Bed bugs, whose scientific name is Cimex lectularius, they are insects that they feed on the blood of mammals, including humans, just like mosquitoes or ticks do. However, this insect has the peculiarity of presenting itself in colonies made up of several individuals, which makes them more difficult to eliminate than when it is an isolated mosquito or tick.
Bed bugs are insects of red or brown color with a fairly small and flat body, which allows them to hide easily. They feed mainly at night, when they take the opportunity to sting their victims. For this reason, they tend to live in places close to the bed, whether on a mattress, the box spring, the headboard or even the sheets themselves.
At the moment of making the bite, nothing is felt, which makes it difficult to detect them. However, after a few minutes, or even hours later, you start to feel a constant itch and, later, a small pimple will appear similar to what mosquito bites can cause. This means that their presence can be confused with the latter. However, an easy way to identify them is that bed bug bites usually appear online.
In addition, another way to recognize bed bug bites is by keeping in mind that they tend to bite in areas such as the neck, shoulders, face and hands.
If you think bed bugs are biting you and you need a homemade bed bug repellent, in this other article about How to avoid bed bug bites, we explain how to do it.
One of the problems arises when we want to know how to get rid of bed bugs is that they can be very resistant insects. In fact, although they tend to feed on average every ten daysIn the absence of food, they can live for more than a year in a state of lethargy, waiting for a source to be found available from which to feed. Therefore, depriving them of access to food is usually not enough to eliminate them naturally.
On the contrary, it has been shown that these are animals that tolerate extreme temperatures. In fact, to learn how to get rid of bed bugs naturally and fast with home remedies, it is most advisable to use these extreme temperatures, since it allows to eliminate both adult bedbugs and their eggs and young. Here we leave you some home remedies to kill bed bugs of natural form.
How to get rid of bed bugs with cold
This can be done both hot and cold. In the case of wanting to use the cold, a simple option will be to cool the environment enough for a few hours so that all the bed bugs die. This can be achieved in winter by leaving the windows open or taking out all the furniture that may be infected (mattress, box spring, headboard, bedding, etc.).
However, for this method to be effective, it will be necessary to make sure that we are talking about really low temperatures. At least, close to 0 ºC.
How to get rid of bed bugs with heat
On the other hand, if we live in a place where these temperatures cannot be reached, or we simply do not have the possibility of moving the furniture to a place with these characteristics, the best way to eliminate bed bugs naturally will be through of heat.
To do this, the first thing to do is wash all the clothes bed that could be infected in the washing machine at high temperatures, at least 50 ºC.
Regarding the mattress and the rest of the bedroom furniture, it will be necessary make a steam cleaning. Steam cleaning is carried out using a machine that emits water vapor at high temperatures and, although it does not use chemicals, it is sufficient to remove dirt and the presence of insects.
It is important to ensure that the steam penetrates all parts of the mattress well, as well as any holes that can serve as a hiding place for bed bugs.
How to get rid of bed bugs with vinegar and baking soda
Making a mixture of vinegar and baking soda can help us kill bed bugs. Vinegar has a strong odor and acetic acid that is harmful to these animals. Although it kills them, this home remedy is much more useful in driving them away and preventing them in the long run.
Mix a teaspoon of baking soda in a container with vinegar and spray the mixture with a spray bottle in all the places where you suspect the presence of bed bugs such as the bed, the mattress, the legs of the bed, the sheets, etc. Vinegar evaporates quickly, so you will need to use this remedy several times a day to feel its effectiveness. You can also mix it with rubbing alcohol to increase its effectiveness.
How to get rid of bed bugs with salt
Another of the products to eliminate bed bugs that will help you is salt. It is common to hear that they kill them, but the salt can do is drive them away, because they do not proliferate well in an environment that is too salty. For this reason, we recommend sprinkling salt over crevices, frames, furniture legs and beds, as well as under mattresses and the seats of sofas and armchairs.
If you want to know more in-depth advice about this home remedy to eliminate bed bugs, do not hesitate to consult our article How to get rid of bed bugs with salt.
How to get rid of bed bugs with guava
Guava is another of the popular home remedies to get rid of bed bugs naturally, as it is not harmful to humans or pets. However, while the scent of guava can keep bed bugs away, it is only really useful if the bed bug infestation is still very small, of a few bed bugs.
In that case, we recommend preparing a guava infusion and sprinkling it on the affected furniture or letting a guava ripen and rot near the bed bug infestation. Learn more about it in our article How to use guava for bed bugs.
