Finding bed bugs in your home is scary. You may be tempted to throw away your bed or burn your sheets to get rid of them, but these are not effective methods of bed bug elimination. In fact, there are several DIY methods for treating bed bugs that are not worth your time. Let’s separate fact from fiction in these popular choices…
Don’t Use Garden Pesticides
Using agricultural or other pesticides intended for outdoor use to control bed bugs in your home can make you and our family extremely sick. You can’t sprinkle these pesticides in living areas, and they are only useful on their intended species – which typically do not include bed bugs.
Don’t Throw Away Furniture
While you may be tempted to get rid of the furniture in your home, thinking “out with the furniture – out with the bugs”! Don’t do it. All furniture can be treated to eliminate bed bugs and it will be more effective and more affordable than replacing all of your furniture. Plus, since bed bugs can be found in areas other than your furniture, you could still have bed bugs in your home even after removing the infested furniture! Bringing new furniture in would just result in an immediate re-infestation as the bugs move from their hiding places into the new furniture.
Don’t Attempt to “Burn” Bugs in the Sun
Don’t attempt to wrap blankets or furniture in garbage bags or other plastic and place in the sun. It will not get hot enough to kill the bed bugs.
Don’t Waste Money on DIY Products
Some places sell products meant to get rid of bed bugs yourself, but most of these products are ineffective and will not completely eliminate the bed bugs. With just a single bed bug remaining, you could end up with a re-infestation in a matter of days. Female bed bugs lay five eggs a day or more.