The main things that can kill bed bugs instantly are heat and pesticides.
Bed bugs and bed bug eggs will die at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This high temperature can kill bed bugs through either steam or simply exposure. You can apply steam to the folds of your mattress, furniture, couches, and carpeting, or you can hire professionals to do heat treatment on your home.
Chemical pesticides can also kill bed bugs quickly with a few sprays.
What kills bed bugs instantly?
Heat Treatment
If you want to kill bed bugs fast, heat treatment is a great option for you. If done by licensed professionals, you can be rid of all your bed bugs in a single day.
Heat treatment is done by placing industrial strength heaters inside the affected rooms of your house. These heaters will increase the temperature of the room above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the temperature bed bugs and their eggs die at.
It is important to have professionals do this service because if the temperature is not high enough, the bed bugs hiding in mattresses, drywall, and concrete may be able to survive and restart the infestation. Also, if the temperature is too high, the heat can destroy the heat-sensitive items around your house, including expensive electronics.
Heat treatment requires a sustained high temperature for several hours to ensure that all the bugs and their eggs are killed.
This method is a great option for people who do not want to involve chemicals in the process. It can be quite expensive and will require you to evacuate your house for a day, but its effectiveness is unmatched.
Rubbing alcohol
Diluted rubbing alcohol is one of the easiest bed bug killing solutions to prepare in your house. It will kill bed bugs the moment it makes contact with the pests. Rubbing alcohol also evaporates quicker than most other forms of alcohol making it safer to use around the house.
Rubbing alcohol may be effective at killing a handful of bed bugs at a time, but it is not a permanent solution because of the hard to reach hiding spots bed bugs choose and that it is not as effective on baby bed bugs, or nymphs.
Bed bugs have evolved to wisely choose the optimal hiding spots around your house that will keep them safe and out of your sight, so by spraying alcohol by yourself, you could very well miss the majority of the bed bugs.
Nymph are smaller and harder to spot than adult bed bugs, so you will likely miss them while spraying rubbing alcohol. Alcohol is not very effective on bed bug eggs either.
Essential oils
Diffusing combinations of essential oils to kill bed bugs has been done for decades. In the 1950s, essential oils and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, or DDT, were used to eradicate bed bug infestations.
DDT is no longer used for handling pests inside homes, but some essential oils are still quite effective in killing bed bugs.
Oils kill bed bugs by suffocating bed bugs. Oregano oil and other essential oils have been found to be reliable when used on bed bugs at home, but these studies were performed in controlled settings where the bugs were not allowed to reproduce and feed.
Much like rubbing alcohol, oils need to have physical contact with the bed bug to kill it, so the infestation can very much survive and spread further.
Some people will prefer this method because it is free of chemicals unlike most other insecticides.
What chemicals can kill bed bugs?
The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, have a list of over 300 chemicals that are safe to use to kill bed bugs. This list includes biochemicals, pyrethins, pyrethoids, and dessicants. But if you prefer homemade solutions made of ingredients you are comfortable using, then rubbing alcohol and essential oils are safe alternatives.
Can I get rid of bed bugs on my own?
Yes, it is possible for you to remove bed bugs from your home by yourself. It will require research, perseverance, patience, and the right kind of products to succeed. But be warned that despite DIY bed bug control can be affordable and fit in your schedule, it is a huge task to take on.
Make sure that you do a thorough job so as to no longer require repeat treatments which will lead to you spending even more money, and possibly more money than what you might have spent had you hired a professional to begin with.
Be aware that there are products on the market that say they are effective against bed bugs but will not actually solve your problem. So, do your research and make sure the products you will be using are proven effective and will not counteract each other into ineffectiveness.
Before undertaking DIY bed bug pest control, have realistic expectations, but with consistency and patience you can be successful.
How do I go about doing DIY bed bug removal?
First , you have to be able to know what a bed bug looks like when you see it. Bed bugs are small but they can be seen with the naked eye. Do your research so you can be sure that you do have bed bugs and not some other pest problem. This is necessary because if you incorrectly claim to have bed bugs, you risk caving unnecessary pesticide exposure.
Inspect the affected room to know the exact locations of the bed bugs and how severe the infestation is. Use a magnifying glass and flashlight and thoroughly inspect your sleeping area and its surroundings for bed bugs and eggs.
After correctly identifying and inspecting which parts of your house have bed bugs, you can now go about applying pesticide. You can also place your mattress inside a plastic encasement to starve the bugs in it while making sure no bugs get inside it.
Lastly, all you have to do is keep an eye out for bed bugs that have possibly survived your initial treatment, and repeat when necessary.
Conclusion
Bed bugs can be killed by any application of heat that is over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This may be done through steam or professional heat treatments.
Spraying rubbing alcohol on bed bugs can also kill them but it is not effective in complete eradication of the colony.
Essential oils have also been used for decades as a safe alternative to chemical pesticides.
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