Bed bugs are parasitic insects that bite on the skin of human beings and feed on blood. This bite can be painful and irritate the skin. The bed bugs can live without food for about one year because they feed on human blood and the carbon dioxide that humans and animals produce during respiration.
It means once bed bugs enter your house, they can live alive for a very long period by hiding themselves in the cracks of the wall, sides of the bed, and in the mattress. So it will be a challenging task to get rid of the bed bugs.
By cleaning the bed and area around the mattress regularly and adequately, you can decrease their number. There are also some home remedies with vinegar to get rid of bed bugs.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are tiny insects that are oval in shape and brownish in color. They have a size of an apple seed. And when they feed blood, their bodies swell.
Bed bugs move from one area to another, and they hide in the walls, ceilings, and spaces in the furniture. Bedbugs lay hundreds of eggs. That is why their number is always huge in the infested area. The larva or nymph of bed bugs can be present in the mattresses of the bed.
The Bed bugs do not cause any disease in human beings, but their presence can irritate them. And when they bite, they can cause itchiness and redness in that area.
Get Rid of Bed Bugs – Home Remedies for Bed Bugs with Vinegar
Vinegar can be helpful to battle bed bugs because vinegar is a strong acetic acid. The strong acetic acid directly affects the nervous system of the insects, which can lead to the death of the insect.
What you need to make a spray with vinegar is;
- White vinegar
- Spray bottle
When you have both of these, you can easily make vinegar spray. Ensure the spray bottle is clean and does not have any other material that can react with the vinegar. So it cannot harm the furniture, curtains, bedsheets, and other ornamental items of your home.
- Put that vinegar into a spray bottle.
- Then you can spray the vinegar in the infested area like corners of windows, sides of beds, cracks in walls, and other infested areas. You have to make the infected area completely wet with the vinegar.
- Always keep that vinegar in a spray bottle and immediately spray whenever you see a bed bug.
You can also use apple cider vinegar or rubbing alcohol for this purpose, but this will be more expensive because the quantity of these ingredients used will be high.
You should take down the curtains and remove the bed sheets and wash them with hot water. This will help you to fight against the problem of bed bugs.
I have also received questions that we can use bleach and vinegar to kill the bed bugs? Well, you can use these chemicals to fight bed bugs. But keep in mind that don’t use vinegar and bleach together. Because of the vinegar and bleach when they contact each other, and chlorine gas emissions occur. This chlorine gas is toxic and harmful to human health.
Pros and cons of using Vinegar for Bed Bugs
| Pros | Cons |
| It can quickly kill bed bugs. | It is not a long-lasting treatment to get relief from bed bugs. |
| Vinegar is always available in our kitchens. | The smell of vinegar is terrible. You have to bear it. |
| Vinegar is very cheap and readily available. | |
| The acetic acid present in vinegar is very effective in damaging the nervous system of bed bugs. | Vinegar is not practical in the case of the larvae of bed bugs. |
| Vinegar is not harmful to human beings as so many insecticides are toxic. So, you can freely spray where you want. | The vinegar can damage some materials in the home, like furniture wood, due to its low pH. |
| It is safe to use in houses that have children | It is not effective in significant infestation areas. |
| You have to make the couches, windows, corners, and bedsides completely wet after every five days to remove the bed bugs from your home altogether. | This kind of use makes it expensive, and also, you can’t bear the smell of vinegar after every five days. |
How to protect your house from Bed Bugs?
Once you have appropriately cleaned your house of bed bugs, you must follow the following tips to protect your home from bed bugs entering your home.
- Discard the extra mess from your home, which can provide a hiding place for the insects.
- Regularly vacuum the floor, rugs, and furniture of your home.
- At every door of your house, you must have to install door sweeps.
- Fill all the cracks in your walls, floors, or other parts of your home in which bed bugs can live.
- Regularly wash the bedding and clothes of their use with warm water.
- Before buying new furniture, make sure there is no bed bug infestation.
- Keep the non-washable items of the house in direct sunlight to kill the eggs of bed bugs if present.
- Keep your clothes in by covering them in plastic bags to protect them from insects.
- Regularly clean the curtains with the vacuum cleaner so that if an egg or bed bug is present, it can be removed before its number increases.
FAQs
Q. What scent repels bed bugs?
Different kinds of fragrances can be used as a repellent of bed bugs. Peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil, lemongrass oil, cinnamon oil, and clove oil are primarily effective in fighting bed bugs in the home. These are claimed to kill as well as repel bed bugs.
Q. If I have bed bugs, should I throw out my mattress?
No, throwing the mattress or any item which has been infested with bed bugs is always discouraged. Because this activity can lead to the spreading of bed bugs in other areas, you can clean or spray the mattress with vinegar, and after that, you can use a vacuum cleaner to clean the mattress. And you can wrap the mattress in a zipped plastic bag for more than one year. It will kill all the bed bugs and their larvae and nymphs completely.
Q. What attracts bed bugs into your home?
Bedbugs are not caused by the presence of dirt and grime. They are generally attracted to warmth and the high content of carbon dioxide in the environment. These are also present in areas that offer more places to hide.
Q: What other home remedies can I use to get rid of bed bugs?
Other home remedies for bed bugs include diatomaceous earth, baking soda, tea tree oil, and lavender oil. Although these remedies may kill bed bugs when they come in contact with them, they may not totally eliminate an infestation and may need to be treated professionally.
Q: Is vinegar safe to use around my home?
A: Vinegar is an effective alternative to chemical pesticides around the home, since it is non-toxic. However, it’s important to use caution when using any home remedy and to follow the instructions carefully to avoid any damage or harm to yourself, your family, or your pets.
Q. How can I prevent bed bugs from returning after using vinegar or other home remedies?
To prevent bed bugs from returning, it’s important to practice good hygiene and to regularly clean your home, including your bedding and furniture. In addition, you may want to consider purchasing bed bug-proof mattress and pillow covers as well as sealing any cracks or crevices in your home.
Conclusion
Vinegar is claimed effective in fighting bed bugs because it affects the bed bug’s nervous system and this effect of vinegar on the nervous system will lead to the death of the bed bugs. The use of vinegar has many plus points to using against bed bugs as it is non-toxic, cheap, and easy to use. With the above home remedies for bed bugs with vinegar, you can get rid of bed bugs.
Along with its plus points, it also has some negative points, like it has a sharp stinky smell, and it is not effective against immature bed bugs. So, vinegar can be used as a temporary solution to the bed bugs, but it is not a permanent solution to get rid of the bed bugs.
And if the number of bed bugs increased too much, the only way to get rid of them is to call the exterminators. So if you find several bed bugs again and again after all the efforts of removing them from home, you must not waste time because this can further lead to an increase in the number of bed bugs and call exterminators as soon as possible.
