene. For prevention, I decided to repeat the procedure a week later. Of course, maybe I was lucky, but I removed the insects quite easily.”
Elena, 25 years old: “In the kindergarten, we were treated for bedbugs. Immediately after which they appeared at our home. At first I saw 1-2 insects, but after a week there were a lot of them. What have I not tried? Mom recommended ammonia, turpentine and kerosene. I tried, but alas, I just wasted my time. There seemed to be fewer bedbugs, but they were still there. No matter how hard I tried, nothing worked. “In the end, I decided to call a specialist and only then was it possible to poison the pests.”
Svetlana, 46 years old: “I still don’t understand where they came from, but I found a whole family of bedbugs at home. I didn’t delay and immediately scattered boric acid into all possible places where they accumulated. I remember she helped with the destruction of cockroaches. And this time the product did not disappoint. I didn’t see any more bedbugs.”
Evgenia, 53 years old: “I work in a kindergarten and the appearance of bedbugs is a frequent occurrence here. At first we bought various chemicals, but they didn’t help much. Yes, there were fewer insects, they disappeared for a while, but then they appeared again. Once our nanny found an article in the newspaper that valerian tincture repels pests and helps find their habitats. With all our staff, we processed possible habitats of bloodsuckers. Thanks to this, their clusters were identified and poisoned with the help of Dichlorvos.”
Important! Folk remedies and modern chemistry will help get rid of bedbugs. It is important to follow all instructions and disinfect the premises at least twice.
Mechanical methods
The most common are two mechanical folk methods. To implement the first, you will need a vacuum cleaner, to use the second, a steam generator. In the first case, bedbugs can only be “collected” in a garbage bag built into household appliances. In the second, kill insects, and not only sexually mature ones. One bad thing: both methods will steal a lot of time from the home “exterminator”, without giving any guarantee of effectiveness.
Vacuum cleaner
Peculiarity. By combining the mechanical method with the chemical method, you can get a pretty good result. To lure bedbugs out of the hiding places in which they are safely hidden, you will need ammonia. Bloodsuckers cannot stand the smell of this liquid. It is enough to place saucers with a smelly liquid near places where insects accumulate, and the living creatures will immediately begin to leave their homes. You can make the composition stronger.
What we do
- Prepare the emulsion according to the following recipe: mix 100 g of denatured alcohol and 50 g of ammonia.
- Pour the emulsion into a spray bottle and spray the room.
- We turn on the vacuum cleaner, remove the brush attachment, and use the tube to quickly collect insects that have awakened from the aroma spreading throughout the apartment into the dust collector.
Steam generator
Peculiarity. The method is environmentally friendly, accessible and easy to implement. And also quite effective. It is noteworthy that the steam generator is capable of eliminating even eggs by destroying their shell. True, the method cannot be used near outlets. And condensation settling on the surface of the furniture can negatively affect its upholstery and further operation.
What we do
- We turn on the steam generator and start from the most remote places: we steam curtains, cornices, joints of walls and furniture, niches behind paintings, cracks and other hard-to-reach locations.
- Then we proceed to textile processing.
- We carry out liquidation activities daily for several weeks, paying special attention to places where insect nests have been observed.
- We refrain from wet cleaning until the treatments are completely completed.
- We carefully inspect all things and pieces of furniture so as not to lose sight of a single parasite.
Creation of unsuitable climatic conditions
These insects are distinguished by their tenacity. When it gets cold in the house, bedbugs decide to postpone reproduction for a more opportune time - and go into suspended animation. They can spend about a year in a state of hibernation. And as soon as temperature conditions improve, the bloodsuckers will immediately awaken from sleep and begin to reproduce with the same intensity.
- Freezing. Exposure to low temperatures in order to eliminate creeping reptiles is relevant for the northern regions of the country. To kill linen insects, you need to freeze them for at least two days. Eggs, larvae and adults die when the air temperature remains at −30°C for a long time. At the same time, adults and nymphs die faster, and eggs, due to the presence of a dense shell, die more slowly. If you have such an opportunity, remove furniture and personal belongings from the house and leave them in the cold for a couple of days. If the manipulation does not harm the heating system, open the windows wide and let the house freeze. However, in their reviews, users do not rank this method among the effective ones due to difficulties with implementation.
- Heat. In the heat, bedbugs die faster. But for this you need to create real desert heat so that the air temperature is about 50°C. You can use a heat gun for this purpose. But renting such equipment costs money. You can process things in an automatic dryer. But this will not save furniture, carpets, baseboards and niches under windows from bedbugs. Another option for influencing nests is dousing them with boiling water. But where is the guarantee that you have found all the bedbug hiding places?
Essential components help fight bedbugs just as well as flora representatives. An oily liquid with a pronounced and extremely unpleasant aroma of lavender or rosemary for a bloodsucker will become a strong irritant for an uninvited guest. Essential oils of nettle and tea tree are no less effective. Therefore, choose the scent that you find most pleasant.
The fact remains: folk methods alone will not fix the problem. Especially if the house is infested with pests. Various measures must be used in combination. New generation modern insecticides are the best options available today. And the means, tested by time and generations, will consolidate the result and protect the house from repeated occupation by bedbugs.
What folk remedies are used against bedbugs?
Before choosing a method of combating parasites, you should carefully study the individual circumstances of their appearance and increase in numbers. The effectiveness of the destruction measures used largely depends on this.
If you are against the use of pesticides in your apartment, then consider the following methods that have long been generally accepted and tested by grandmothers and great-grandmothers:
- Using table vinegar.
- Irrigation with boiling water.
- Cleansing with turpentine.
- Use of transformer oil;.
- Freezing temperatures around -20º below zero.
- Use of purified kerosene.
- Spraying tinctures of wormwood, lavender, tansy, chamomile.
- Hot steam treatment.
- Lubricating with mint solution.
These are not all the means that people use to free their homes from pest invaders. Sometimes human imagination reaches the point of absurdity, as in the case of spraying sleeping areas with herring solution.
