How to Kill Bed Bugs Without Pesticides

Bed bugs hide during the daylight hours then creep into your bed at night.

If you wake up in the morning with itchy sores on your skin, bed bugs may be the cause. These small insects feed on the blood of humans and animals. They are difficult to see, with adult bed bugs measuring only about one-quarter inch in length. Getting rid of a bed bug infestation does not require toxic chemicals; rather, diligent cleaning and the use of non-toxic products will safely eliminate bed bugs.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic bags
• Scrub brush
• Vacuum cleaner with hose attachment
• Water
• Dish soap
• Rags
• Steam cleaner
• Duct tape
• Masking tape
• Diatomaceous earth

Instructions

1. Remove clutter from the room. Piles of laundry, stuffed animals and other areas of clutter are ideal places for bed bugs to hide. If you suspect bed bugs have infested piles of clutter like laundry and stuffed animals, place these items in a sealed bag to remove them from the room and wash. Use the hottest water setting possible.

2. Remove the sheets, pillow cases and mattress pads or covers from the bed. Place these items in a sealed bag for laundering. Wash them in the hottest water possible.

3. Use a dry scrub brush to dislodge bed bugs and eggs from potential hiding spots. These spots include drawers, baseboards, the bed frame, both sides of the mattress and box spring, furniture legs and any crevices or cracks in the room where the bed bugs may be hiding. Turn over furniture, if possible, to scrub the underside of the items. Dismantle the bed frame to further expose hiding spots for bed bugs.

4. Vacuum the room thoroughly. Vacuum carpet and rugs, as well as all of the spots you went over with the scrub brush. Use the hose attachment on the vacuum cleaner to get into small spaces.

5. Scrub hard surfaces with a solution of hot water and dish soap. Use a rag to wipe down all of these surfaces.

6. Steam clean soft surfaces such as carpeting, rugs and upholstery. The heat from the steamer will kill the bed bugs.

7. Lay duct tape, sticky side up, along the floor boards, bed legs and other places where you suspect bed bugs may be lurking. Hold the duct tape into place by taping down the ends with a piece of masking tape. Dispose of the duct tape once it becomes filled with bed bugs.

8. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the room. This is a safe, non-toxic product that will kill bed bugs. Diatomaceous earth can be purchased at most garden centers or home improvement stores.

9. Sprinkle a liberal amount of the powder along the floor, baseboards, under the bed and on any areas where you suspect bed bugs. Sprinkle it between the mattress and box spring as well.

10. Wait about three days before vacuuming up the powder. Reapply the powder if you still suspect bed bugs are present in the room.

Tips & Warnings

• Seal up any cracks or holes where bed bugs may be entering the room.

• Keep the bed frame pulled away from the wall and tuck the sheets and blankets in so that they are not in contact with the floor to prevent bed bugs from crawling onto the bed.

• If you do not own a steam cleaner, they can be rented from most rental supply stores.

References

• Bed Bugs Guide
• Troubled Times: Diatomaceous Earth
• The Bug Stops Here: Intelligent Control of Bed Bugs
• Golden Harvest: Diatomaceous Earth
• Harvard School of Public Health: Bed Bugs