I started this site because I wanted to document my efforts to figure out how to get rid of the bed bugs that had infested my home. My two young girls were experiencing extreme itching and discomfort, not to mention unsightly red blotches all over their arms and back. I had to act fast. My plan of action was first to research what DOESN’T work to get rid of bed bugs, because I didn’t want to waste time with crackpot ideas from questionable sources online.
I came up with a list of things that DO NOT work to rid your home of bed bugs.
- Turning the thermostat either up or down. Though I have read all over that heat and cold can kill bed bugs, the heat and cold needed is beyond what your thermostat is capable of handling. The heat needed is steam heat or near-boiling water temperatures, and the cold needed is below freezing. Neither of these is desirable, or really even possible, in a house with a family, like mine.
- Fumigation. Fumigation was always the first thing I thought of doing when I had a bug problem in the home. Fumigation can kill live bed bugs, but it is powerless to stop any sort of another infestation. Fumigation in tandem with other eradication methods is effective, but all on it’s own, it is a gamble. It’s also very expensive for something that may not end up working.
- Aerosols and Foggers. These methods are good for killing bugs you see in your home, but one of the trickiest things about bed bugs is that they’re so elusive. It is hard to catch a bed bug in action, so it would be really hard to kill an entire infestation with a few cans of bug spray. Any spray you use should be specifically intended for eradicating a bed bug infestation.
- Glue Traps. This method is best left to a cockroach problem. As far as I can tell, there aren’t any successful stories of ridding a home of bed bugs using glue traps.
Leaving an infested room unoccupied. It’s completely understandable that you’d want to sleep somewhere else while ridding your room of bed bugs. But, you can’t just vacate the home for a few weeks and hope that the bed bugs starve to death in your unoccupied mattress. Bed bugs are capable of dormancy for up to 18 months, so unless leaving your home or bedroom for a few years is a practical option, you’re best off not to try this one.
Click here to see what DID worked for me to permanently get rid of bed bugs.
