Natural Bed Bug Remedies

The bed bug plague is spreading throughout the United States very rapidly. These bloodsuckers are very difficult to get rid of using traditional pesticide sprays. Sometimes pesticide makes the bed bug problem even worse by spreading them and causing them to become resistant to chemicals.

There are many natural remedies for bed bugs such as diatomaceous earth (DE) , rubbing alcohol, Vaseline, Heat Treatment (thermal treatment), cold treatment (cryogenic), sticky traps, and kidney bean leaves. Some bed bug remedies work, however others must not be relied upon as a sole defense against bed bugs.

The Bean Leaf remedy is the latest rediscovery. Basically the trick is to get a certain kind of bean leaf (kidney bean) and spread them all over the floor of the house. These leaves act as sticky traps due to their texture. Good luck finding enough kidney bean leaves to spread all over the floor and furniture.

There are many problems with this kidney bean bed bug remedy. The biggest problem with the bean leaf method is this: It won’t kill all the bugs. What is the difference between leaves that bugs stick to and sticky traps you can buy at Wal-Mart? Sticky traps won’t kill all the bugs, neither will kidney bean leaves.

Heat Treatment (Thermal Treatment) is the fastest way to kill all bugs and eggs. “Heat Treatment” refers to using heat to kill bed bugs with or without the use of pesticides. The most successful types of heat treatments involve heating the entire room, or the entire home, to over 140 degrees. the most unsuccessful types of heat treatments include using localized heat such as that produced by a blow dryer, heat wand, steamer, or the like. A Heat Treatment, if performed properly, will kill all bugs and eggs in just one day! The Heat remedy should ONLY be performed by a licensed company using the proper equipment. Care must be taken to ensure that certain items are not damaged by the heat.