Bedbugs in the house are a shameful fact for many, which for some reason it is customary to hide. Armed with folk methods or means from the store, the tenants begin an unequal battle. But are these methods always justified, and how can they be dangerous?
Bed bugs are not an object of the past. These parasites can appear in an apartment, and their social status is not essential for blood-sucking.
How do you understand that Bedbugs have started up at home?
The bed bug is a blood-sucking insect—about 0.5 cm in size, dark yellow or brown. The body flattens – this shape helps in most cases not to be crushed, for example, when a person turns in a dream. A well-fed parasite is less mobile and more rounded—nocturnal insect attacks during sleep when the victim is as relaxed and defenseless as possible.
They can appear for various reasons. Cleanliness and constant hygiene of the premises reduce the risk of infection and are not a panacea. The insect can be brought on shoes and building materials from crowded places.
One of the first signs that bedbugs live in the house is the appearance of bites on the body. Since the insect moves through the body in the process of saturation, the wounds are located side by side, most often in a chain. One bloodsucker can put about three to five injuries.
Insect bites can cause a strong allergic reaction: they become inflamed and enlarged, and sometimes the temperature can rise. However, in some people, they do not appear at all. It does not mean that bedbugs bite selectively, and it is just that the body does not always give out a reaction.
How to spot Bedbugs?
Check your bedding carefully. Bed bugs leave excrement – small black dots. You can also see tiny traces of blood after being bitten.
Since these insects are active at night, they can be seen around four to five in the morning if the lights are on. It is during this period that they creep out.
It is imperative to check the places of the possible habitat of parasites. The bloodsucker tries to stay closer to the power source, so it often hides in the seams of the mattress, sofa, upholstery – not far from the sleeping place. But they can also hide in areas where they are unlikely to disturb: in baseboards, cracks, or behind pieces of peeled wallpaper, paintings, carpets.
Even if the insects are not visible, discarded chitinous shells remain in their habitats.
How to get rid of Bedbugs?
The ideal temperature for bedbugs is + 20-30 ° С. Therefore, her significant change can kill them. But they are pretty tenacious and, in uncomfortable conditions, can slow down life processes – to fall into a state reminiscent of suspended animation without needing food for months.
Heat exposure
A mark on the thermometer over 45 ° C is fatal for bedbugs and larvae [1]. Therefore, boiling or washing clothes at a high temperature for at least 30 minutes will help get rid of them. The higher the temperature, the sooner and more surely the insect will die.
The rest of the items must be carefully treat with a steamer or iron. Heat guns will also help in cleansing the house from parasites. You can pack your things in black bags and take them out in the sun in summer.
But the death of bedbugs will occur only with direct contact with heat. If they hide deeper from the heat source during processing, then the temperature rise will be non-lethal. Ultraviolet rays are also harmful to these insects, and therefore, drying household items in the sun will also help.
Cold exposure
Bed bugs can survive temperatures as low as -10 ° C for about three weeks [2]. To quickly destroy them, you need to lower the temperature: larvae and adult insects die at -16 ˚C in 82 and -24 ˚C in 24 hours. Things can place in the freezer or taken outside if they’re freezing outside.
Popular General Remedies
Vinegar. It can help, but only if it floods with the nest itself, and is mainly use to scare away. When making a home remedy for bedbugs, vinegar mixes with ethyl alcohol and naphthalene.
Turpentine. It can only work on hard surfaces away from fire, as it is flammable. The smell of the substance is unpleasant and takes a long time to erode, and the product may stain.
Ammonia dilute in water and sprayed on the surface. It should be done only with open windows.
Kerosene can also help fight bed bugs. A paper or cloth moisten with a substance is placed at all points of the possible habitat of insects.
Boric acid. The powder scatter in places where parasites locate.
If these methods do not help, you cannot do without chemistry. Bed bug sprays and powders are available in almost all stores, and the result from their use is about the same.
But the most effective way is to see a specialist. Prepare the apartment before the disinfector arrives. It is necessary to do a thorough wet cleaning, curtains, bed linen, and things to wash at a high temperature (at least 60 degrees). You also must move furniture away from the walls and cover all the equipment (so that the solution does not damage). We’ll have to de-energize the wiring to be able to process the sockets. Remove dishes and food in advance.
To make a solution from bedbugs, you will need water, so you cannot block access to it.
Also Read: Antioxidants
