Bed bugs are tiny creatures that cause damage in homes by destroying your furniture and home decor. The intrusion of bed bugs into our residential places is a common problem. But the question arises—what invites them into our houses and how to get rid of them? In this article, you will learn different pest prevention measures that you can easily use to stop these bed bugs from entering your home.
What Attracts Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs can reach any place or can even bite you while you are asleep. But what makes these bed bugs enter your home? Let us explore.
1. Warmth
Bed bugs like warm environments. The human body releases heat, which attracts bed bugs towards the human body. That is why they are primarily present in the bed, mainly in the headboard area.
2. Dirty laundry
Bed bugs get attracted to dirty laundry in the absence of humans. It could be the beginning of bed bugs in the room as these insects love laundry odour and multiply instantly in such places. Before these bugs get into action and carry unhygienic germs into your room, you need to kill them. Take care of all the cleaning and doing the laundry so that you can restrict these bed bugs from entering your home.
3. Dark Bed Sheets
Darkness attracts bed bugs. As per research, some colours like black and red attract bed bugs the most. That is because bed bugs prefer dark colours to hide compared to bright colours, such as yellow, green, etc.
Why bed bugs are They Harmful?
Bed bugs affect your physical and mental health. In addition to that, they destroy your furniture and ruin your home interior. Read below how harmful bed bugs can be:
- Bed bugs often bite during the night while everyone is sleeping, as there is the least movement. Bed bug bites cause itching, which later may lead to flesh wounds. Germs may enter through these wounds and may lead to skin infections.
- A bed bug bite can cause severe allergic reactions and lead to anaphylactic shock, chest and throat tightness, wheezing, and swollen lips.
- The infectious bites and annoying itchiness are enough to keep you up the entire night and cause severe sleep deprivation. It makes you mentally and physically tired.
- Bed bugs affect the home decor. They destroy the furniture and the home interiors with their faecal and blood spots.
Home Remedies for Bed Bugs
Below are some of the items readily available at your home and can help you remove bed bugs from your home:
1. Baking soda
Most homemakers use baking soda for killing bed bugs as it is one of the most effective home remedies. You can get rid of these blood-feeders by spraying sodium bicarbonate or baking soda on the contaminated areas. It dries out the skin of the annoying bugs and kills them instantly. It can be an expensive solution that takes a long time to provide the outcome. Sprinkling the powder is the only issue with this solution, as the dead bugs need to be vacuumed out of the rooms each time you sprinkle the powder.
2. Vinegar
Vinegar is a common kitchen item used to kill the bedbugs by attacking their nervous system; however, it cannot kill their eggs. You only need to apply white vinegar where you doubt the bugs to be present. After that, spray it liberally on the bedbugs. Bed bugs will not be able to hide from the spray.
3. Rubbing alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is an effective way of killing insects and bed bugs. It dissolves the cells of the bed bugs. Rubbing alcohol dehydrates the skin of these insects and kills them on the spot. Alcohol also does not leave any marks on the place it is poured at. However, you should start experimenting with its solution in a testing area before starting with the actual treatment.
4. Diatomaceous Earth
It is one of the most successful and cheapest ways to get rid of bedbugs. It absorbs the protective layer covering exoskeletons of bed bugs. Without this layer, bed bugs feel dehydrated and thus die in a few hours. However, it takes a bit longer to affect but kills more than 90% of the bugs.
5. Borax
Sprinkling borax powder liberally on the bed or the edges of the infected areas can help you remove these blood-feeding insects. You can sprinkle borax powder and then spray enough water over the mattresses. Alternatively, you can spray the mixture of borax powder and hot water to remove the bed bugs.
6. Essential oils
Essential oils containing peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, and thyme can keep bed bugs away and save you from painful bites. You can carry them easily while travelling. You can spray the solution of the essential oil on the infected area and get rid of the bed bugs. Moreover, essential oils will add aromatic fragrance to the rooms you use.
All in all, bed bugs have many adverse effects on our health as well as our homes. So, if your home has bed bugs, do not delay and use the natural methods of pest prevention shared in this article. You can also take a professional’s help and get pest control treatments done to get rid of these blood-sucking pests.
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