How to Kill Bed Bugs at Home

Having uninvited guests in your house is always unpleasant, especially if these guests are bed bugs. It is believed that these insects are found only in dirty apartments, but it is untrue. Bed bugs feel equally comfortable both in clean and in dirty houses. The main thing for them is food source, which is human blood. Sometimes they attack home animals and even birds. Bed bugs hunt at night when it is dark and their victims stay still while sleeping. If you are unlucky to find a bad bug at your place, you definitely want to know how to kill bed bugs at home.

How to Kill Bed Bugs at Home

Several Ways of Natural Bed Bugs Removal

Bed bugs are known to parasite on humans from ancient times. That is why people had many centuries to find out what kills bed bugs. Among natural ways of killing bed bugs are use of herbs and temperature impact.

Herbs such as wormwood and tansy flowers are used as home remedies against bedbugs. These plants have strong odor which keeps the insects away. But these herbs are the most effective when fresh, so it is quite difficult to keep the necessary concentration of them at home as they dry out quite fast and lose their repellent properties.

Nowadays it is possible to buy essential oils of various plants including wormwood, tansy and melissa. With the help of these oils you can prepare natural bed bug killer spray. Just add few drops of oil into 100 ml of water, shake it and spray everywhere. The main advantage of this method is that it is safe for people and animals. Nevertheless, if the population of bed bugs is big there is no chance to eliminate bed bugs naturally.

Physical Methods of Bed Bugs Elimination

Bed bugs are afraid of heat and frost. Thus, if it is winter and you know that a family of bed bugs lives, for example, in your mattress you can kill them yourself. The best way to kill bed bugs in a mattress is to leave it outside for a day or two when the temperature is -15°C. The same you can do to other things, even to furniture.

Another physical method of bed bugs removal is killing bed bugs with heat. They die when exposed to temperature more than +50°C. Knowing that, you can put your thing into your car and park it for a day in a sunny place. If the temperature raises high enough, the bugs will die.

Using Chemicals for Killing Bed Bugs

But what to do if bed bugs hide in wall chinks or behind the plinth? There are two options: to call specialized services or to try using chemicals yourself. If you choose the second option, you should be very careful as the chemical products are toxic and can be dangerous not only for the bugs, but also for the humans and pets. Therefore, you have to observe some rules:

  • wear special clothes that cover the most of your body;
  • wear gloves;
  • cover your head and face;
  • make sure you have read the instruction for the means you use;
  • follow these instructions carefully;
  • when finished, change your clothes and take a shower.

As all the chemical means against bed bugs are toxic, you should take care that nobody enters the treated area for at least 6-7 hours.

If you are unsure that you can conduct chemical treating on your own, call specialized services. They know how to kill bed bugs fast and for good. Very often apart from chemical means they use industrial fans and heaters. The latter option is extremely safe for humans.


Bed bugs can penetrate into your house from your neighbors or together with new things. That is why you should carefully check the things you bring into your house, especially if it is used furniture or bed sheets. After vacation thoroughly inspect your luggage, as there is a possibility that bed bugs crawled into your suit case.

If you live in a block of flats, talk to your neighbors. Find out if they have bed bugs, because even if you eliminate the insects only in your flat, they will soon appear again, coming from your neighbors.

Sometimes it is difficult to notice the insects in your apartment, but they will reveal themselves biting you at night. That is why if you noticed that you have multiple closely located bites, take serious actions. The sooner you start killing bed bugs, the easier it will be.