Bleach for bedbugs: are bedbugs afraid of it and won’t it be harmful for the family?

Like all insects, bed bugs are by no means invulnerable. They have their own weaknesses, which a person who wants to get rid of the pests that have tormented him can successfully play on.

Certain knowledge will help you get rid of the bloodsuckers living in your apartment for a long time, thereby ensuring yourself and your loved ones a sound and healthy sleep.

Efficiency

Bedbugs are afraid of the chlorine smell, and if bleach or solution gets directly on the insect's shell, you can count on its death. When someone is interested in whether it is possible to remove bedbugs with bleach, the answer for them will be encouraging.

This can be achieved by pouring bleach directly onto the bug infestation or treating the area where insects accumulate with a chlorine solution.

With such manipulations, a minimum number of parasites are destroyed, and survivors avoid subsequent contact with the harmful powder. The smell of chlorine will repel them.

And when 3-4 days have passed after treatment, the surviving parasites will begin to attack people again. If the owners are interested in whether bleach helps against bedbug larvae and eggs, then the answer can also comfort them. Even they cannot withstand contact with powder.

Does bleach kill insects?

Bleach is not an effective insect control agent. The powder is scattered around the perimeter of the apartment, but there is no guarantee that harmful insects will crawl into these places. But it will not be possible to treat every parasite manually.

Bleach burns through the bug's shell, which causes its death.

In addition, the pungent smell of chlorine repels insects, and they try to crawl away from places where lime is scattered. However, they continue to stay in the house.

In some cases, when using this substance, parasites may temporarily reduce their activity. But chlorine tends to quickly evaporate, after which the bedbugs return to their places.

Since insects try to hide after detecting an unpleasant odor, the effect of bleach on them will be insignificant, while the substance can cause severe poisoning in humans. Therefore, it is not recommended to treat the entire house with this product. It is better to limit yourself to individual small areas.

Chlorine-based insecticides are produced that are more effective than the substance in its pure form.

Mechanism of action on bedbugs

Chloride of lime is a dry, white powder with a distinct, pungent odor. It contains a minimum of 28% chlorine. When the powder comes into contact with water or air, the chlorine quickly evaporates.

Chlorine powder is stored in a dry place in a container with a tight lid. And the solutions are in dark glass bottles.

When treated with bleach with local exposure, it is possible to achieve the death of parasites due to their receiving burns incompatible with life.

Bleach helps against bedbugs and their offspring due to the following effects:

chlorine compounds get on the chitinous shell;
when interacting with moisture, acidic compounds are formed;
they destroy the parasite's shell and it dies.

Chlorine has a similar effect on the dense shell of eggs laid by bedbugs. But it is not possible to detect them and treat them with chlorine, since the eggs themselves are very small (up to 1 mm) and translucent.

Checking personal belongings before departure

This point smoothly follows from the previous one. After the overnight stay is completed, all personal belongings should be checked for bedbugs before departure. Carefully review and shake up everything that was removed from the travel bag. If at least one living insect is found, the entire procedure should be repeated from the beginning. It’s better to spend an hour of your personal time on this than to spend months removing parasites from your apartment.

If you had to spend quite a long time at the place where you spent the night and not only living individuals were found in your personal belongings, but also their excrement, dirt, dry parts of the body, and a corresponding unpleasant sweetish smell, then it makes great sense to start washing your things under hot water with detergents. And then fry under the iron at the highest possible temperature that the fabric will tolerate. This will avoid bringing home bedbug eggs, which are probably already full of things.

If a suitcase is infested with insects, it is better to throw it away with all your belongings.

Pros and cons of the product

In some cases, bleach kills bedbugs and also has a number of other advantages:

purchasing a bleach solution or this substance in powder is not problematic and inexpensive;
bleach may be an effective temporary measure until the insecticidal service arrives;
the product is easy to use.

Chloride of lime in the open air quickly loses its disinfectant properties, so it is better to use it in dissolved form.

In addition, the product has significant disadvantages:

bleach is toxic to humans and pets;
If used carelessly, damage to furniture and decorative items is possible;
the substance has a sharp, specific odor that is difficult for many to tolerate.

This product is quite difficult to use locally, since it is difficult to determine where exactly the bedbugs are located - they are carefully hidden in the apartment.

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Chemical smell

Products from the chemical industry are probably the only products that can really act on bedbugs for a long time and effectively. The most unpleasant substance for a home blood-sucking parasite is ammonia. Its smell has a sobering effect on humans, but for a bug it is real poison. Having smelled a pungent aroma, the insect goes as far as possible to a place where the smell cannot be heard. Often a bucket of water is placed indoors, into which a few drops of ammonia are added, and this serves as an excellent way to prevent re-infection with bedbugs. The disadvantages of this method are obvious, since being in a room with an ammonia smell is extremely uncomfortable for a person.

There are a number of odors that have repellent properties and are unpleasant for parasites, these include:

The smell of tar soap
Denatured alcohol
Apple cider vinegar
Acetone
Turpentine
Kerosene
bleach

Of course, none of the above smells can kill a bug, but they can still scare them away. Often these aromas are components. But repellents and aerosols for bedbugs, but act as an aid. On their own, even in large quantities, vinegar, acetone or even turpentine cannot kill a bug, even if the insect is completely dipped into the solution. But if you place small drops of these substances near a bedbug nest, you can be sure that there will be no bedbugs there in the near future. Are bedbugs afraid of bleach - more likely no than yes, since there is not a single confirmed fact of killing bedbugs using this method

As in all the previous described methods, the method of getting rid of bedbugs using strong aromas is rather ineffective, since it is not capable of destroying the insect, but it can introduce an unpleasant odor into the apartment.

How to use

People without professional training can use bleach only for the purpose of repelling insects by smell. It is not advisable to try to destroy pests with this product. To clean the room from parasites, special attention should be paid to their nests.

Bleach can be sprinkled dry behind the baseboards. But it is better to use an aqueous solution of bleach to treat living space. A disinfectant solution is more convenient to use than powder. After proper treatment of the room, you can count on a decrease in bedbug activity.

To prepare a bleach solution, take 1 kg of the chemical compound and 10 liters of tap water.

Sequence of solution preparation:

Add a small amount of water to 1 kg of bleach in an enamel bucket and mix thoroughly with a wooden stick.
Then add so much more water to obtain a volume of 10 liters.
The bucket is covered with a tight lid and kept for 24 hours.
The settled liquid is carefully poured into a dark glass container and tightly closed with a lid.

Places where insects accumulate are treated with a bleach solution. A blood-sucking insect will not voluntarily crawl towards a chlorine solution, and a person cannot handle each insect manually.

If you properly treat the room, you can temporarily suppress the activity of bedbugs, but after a few days they will begin to bite the residents of this room with renewed vigor. To completely get rid of such parasites, this method must be used in combination with another.

Before starting processing, a person must make an effort and find bedbugs (a special concentration of insects).

Then you need to mechanically collect all the pests and their metabolic products. It is recommended to pre-treat their former habitats with boiling water, and then carry out chlorine disinfestation.

After handling the chlorine solution, you should also thoroughly vacuum all living areas, paying special attention to the far corners and niches. At the end, the bag should be thrown out of the vacuum cleaner.

After this, it is recommended to wash all floors and panels with bleach, and then additionally repeat the procedure by adding tincture of wormwood to the water.

The smell of plants

Bedbugs perceive odors using receptors located on the sensilla. They, in turn, look like thin hairs, at the end of which neurons are located. It is the neurons that help to sort out the aroma.

To answer the question of what bedbugs don’t like, it’s worth considering in detail the rules for using some plants, including:

sagebrush;
chamomile;
calamus;
tansy.

Sagebrush

Wormwood is considered the most effective plant. It brings a positive result if you use an integrated approach to solving the problem of bloodsuckers in your home

It doesn’t matter whether it’s traditional methods or the use of modern chemicals

To repel bedbugs using wormwood, you need to divide it into separate branches and place them evenly throughout the room.

Particular attention should be paid to their nesting sites:

under the bed;
under the baseboard;
under mattresses;
in bedside tables;
under pet bedding.

The results of using wormwood will be visible in a few days. But this plant is not able to keep the area from the reappearance of insects for a long time, and when they get very hungry, they will begin to bite, despite its presence in the room.

Calamus and tansy

Using tansy and calamus in ground form also helps in the fight against bedbugs. But this smell only scares away parasites and does not kill.

A mixture of calamus and tansy bears fruit, and the bugs leave their nesting sites. But it is possible that they will not go too far, but, most likely, will simply move to the next room.

It is best to use tansy and calamus as an aromatic barrier - arrange the branches and inflorescences in ventilation shafts, on the windowsill and balcony. This preventive measure quite successfully helps against the possible infestation of bedbugs.

Chamomile

What other smells are bedbugs afraid of? The answer is quite simple - chamomile. It, like other herbs, can be used in dried form by purchasing it at the nearest pharmacy, or collected in the yard.

The saline solution will enhance the effect of the chamomile aroma. They should treat all surfaces and be sure to fill corners and crevices.

Industrial products with chlorine

Chlorine compounds are actively used in the chemical industry for the production of insecticides:

Chlorpyrifos. The product is not intended for home use. It can only be used by trained exterminators. The premises are treated by irrigating contaminated surfaces and areas of high concentration of bedbugs. While working, specialists must use personal protective equipment.
Chlorpyrimark. The compound is highly toxic and is classified as a professional disinfectant. After treatment for another 45 days, the insecticide has a detrimental effect on all domestic parasites and their larvae.
Sychlor. This insecticide paralyzes the nervous system of insects. After treatment, the premises remain in effect for 45 days, so larvae that hatched later than the treatment period can also be destroyed. Depending on the degree of infestation, they use their own concentration of solution, which is used to spray the nests of bed bugs.

After treating the room with professional products, surfaces that people will touch are thoroughly washed with soap and soda solution (door handles, countertops).

Apartment renovation

Bed bugs thrive in various cracked surfaces on walls, floors, dry furniture, and so on. But the most favorite place will be the space between the wallpaper that has come away from the wall, which is often observed in the area of the baseboards behind the beds, that is, places where at first glance everything seems normal.

It is necessary to periodically examine such weak points and, if present, repair them immediately. It is highly advisable to seal the gaps between the wall and the baseboards with any odorless construction sealant.

Are they afraid of the light?

Their defense mechanism, developed over centuries, is a reaction to light. In the daytime, as a rule, bloodsuckers do not go out to “hunt”.

To protect its populations from destruction, the insect does not reveal itself during the daytime and remains in a shelter.

But there is another explanation for this. Night is a physiological time of rest for the human body, with the blood of which insects parasitize.

It is more convenient for the parasite to feed at night in the early morning, when the person is motionless and resting in a sound sleep. At this time of day, insects do not cause aggression from humans.

During daylight hours, they can move around the body of a person who is intently busy with work, has taken a motionless position in front of the TV, or is resting. If living rooms are illuminated around the clock, this will not prevent the bloodsucker from feeding on the blood of a sleeping person.

First aid for bites

If, in addition to inflammation and itching, the victim no longer has any allergic reactions, then it can be relieved in the following ways:

With the help of medications. “Afloderm” or “Menovazim” are good at relieving itching and disinfecting the affected areas.
Using aloe juice. This method is great for sensitive skin of babies. Aloe soothes the skin and relieves itching. The bite site should be rubbed with a fresh cut of the plant.
Saline or soda solution. A cotton swab soaked in the solution is applied to the bite site, after which the inflammation subsides quite quickly.
Parsley juice is also great for calming inflammation.
Fresh potatoes can relieve itching; you should briefly apply the cut tuber to the bite site.

If the allergy is not limited to just itching, then this is a serious reason to consult a doctor, especially if the bitten person has a fever.