There are many store-bought items to choose from: Aerosols, bug bombs, sprays, diatomaceous earth, and even salamander heaters! “Guaranteed to kill bed bugs!!” you may read. It’s guaranteed, so it’ll work, huh? 12 different store-bought killers and $1,400 later. Well.. Maybe if you try one more that you didn’t try before.
Treating with Store-Bought Products
What you don’t find on those labels are “May cause bed bugs to go deeper into your walls for harder eradication”.
Now people have said they’ve been able to treat bed bugs themselves successfully, so it can be done. I cannot emphasize this enough: Read every label and follow the directions completely! Misuse of store-bought bed bug killers have been associated with short-term and long-term health issues. You can find many online articles about this, including from the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most labels will tell you not to apply directly on furniture and will tell you you must be out of your structure for so much time: These are safety precautions. Please follow these instructions. If the label says “not for indoor use”, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t use it inside your home.
Treating with Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth was one amazing DIY bed bug treatment option! The crushed seashells tore into those bed bugs like no other. (It has also torn up some vacuums like no other too, so be aware of that) BUT this option is still available. You do have to place a heavy dusting around your baseboards, beds, couches, carpets, dressers, headboards/footboards, nightstands, TV stands. Maybe keep shoes on after application so you can walk on/around all of the powder.
Diatomaceous Earth powder was designed to cut the oily, protective layer of bed bugs, leaving them exposed. With this protective coating gone, the bed bugs dehydrate and die off within a few hours. This powder used to work effectively, until bed bugs began evolving with harder exoskeletons, which resists the cutting action this powder was designed for.
Diatomaceous Earth has been shown to kill some bed bugs, but unfortunately, has not shown to be effective in larger, infested structures in recent studies.
Treating with Salamander Heaters
People have even gone to the extreme of purchasing or renting salamander heaters! If you do not know what you are doing, please don’t consider this option! Salamander heater fires can be found on any news site, like ABC News Channel 9, reporting how a family lost everything from their heater.
If you know what you’re doing, it’s good to know that the lethal temperature for bed bugs are 117-122 degrees. A structure would need to be heated above 122 degrees for hours, and that time all depends on the draftiness and size of your structure. Remember, every single room must be heated to this temperature for a few hours to be successful.
Watch out for carbonated beverages, candles, electronics, oil painting, plants, aerosol cans, and so forth. You’ll want to remove these items from your structure for safety purposes.
If you want to go the professional route, let’s learn a little more about different treatment options for you by clicking one of the links below:
CHEMICAL TREATMENTS
FUNGAL TREATMENTS
HEAT TREATMENTS