What Household Item Kills Bed Bugs And Their Eggs?

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There is no one-size-fits-all cure for bedbug infestation and their eggs. Most of the time, using a single treatment causes an infestation to worsen due to human error.

When people inquire about what household item kills bed bugs and their eggs, several solutions are considered. Chemical treatments are one of the most prevalent remedies. Some aren’t chemically based. 

With all of these issues and pre-elimination efforts, many people believe it is best to use bed bug spray to avoid pests rather than let them in and then get rid of them. When people realize they have minor bed bugs, they frequently seek out do-it-yourself advice from online forums.

Household products included in these suggestions are recommended more frequently than others. In this article, you will find out about the most common DIY household items and how they could use for a bedbug infestation:

Infestation Signs of Bed Bugs

Bed bug infestations

The sign of an infestation of bed bugs are the following: 

  • Egg Shells: Due to their small size and light color, keep an eye out for specks of ivory material on your bed, furniture, or carpet.
  • Black Dots: Like everyone else, bed bugs also defecate. If you see black specks and stains, they are a combination of feces and the skin that newborns lose as they get older. Doesn’t it sound like a nightmare?
  • Bites on Your Skin: Biting on your skin is the most obvious sign. Bed bug bites, unlike flea bites, typically appear in clusters. They’ll be lined up in a straight line since these hungry organisms prefer to go up to your arm or leg and take continuous blood samples.
  • Living Bugs: You might even get a glimpse of these people from time to time. They’re pretty tiny, but if you look closely enough, you might be able to notice them now and then. They’ll be more noticeable, redder, and easier to notice once they’ve eaten.
  • Rusty/Red StainsThose scarlet and rusty stains are blood—specifically, your blood. It may be blood from your bites, or it could be the result of the creatures being squished after their meal.

What Household Item Kills Bed Bugs And Their Eggs?

A close up of a Common Bed Bug found in Connecticut

The top home solutions to kill bed bugs and their eggs are the following:

Salt 

In a world where bed bug infestations are rising, efficient, low-cost methods are used to win the battle against these parasites.

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Treatment with salt is beneficial; however, it is most successful in the early stages of an infestation. When bed bugs are discovered late in the game, salt treatment may not be successful.

Acetone (Nail Polish Remover)

That’s right, the same acetone you used to remove your two-week-long-lasting gel nail paint. Bed bugs are killed on contact with acetone fingernail polish remover (it must be 100 percent acetone). Pour some of this on a bed bug as soon as you notice one and wait for it to dry. 

what household item kills bed bugs and their eggs

The dead bed bug will still need to be vacuumed up, but at least it will be dead. It may be found online, at most dollar stores, and in any store that offers nail paint remover.

Unfortunately, bed bug eggs are not killed by this method. Rubbing alcohol works similarly to acetone in that it kills bed bugs on touch but does not destroy their eggs.

Borax

Borax is a natural home cleaner that suffocates bed bugs and kills them. To use, sprinkle a large quantity of borax across your mattress. To suffocate the bed bugs, leave it for at least 24 hours.

While bed bugs will not consume the borax, they will have difficulty breathing if the chemical is sprayed on them. When washing your garments, you may also add borax to the machine. Because the acid is a salt, it will dehydrate them.

Baking Powder 

It might be tough to get rid of bed bugs at times. The employment of harmful poisons has traditionally been the standard therapy.

However, there are several alternatives to using harmful or deadly chemicals to eliminate bed bugs. Bed bugs are killed with baking powder due to dehydration, which causes the insects to dry out.

Rubbing Alcohol

The first thing to do is rub alcohol diluted in water, the most commonly suggested tool. It is recommended since alcohol kills bed bugs on the touch and evaporates quickly, making it safe to use almost anywhere in the house.

Household goods that are believed to be safer for humans than conventional chemicals are frequently the subject of these recommendations.

Bed bug treatment: alcohol is essentially an effort to play the role of a contact spray, an insecticide spray that kills bed bugs on contact. These sprays have been shown to kill at a greater rate than rubbing alcohol and are exceedingly adaptable in their application.

When you combine contact sprays with a couple of residual sprays, you’ll have a chemical cocktail that will kill bed bugs right away and continue to kill them for the following few weeks.

Steam Mop

Another option for eradicating bed bugs is to steam their hiding places. Do not omit this step in your regular treatment routine. The steamer is harmful to both bed bugs and their eggs, and because of its capacity to reach inaccessible regions.

Heat treatment can trap and eliminate bed bugs in their nesting sites, reducing their number. Check to see if the device you’re using can produce high-pressure vapor flow. 

Fine-tune the steam settings for optimal steam flow over the bed bugs and eggs. The preferable method is dry steam, which leaves your space dry and reduces the risk of belongings or fabric damage.

Remember to steam all unexpected spots, such as little gaps in the walls, bed frames, joints, tufts, couches, under baseboards, and other locations.

Cinnamon 

While many people assume that spraying bed bugs with cinnamon leaf oil can kill them, the fragrance of cinnamon will merely dissuade them.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth can kill any insect with an exoskeleton, such as bed bugs. The skeleton and the insect are both dissolved in this method. The advantage of this pest cleaning method is that there is no mess to clean up afterward.

The bad news is that killing the insect might take a day or two. It’s vital to remember that bed bugs have eyes when using diatomaceous earth to destroy them. 

If they see one, they will not crawl through a mound of white powder. Instead, bed bugs crawl around it, rendering this strategy useless.

To avoid this, sprinkle a slight coating of diatomaceous earth where bed bugs can be observed to ensure that they do not crawl through it. Keep in mind that bed bug eggs are not killed by this method.

Vinegar

Vinegar is a good contact therapy, but it has to be used with the other home cures on this list. Spray undiluted vinegar on furniture and gaps in the floor where bed bugs are known to hide. Although vinegar kills bed bugs, it does not kill larvae. 

Freezer  

Place the dirty things in the freezer for four days to kill the parasites. Set the temperature to -18 degrees Celsius. Ice would develop inside the bed bug’s body at this temperature, causing damage to bodily tissues and organs and eventually leading to the organism’s death.

Some home objects, such as devices with LCD screens, things with liquid within, and others, might be damaged by freezing. Despite the bed bug outbreak, don’t freeze it. Consult a pest expert for advice on how to handle these items securely.

Bleach

Bleach kills bed bugs by oxidizing their outer shell on contact. Bleach is a powerful chemical that works well as a contact spray, but it stains your furniture, bed linens, and clothes, so don’t use it on them.

Vacuum

Vacuuming is a practical approach to collecting many bed bugs and their eggs, especially since bed bugs’ eggs are transparent and frequently challenging to spot with the human eye.

Sucking the bed bugs up with a strong vacuum cleaner and a powerful hose attachment. When combating an infestation, vacuum at least once every three days. Vacuum the mattress, bedding, and soft furnishings like sofas and plush chairs deeply.

Start from a higher position and go down, paying particular attention to the carpet, flooring, and any wall or floorboard cracks. Inspect electrical outlets such as fans and even your laptop for signs of an infestation.

Bed bugs and their eggs can both be killed by heat. Dryers are an excellent way to destroy bed bugs and their eggs, and they may also use for a variety of other cleaning tasks around the house.  

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen Peroxide

It can be sprayed on bed bugs as a contact killer, although it’s not as effective as isopropyl alcohol, and it stains because it’s a bleaching agent.

Essential Oil

Bed bugs are even found in hotel rooms and luggage. Having trouble with bugs outside your home is a nightmare. You can even use hot water or pyrethrins. That’s when essential oil comes in.

As bed bugs hate the pleasant smell, you can use lavender oil in a spray bottle for easy use. Also check the vacuum bag, zippers, seams, plastic bag. 

Bottom Line

Pesticides might be used to eliminate bedbugs, but they could be misused. It may encourage the bugs to seek a new home within the house. As a result, the infestation spreads. Killing bed bugs will spare you from a slew of issues.

However, before you can get rid of bed bugs, you must first go through a series of measures to ensure that you know how to get rid of bed bugs with household items. It’s essential to get rid of a bed bug infestation without spending a fortune on professional-grade chemicals or a pest control treatment. 

About the author

A biotechnologist by profession and a passionate pest researcher. I have been one of those people who used to run away from cockroaches and rats due to their pesky features, but then we all get that turn in life when we have to face something.