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I don’t like to bring it up — I really don’t. There are some things you’d just rather not know.
But have you ever said that cute rhyme creepy saying “Goodnight, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” to your kids? And then wondered why?
Are bed bugs a real thing to fear in this modern day and age, or just a thing of the past?
Unfortunately, bed bugs are real critters. And not only do they exist, but since the 90s they’re enjoying a major resurgence in the US and around the world.
And they may in fact share your bed with you at night!
Here’s what to do about it!
Bed Bugs: Know Your Enemy
First, a few fun facts about bed bugs:
- Adult bed bugs are about 1/5th of an inch long, wingless, oval in shape, rusty-brown in color, and resemble a tick.
- They’ve been around for thousands of years all across the world.
- They do in fact bite and can consume up to 6 times their bodyweight in blood (human or animal).
- Their bite marks can easily be confused with mosquito bites.
- They come out only at night and hide during the day.
- They do not live only in “dirty” places but can thrive even in a clean, well-kept home.
- Many people with bedbugs in their homes are entirely unaware.
- Bedbugs may hitchhike home with you if you travel, stay in hotels, live in an apartment building, or buy used furniture.
But wait — before you run upstairs and throw out your mattress, take heart!
- Bed bugs and their bites do not carry or spread disease and according to the CDC are generally not a threat to human health.
- A few simple preventative measures can greatly reduce the risk of bedbugs in your home.
Steps to a Bed Bug-Proof Home
Bed bugs are extremely difficult to get rid of once they get established in your home. These hardy bugs thrive under most conditions, reproduce quickly, and can live without food for up to 400 days.
Chemical extermination options are available, but how many people want chemicals sprayed in the places they sleep? In fact, over time bed bugs have become resistant to the chemicals that are allowed in extermination. It’s a problem all around.
Ready to jump in? Here’s how to tackle bed bugs head-on.
1. Inspect. Then Inspect Again
Prevention and early detection are your best resources against a bed bug infestation, so don’t delay! To start you’ll need a flashlight and a mirror.
Remember these critters are small, and their eggs invisible to the human eye. Most bed bugs are found on and around mattresses and bed frames, so start there.
- Carefully inspect the mattress and the boxspring for each bed in your home. Don’t forget to lift the mattress and the boxspring, checking underneath and in all seams and cracks.
- Look for bed bug feces–rusty brown smudges or spots that look like dried blood.
- Check all crevices and cracks in your bed frame. Even better, take the bed frame apart for a thorough inspection.
- Inspect the headboard and behind it.
If you find signs of bed bugs, try the following natural ways to combat them.
(If you don’t find evidence of bed bugs, skip to the all-important step 9.)
2. Physically Remove the Ones You Can See
Wage war. Flick them out of crevices with a business card, crush them in a paper towel, vacuum them up, or catch them on sticky tape. Do whatever you have to do to get rid of them.
3. Launder all Bedding
Gather up everything that is near the sleeping area and can be washed, including stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, and sheets. Launder and dry on a hot cycle. High heat will kill the bed bugs and any eggs.
4. If You Can’t Wash it, Freeze it
Certain items that can’t be washed can be bagged and put into the freezer. Extremely low temperatures also will kill the bed bugs and their eggs.
5. Vacuum Thoroughly
Vacuum the mattress top and bottom, bed frame, carpet, both sides of the headboard, and especially any crevices. Do this daily if you’re treating for bed bugs with the most powerful suction attachment you have. Make sure to seal and throw away the vacuum bag immediately (outside of your home).
6. Try essential oils.
Tea tree oil, cedar oil, and orange oil are harmful to bed bugs on contact. Mix with water in a spray bottle and lightly mist the areas you are treating daily.
7. Use Diatomaceous Earth
I’ve sung the praises of diatomaceous earth before, and it’s no exception when it comes to bed bugs. Professional exterminators even use it. Sprinkle mattresses, bed frames, and carpet with DE (wear a dust mask for this step). Vacuum up the excess before sleeping. I explain more about how DE works and cautions for using it in this post.
8. Remove Clutter Around Beds
Bed bugs don’t discriminate as they like both messy and clean houses. But eliminating clutter under and around beds helps cut down on their hiding places. Be sure to treat these items (using one of the above methods) if you have found signs of dust mites.
9. An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
Bed bugs or not, don’t skip this step!
Treating a bed bug infestation costs time and money (not to mention stress!). Prevent them from happening by following these best practices before they become a problem.
- Purchase bed bug-proof mattress encasements for all mattresses and boxsprings in your home. These can reduce dust mites too and are a worthwhile investment for healthy sleep and the life of your mattress.
- Fill all cracks and joints in headboards and bed frames with caulk or sealant, cutting off bed bug hiding places.
- Install bed bug traps under the legs of each bed. This solution is cheap, easy, and one of the most effective ways to detect and stop bed bugs before they are a problem! Routinely inspect traps and return to step 1 often!
If you’ve fought the good fight against bed bugs, share how you did it below. What other methods worked for you?
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I’m very intrigued by the post with the broom /cinnamon oil treatment. I did read that bed bugs do not like strong scents. In my battle with them I would recommend using steam and the mattress, box spring covers. Also, you have to go at least 30 days or more without seeing them to start feeling secure. Before that steam treat every 1-2 weeks until you hit a 30 day period free of them.
I was at my local Trader Joe’s the other day and saw a woman with a straw broom like you would decorate a wall with. When I ask her about it she proceeded to tell me it is treated with cinnamon oil and she buys it to put under her bed to repel spiders. She said she needs to replace it every 6 months for it to work best but she swears it repels all spider and bed bugs. Because a transitional house I lived in previously ended up with a massive case of bed bugs throughout both stories, I decided that what ever natural based things I can do to repel all pests, I will do including using natural ingredients in my cleaning that also do the job. The lady said she does not remove the plastic bag when placing it under her bed. She stated that you only need to start by removing 6-8 inches of the bag at the handle end to start with and then as time goes by, you can remove a little more each time. This not only prolongs the life of the broom but also controls the strength of the fragrance so it is not overpowering to humans. I went back in the store and bought one for myself to try because I was so sold on the idea. We do not have bugs where I live yet because it is a new building but I want to make sure I do not get any in my apartment to start with.
Hi. Great post and I hope to never have to use these great ideas and information!I don’t know if I have ever had bedbugs…have had a few ‘bites’ on my lower legs that I assumed were spider bites…not very often, though.
I made my own bedding spray, just to freshen my sheets when I put them back on after washing (my home has a musty mildewy smell because it’s old and not well sealed). I spray this on EVERY layer : the mattress, the mattress cover, the bottom sheet, the top sheet, and each blanket layer as well. I let it rest between sprayings because I don’t want a ‘wet’ bed. Here is my recipe: ( I think it smells great, but you could make your own to your preference)
in no particular order and in whatever ratios you want:
Clove E.O; Eucalyptus E.O.; Rosemary E.O.; Lemon E.O.; Cinnamon E.O.; Oregano E.O.; Geranium E.O. & Grapefruit E.O.
I used Essential Oils that are mainly for fungus and for antibacterial purposes.
I add a bit of water to help with the dispersal of the oils onto the bedding. So far, I don’t believe I have ever had bedbugs. My guess is that you could also add these or similar E.O.’s to dryer balls or a homemade dryer sheet and use in the dryer which would also help with keeping them at bay.
(Or, as someone mentioned in these comments, use DE on top of your mattress and then put the sheets on normally.)
I tried all of the above and nothing worked. The best non toxic way to treat bed bugs is heat treatment. Unfortunately it’s also the most expensive way
How much does it run for heat treatment?
I don’t think freezing kills bed bugs. There are companies that will come in and bring special heaters. If you heat the room to 100 they will die and its not toxic. It has to be very hot.
Heat treatment is one hundred percent effective. We used on one chemical with that. The exterminator heated our condo to 135 degrees, and we have not had a problem since (and the other adjoining condos were also hear treated, since they were also infested and where we got them.) They hide EVERYWHERE! In the seams of curtains, knots in wood frames, just everywhere.
I used a lot of the suggestions above but also took a hairdryer to all the crevices in the bedframe and all the seams on the mattress and it worked.
seriously that worked?
My husband does pest control for a living and several of these suggestions are great. One thing you missed which is where most people get bed bugs is from traveling!! As well as checking YOUR beds and surroundings you need to check all beds and headboards in hotels, cabins, etc! We even inspect our kids’ pillows and such when they come home from a sleepover. Also, you have to be sure to kill what you CAN’T see, their eggs! So while some of the above may work initially, they may come back if you haven’t killed the eggs. And the eggs can live for months!! We even encountered a species of bed bugs at our local YMCA in the swimming pool area! So they can be anywhere. One of the best ways to prevent bringing them home us to inspect where you are staying and then, when you come home leave all of your items in a garage when you first get home. DO NOT bring your suitcases inside or your clothing. Wait until all items have been washed and dried on high heat before putting your stuff away. Keep your suitcases in a garage or somewhere else for at least a week or more before storing them inside. MANY companies are going to heat treatments versus chemical which are safe and natural. So if you have them, find a company who uses this treatment rather than a chemical treatment. And if you find bed bugs, let anyone who has recently stayed in your home know immediately. Getting rid of bed bugs, can be expensive and the longer you wait the more expensive it will get as the problem gets worse. Also, they can hide in many other places, even inside of walls and underneath wall paper and all manner of places you’d never even think of. So just because you can’t see them may not mean they’re gone for good. Thanks wellness mama for addressing this icky yet so important topic!
Years ago, we got them after having our furniture shipped from Hawaii. My poor mom also got them (she tented and it didn’t work). For our small place, we were able to seal and hear treat and steam the mattress. My mom ended up wearing a breather, and filling a weed sprayed with water, rubbing alcohol, & EO. That took a lot of time though.
Currently dealing with this problem- bought a fixer upper and the squatters who were in it had them. I’m steaming the house with a steamer called Vapamore MR-100. You can get it from Bed Bath and Beyond (they also do free delivery and you can always find coupons from there for 20% off)
We have friends in our area who did an all natural attempt and didn’t rid themselves of the critters.
LUCKY for us we are emptying the house completely and taking off the wood paneling and baseboards. They can hide in the cracks of your floor- so sealing with wood sealer isn’t a bad idea. It is seariously a war with an invisible enemy sometimes. We are going to hire someone to spray the chemicals probably because it would be the worst to move our stuff in and then they get into that. I bought some that you spray on your bed- BedLam- we are very anti-chemical but these critters do not play. Just wear a mask (an intense one you can buy from Home Depot) and long sleeves and pants and heavy duty gloves when you spray. Keep all windows open, get fans, ventilate ventilate. And pray to God every last one is killed.
Bed bugs cannot reproduce if they cannot feed. So if you can get any source of food away from your house for them (pets and humans) then that is a good beginning to keeping them from multiplying. Also move your bed away from walls, make sure your sheets and blankets don’t touch the floor and don’t even let your phone chord reach your bed because anything that acts as a bridge besides your legs of the bed will keep the bed traps from working.
Okay that’s all. Death to bed bugs ??