Bed bug, Cimex lectularius.jpg

[[Bedbugs]] are annoying insects that can cause great trouble.

These insects are small and flat with a reddish-brown appearance. They can be found in both clean and dirty environments. Usually, they are transferred from one place to another using clothing and touch induction. Bedbugs feed on human blood. They can survive for long periods without any food intake. Before World War II, these pests were entirely controlled using insecticides like DDT. Soon after World War II, the use of insecticides was restricted, leading to the growth in their population.

The growth in their population is favored by a decrease in habitation land, which further caused the integration of habitation. All these turned out to be the contributing factors to the enormous increase in the population of those unwanted insects. Generally, they are found in beds, mattresses, bedding boxes, linens, and curtains. Their presence can be identified by red spots on a person's back and sometimes scattered blood stains on mattresses and linens. Today, their population has increased so much that the so-called home remedies for bed bugs hardly control the immense problems they cause, but at least they can help fight them.

If the bedbugs are close er to the surface of the bed, then spraying with alcohol or sometimes vacuuming can help to fight against such problems. For sheets and removable fabrics, the bedbug invasion can be controlled using a drier dryer until they die. However, in the hot season, one can keep the mattresses and linens in contact with sunlight so that the bugs can be killed due to heat exposure.

Home remedies for bedbug control[edit | edit source]

  • The first step towards bedbug control is vacuum cleaning. One can vacuum the bed fabrics, as sometimes the bed bugs lie deep within them, making it difficult for the average vacuum cleaner to pull them out. It helps to remove all the bugs, any dead skin, and other feeding materials that bugs like to feed on and thereby can control their invasion to some extent.
  • Spraying insecticides is not an effective way to treat bedbugs. Most insecticides are recommended for outdoor use, and their inhalation is harmful for indoor usage. Such sprays can also cause skin irritation. It is best to opt for people-friendly insecticides which do not cause any harm to the person using them. In this respect, diatomaceous earth is famous. It is a chalk-like material that harms bedbugs instead of humans.
  • The bedbugs thrive in temperate conditions, that is, in an environment that is neither too hot nor too cold. Temperate conditions can be used to check their population. Prolonged exposure to scorching weather or freezing weather can kill them effectively.
  • Another home remedy for bedbugs is to control the pest invasion at the surface using chemicals, but this is ineffective at the deeper levels. It is better to apply chemicals after locating the pests.
  • Above all, the most effective and guaranteed way to eliminate them is by hiring a professional pest controller or exterminator for a complete sweep, although this can be expensive.

External links[edit | edit source]

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Authors Magik Lal
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Impact 309 page views
Created May 22, 2011 by Magik Lal
Modified March 26, 2024 by Kathy Nativi
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