Homemade traps for bed bugs

Is it even worth doing this?

Of course, before you start making snares, you need to determine whether there are unwanted animals in the apartment.

The following identification phenomena will be characteristic evidence of an extraneous presence:

Blackish-red spots on bedding, clothing, household items, or walls. These are traces of enemy droppings. These spots can also be bedbugs themselves, crushed by something heavy.
Bites on the skin. Body itching is not good! Obviously, you somehow irritated the outer skin or someone else did it. Remember if there was any tactile contact with nettles, or if you took any suspicious medications that could cause an allergic reaction. When there are a lot of spots and they come in a chain, then with one hundred percent certainty it should be said that this is the work of the proboscis of bedbugs.
Specific smell. Sniff the spots mentioned earlier. Having sensed the miasma, conclude: parasites. This sign is considered the most accurate.

How to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment: disinfestation or?!

The question “How to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment?” is becoming more and more relevant. The population of these insects in some houses and apartments is increasing. In fact, the cleanliness and tidiness of the home is not always the decisive factor in the presence of parasites in the apartment. These insects cause a lot of trouble and inconvenience wherever they settle. How to get rid of them? What methods are best to use?

Content

Bedbugs: what they look like

Household (bed) bugs are small insects that feed exclusively on blood. Before saturation, their size is 3–5 mm. They have a round shape and light color. After eating they stretch out and become up to 8 mm. The color of their bodies becomes more saturated, sometimes burgundy. At this time they are more vulnerable. They are easy to crush. Bedbugs can drink up to twice their weight in blood. Bedbug larvae have the property of enlarging and turning red-brown.

These insects are absolutely wingless, that is, they cannot fly. However, they move quite quickly around the apartment. In one minute, a bug can travel a distance of one meter. Parasites have this ability due to the presence of a special structure of their legs. The serrations on their limbs give them the ability to climb walls and ceilings. And the flattened body can easily squeeze into any cracks. The larvae of these insects also crawl when necessary.

Their lifespan ranges from 12 to 18 months. They feed once every two to three days. The rest of the time they sit in shelters and digest what they have eaten. It is known that bedbugs are capable of spending a long time without food or movement under certain conditions. This process occurs, as a rule, in the presence of low temperature or absence of a power source (absence of apartment owners).

How do house bugs live and reproduce?

Insects have a nocturnal lifestyle. They go out to hunt mainly in the morning. Parasites live in crevices close to a person’s sleeping place, which they find by the carbon dioxide released during breathing. Their hiding places in the apartment are found in the folds of sofas, mattresses, in crevices of the floor, walls, under peeling wallpaper. Around their habitats there are many products of their vital activity.

Bedbugs are able to survive at very high and low temperatures (from -20 to +50 degrees). Therefore, if the need arises to get rid of insects, it will not be possible to freeze them out of the apartment. At low ambient temperatures, parasites become immobile and freeze until better conditions arise.

Females lay eggs. To do this, they need to supplement their diet. The female is capable of self-fertilization after mating with a male only once. This can be done by a special type of mating (piercing the female’s abdomen). Each female is capable of laying up to five thousand eggs in her life. The eggs laid are shaped like grains of rice. This period of a bedbug's life is the safest. The shell of the egg is very durable to the influence of external factors and poisons, so they are eliminated either by a physical method or by waiting for the larvae to hatch.

The larvae emerge from the shell within a period of several days to a month. It depends on the room temperature. After a month and a half, they turn into adults.

How to detect bedbugs in an apartment

Usually insects are brought into the house with suitcases and other things. Sometimes they migrate from other apartments due to overcrowding or bullying. To relocate, bedbugs use communications in apartment buildings. When bedbugs enter a new home, they continue their active population.

The first sign of insects appearing indoors is bites on the body. They are discovered every morning. These bites look like a track. Bedbugs drink human blood, making punctures in several places. They move around until they find a convenient place to feed. Their presence gives off a cognac smell in the room. Also, in the cracks and cracks throughout the home, the presence of remains of droppings, molting products, accumulation of eggs, as well as the adult parasites themselves, is observed. There are likely to be crushed specimens with drops of human blood on the sheets. When inspecting the room at night, it is possible to detect parasites outside the shelter.

Advice! Use a flashlight while searching for insects. The light will make them move in their secluded places.

A must-have place to look is mattresses or bedside tables. It is there, close to a person, that there may be a concentration of insects.

Harm caused by bedbugs to humans

Bedbugs cause many minor problems to people. These insects do not choose everyone as their victims. People with thin skin are preferable for them. Therefore, there are cases when parasites bite one family member, but not another. If there are a lot of insects in a home, they can bite a person up to five thousand times a night. Skin punctures by old individuals are not audible to humans. If the parasite is young, its bites can be painful. Young children suffer greatly from these insects. They are the main victims of bedbugs in an apartment.

There is no information that bedbugs are carriers of dangerous diseases. They cause wounds to become infected. The substance injected into the skin by bedbugs when they bite causes allergic reactions, especially in children and pregnant women.

Main signs of bites:

a path of fresh wounds;
pain and itching;
restless sleep or insomnia;
passivity in behavior;
general irritability;
anemia in children with a large population of insects indoors.

Inflammation and ulcers can also be associated with the problem. It is better to wash and disinfect wounds. The use of various medications is advisable for severe anxiety, especially in children.

Advice! If all the actions of insects cause harm to an adult or child, you should consult a doctor. It may be necessary to take antibiotics or antiallergic medications.

How to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment

When a problem is identified, it is urgent to begin solving it immediately. Delay contributes to the rapid proliferation of bedbugs.

There are several ways to remove parasites:

disinfestation;
proprietary chemicals;
traditional methods.

You can remove insects with the help of a special company that fights various insects, or on your own. When choosing a means of exterminating insects, you need to evaluate the method from different angles:

safety for people;
effectiveness;
safety or least harm to things;
convenience and ease of use;
financial inclusion.

The best indications on these points should help you decide on a means of freeing your apartment from parasites.

Before you begin exterminating insects, you must take all precautions and prepare the premises. Basic moments:

people should leave the premises for at least two to three hours;
products must be hidden;
wash all linen and clothes in advance;
remove drawers from cabinets;
furniture should be moved 15–20 cm from the walls;
equipment for processing and protective equipment must be prepared; It is necessary to study the instructions for the drug provided that you treat the room yourself.

If all conditions are met, the extermination of bedbugs begins.

Cleaning apartments using chemicals

You can remove parasites using the following chemicals: sprays (Raptor, Raid, Dichlorvos and others), solutions (Foxide, Forsythe, etc.); powders (“Neopin”, “Riapan”) and others (“Phospholan”, “Clean House”, “Pyrethrum”, “Karbofos”, etc.). Such products can be purchased freely.

Advice! Look for a product containing karbofos. It is he who copes best with bedbugs.

You can use other effective means to remove insects by preparing mixtures and solutions:

ethyl alcohol (300 ml), camphor (15 g), turpentine (300 ml);
phenol (40 g), silicic acid (6 g), turpentine (80 g);
naphthalene (10 g), denatured alcohol (300 ml);
naphthalene (60 g), kerosene (300 g), turpentine (300 ml);
water (100 ml), turpentine (10 ml). Green soap solution (30 g);
chlorophos (100 g), water (400 ml).

Removing bedbugs using folk remedies

Bed bugs do not live at temperatures above 50 degrees, so they can be removed with steam or boiling water. This method is not dangerous for people. You can use it to treat furniture and mattress fabrics without fear of poisoning yourself.

The opposite of evaporation is freezing. If the temperature outside is below 20 degrees and there is an opportunity to take things out into the cold, you need to take advantage of this. Insects will not survive in such conditions.

You can remove parasites with vinegar. They cannot stand such a strong smell. You can treat the surfaces of floors, furniture, and walls. Ammonia has the same property. It can be poured into containers and placed in the room.

What about ready-made traps?

So far, it is not always possible to buy a bedbug trap in household chemical stores. Domestic manufacturers of insecticides, aerosols, and poisonous powders are not really interested in them. You have to look for funds on foreign sites / be guided by the hands and mind given by Mother Nature.

If you are lucky, you will find Combat based on hydramethylnon or Bed Bug Beacon on the shelves. The problem with "Kombat" is that it is designed for chance. A creeping tomboy can either climb into a trap or not pay attention to it. The last “trap” is based on the spread of carbon dioxide. Bed Bug Beacon is too expensive, so it is better to make a “reproduction” in person.

Chemical methods of extermination

They are sold in almost every hardware store. They come in the form:

aerosol sprays;
concentrated liquid for dilution with water;
powders;
crayons;
traps.

The spray can quickly and conveniently treat large areas, as well as hard-to-reach places. If only one piece of furniture, such as a sofa, is infected with bedbugs, then one can of spray will be enough for the entire procedure. Some sprays are equipped with a thin, long nozzle for treating narrow crevices.

Concentrated liquids can be sprayed with a spray bottle or applied to surfaces with a wide brush. As a rule, a liquid concentrate is cheaper than a spray, especially if you need to treat the entire apartment.

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is not only food for flora, a preservative, a forerunner of lemonade, but also a method of fighting against bloodsuckers. It is often not very difficult for the average person to obtain carbon dioxide. Potential retail outlets: various hardware stores (often used for welding work). Approximate speed – 180 ml/min.

Once you have acquired the product, get a two- or three-liter container. It should have two or three exits. If there are none initially, try making exits yourself. For this purpose, say, an oblong food container is quite suitable.

You will also need a deep plate. Pour some talc (a mineral used by athletes in weightlifting) into it. Place the plate in the container. Before going to bed, release carbon dioxide through one of the holes. Bedbugs sense it very well (it is secreted by human lungs).

Hoping to get food, the creatures run towards the smell. Crawling through one of the holes, they fall into the talc and are immediately killed. This is not particularly difficult to pull off, the main thing is to tightly place the plate with the contents inside the container. It is desirable that it adjoins the internal walls.

Yeast with a "small addition"

The trap for home bugs with yeast and carbon dioxide is in no way inferior to the previous one in popularity. To cleverly create a mixture, you will need ordinary yeast and dry ice. The first can be purchased at any gastronomic department store, and the second is easiest to get in online stores.

It’s also worth trying to ask around in stores that sell processed foods and ice cream. It’s also possible to find the product in a pharmacy.

In the same way, arrange dry ice comfortably in a bowl or plate. Then place it in an approved food container. Using a tube (the material is not important), add yeast to the resulting “system”. They are excellent at releasing carbon dioxide. Read about what bedbugs are afraid of in a separate article!

If the entire apartment is infested with bedbugs

If insects are already dispersed throughout the apartment, it is important to treat all places of their identified and suspected nesting, or better yet, subject the apartment to total treatment, involving all neighbors in the baiting activities - let everyone treat their apartment at the same time as the others. If there are relatively few bedbugs, you can easily cope on your own

To do this, you will have to completely treat the apartment with strong insecticides, having previously removed from it all family members who will not be involved in the treatment. It will be possible to return home only after some time

If there are relatively few bedbugs, you can easily cope on your own. To do this, you will have to completely treat the apartment with strong insecticides, having previously removed from it all family members who will not be involved in the treatment. It will be possible to return home only after some time.

If we are talking about moving into an apartment catastrophically infested with bedbugs, then you will have to remove and throw away all the furniture, remove wallpaper from the walls, remove baseboards and sockets, and only then methodically spray insecticides over all surfaces.

Yes, if the apartment is heavily infested, the problem can be solved most quickly by calling professional disinfectors, but doing it yourself is usually much cheaper. You will only have to spend money on insecticides and protective clothing.

How to force bedbugs to glue their flippers together?

Typical sticky traps help control swarms of flies or mosquitoes. Nobody said that it is forbidden to use them against vile vampires. It is necessary to carefully cover the sides of the beds so that any bug crawling on you will be caught due to your small mind. Sticky bedbug traps are a cheap and cheerful way to achieve restful sleep.

There are many other ways to get rid of bedbugs - keep this in mind.

By the way, it is also advisable to install something similar inside sofas. Bed bugs love to live between the folds of furniture, so it is possible to cover an entire den. True, the eggs, unfortunately, will not be destroyed. Double-sided tape can also be recycled. It's just as easy to apply.

Bean leaves

As it turns out, bugs cannot move on bean leaves because their legs get stuck in the small hairs that cover the back of the leaves. This feature is used in some countries to control insects.

Artificial materials have also been developed that imitate the surface of a bean leaf. It is assumed that such material should be laid out around the bed in the evening, and inspected in the morning, and if there are insects on it, then collect them and burn them. Unfortunately, the described products have not yet appeared on the market, so it seems possible to use only natural bean leaves.

Bean tops

Bean leaves have small hairs. They are difficult to notice, but when palpated or stroked, their presence is recognized. Having wandered onto such an inconspicuous-looking leaf, the animal is completely deprived of control of the musculoskeletal system. Even some expensive, high-quality bedbug traps can't do this!

This representative of the plant kingdom is actively used by Serbs in their residential buildings. Moreover, large companies that produce insect repellent chemicals are aware of the properties of bean leaves. You can try laying the sheets in corners, along baseboards and under the bed yourself.

Special devices

Many stores sell special bedbug traps. Thanks to them, you can catch all the pests in a few days, and you won’t need to create various devices.

In appearance, this device looks like a small house. Bedbugs may confuse it with a good shelter, where they will safely hide from the guests of the house. These traps contain chemicals. It is enough for bedbugs to breathe in them for a few seconds for them to become severely poisoned.

This method is not effective, since many insects turn out to be smarter than people think. They are not at all attracted to this device, and they choose another reliable shelter for themselves. If there are many such individuals in the house, you will have to buy more than five traps. Not every owner will want to spend money on this.

Plastic bottles

The easiest way for insects to make a home is in the halls of your bed. Among their favorite places are mattresses and pillows. During the night, they either crawl out of camps set up directly in the bed, or climb onto it with the help of their legs. We recommend ironing bed linen more often and washing it in a machine. But with the legs...

To reduce bedbug traffic at night, you need to get four plastic bottles.

Once you have them, start taking action:

Trim off two-thirds of each bottle (counting from the neck). The bottom will serve as a tray for the legs of your bed.
Sand the edges with sandpaper. This will make it easier for the hostile people to lose stability and slide to the bottom.
Take some oil into bottles. Sprinkle it all with flour or powder. Ready! By the way, you can use water as an alternative to butter and flour. By pouring it in sufficient quantities, you will protect yourself from attacks on unprotected areas of the skin. You can go further and attach some adhesive tapes to the sides of the bottle, or simply wrap the legs with these tapes.
The morning has come, the sun is shining, the grass is swaying, the bugs are in torment. Romance! Based on observations, we can conclude: have the parasites reached you?

Important note: bedbugs love to climb walls. It costs them nothing to climb onto the ceiling and from there jump on a sleeping person. This rarely happens, but keep it in mind!

Types of traps

Traps are divided into traditional and homemade. Let's talk about each of their types.

Traditional traps

You can find them in hardware stores. These include sticky tapes and carbon dioxide traps.

Adhesive tapes are sheets, boxes, envelopes or tapes, one side of which is smeared with thick, long-lasting glue. Usually the tapes have a specific smell that lures insects. Such traps are placed near places favorite for parasites: next to beds, along baseboards, at the bottom of cabinets, etc. Once caught in the “deceptive web,” bed bugs can no longer get out on their own.

A sticky cockroach trap can also be useful for catching bed bugs.

Traps based on the use of carbon dioxide have already proven their effectiveness many times, but their cost is too high - the price starts at 3,500 rubles. The trap consists of a plastic umbrella, a long tube and a reservoir of carbon dioxide. This device imitates the air exhaled by a person, which serves as a guide for house bugs. Once in the umbrella and following the evaporating carbon dioxide, the insects end up in a reservoir from which they can no longer escape.

Homemade traps

We suggest you make 4 traps that you can quickly make with your own hands at home.

Double-sided tape trap

This method of catching insects is suitable if they live outside your sleeping area. You can use tape to cover possible access routes to their food source, i.e. to you: bed legs, bedside tables and other furniture located in your room.

The method does not require large expenses, but it is highly likely to determine the degree of infection of your apartment. Pay attention to the fact that the sticky side of the trap should not come into contact with foreign things, otherwise its “magic” property will disappear.

On a note! If you have taped the legs of the bed, but did not find any bloodsucking bodies on the tape in the morning, and there are bite marks on the skin, then the bedbug nest is in the mattress. Get rid of it as soon as possible: it will not be possible to remove all parasites; their population will only grow.

Water trap

Making your own water trap couldn't be easier. To do this, take four deep disposable plates, fill them with water, about halfway, and place them under all the legs of the bed or sofa.

The legs should be located strictly in the middle of the water container.

The trap works as follows: bed bugs, having had enough of your blood, will run back to their secluded corners. Because They don’t know how to fly; the only way to “get their feet away” is to slide down the supporting legs of the furniture. Once in the water, bedbugs will no longer be able to get out.

By the way, it is better to set such traps before going to bed: it is in the dark that bedbugs go out hunting. You won't be able to catch them red-handed during the day.

Powdered sugar trap

To make it you will need:

two plastic glasses, different in size,
vegetable oil,
powdered sugar or granulated sugar.

A small amount of sugar (1/4 teaspoon) is poured into a glass with a large bottom diameter, vegetable oil (1/2 tablespoon) is poured, and a smaller glass is placed in the center. Once our structure is ready, we place the bed leg into it. Once inside the “sugar plant,” the bugs will not be able to climb up.

On a note! The best result will be achieved if you make four such traps - for each furniture leg.

Plastic bottle trap

You will need:

two liter plastic bottle,
wire,
water,
detergent,
scotch.

Manufacturing procedure:

cut off the neck of the bottle (mentally divide the container into three equal parts, and then cut off the top one); You can make small holes in the container itself,
turn the cut part over and put it back, securing the entire structure with tape,
Pour a small amount of detergent and water into the bottom of the trap.

The trap can be hung with wire or simply placed next to the bed. Curious insects will definitely stick their noses in there and will not be able to get back out.

How to make an ultrasonic trap?

Ultrasonic bedbug trap is a reality of this century. It's worth considering, but it's not that simple (more on that later).

The frequency that the device emits is not perceived by humans. The device does not have a negative impact on us. With our smaller enemies everything is somewhat different. The disgusting sound causes bedbugs to become disoriented in space. As a result, they cannot smell the food source. At least this is what the manufacturers proudly say.

Repellers have an amazing property: coverage area. It is clear that all kinds of cracks or ventilation are not considered obstacles for them. Unlike pesticides, there is not a single bad smell for you here. Plus they consume little energy when running on mains power.

The following ultrasonic devices are quickly sold out: “Typhoon”, “Tornado”, “Banzai”. The controls are easy to understand; just read the instructions carefully. The creators, as a rule, indicate all the necessary information there.

Reviews are varied. The downside is that the oviposition is not destroyed by repellers. And to be honest, such means are more intended to get rid of cockroaches. In addition to them, rats also suffer greatly. Bedbugs are not so afraid of this approach from humans.

Perhaps the people who speak out approvingly were seriously involved in chemical harassment before using such devices. As a result, the arthropods could not withstand such attention to their individuals and disappeared. And just at the same moment some “Typhoon” was purchased. The conclusion emerged immediately.

If you are determined to fight against mosquitoes and mosquitoes, then be sure to purchase this product! You can, of course, try to completely eliminate the bedbugs, but...

Advantages and disadvantages of bedbug traps

Let's try to understand the strengths and weaknesses of inventions against bedbugs.

Pros:

Low cost. You can purchase a trap at any hardware store at very affordable prices.
Ease of manufacture. If you don’t want to spend money on traps, then you can easily make them from available materials.
Diagnosis of infection. You can set up “nets” even when there are no obvious signs of parasites in the house. With their help, you will be able to prevent a disaster in a timely manner.

Minuses:

Difficulty attracting attention. It is impossible to force bedbugs into a trap. They have no passion for anything other than human blood, so it is very difficult to arouse their interest in inanimate objects.
Impossibility of large-scale destruction. All traps are only an auxiliary measure to combat infection and it is simply not realistic to catch all the trespassers. The likelihood that a crowd of hungry insects will run through, say, duct tape and stick to it is, you see, too small.

Since the traps themselves are used as additional anti-parasitic measures, you should not place high hopes on them. However, there is no need to neglect them; perhaps, with the help of a trap, you can prevent the colossal spread of parasites in your home.