Bed bugs. What else could make your skin breathe so poorly? Contrary to their name, bedbugs can infest more than just beds! They are attracted to dark cracks in human areas. This means that they can be found in many different places throughout the home. Find out how to get bedbugs out of your apartment with your own hands.
When you discover a bedbug, it can be understandably unnerving. These little vampires feed on blood, leaving itchy red bites on their hapless victims. These bites can be potentially dangerous to your health. And let's face it, they're just plain rude!
What is boric acid?
Boric acid is a white powder made from the chemical boron and water. This is what is called an oxygenated acid, and it occurs naturally in some minerals, hot springs, and volcanic waters. It is known to be useful in many home and medical applications.
While it should of course be used with caution, boric acid is much less harsh than some harmful chemicals. We keep this brand in our kitchen cabinet.
Operating principle
Why is boric acid so often used to poison various insects - ants, cockroaches, fleas and other crawling creatures? The answer is simple - for them it poses a serious danger, as it is a strong poison.
- The action of the drug is contact and intestinal. When dry, the powder has a strong contact effect and works by getting on the skin, and when wet it exhibits an intestinal effect and destroys the insect from the inside.
- The mechanism of action is simple: when ingested, the poison begins to dehydrate the body and corrode the intestines. Water from the tissues, attracted by the acid, accumulates in the intestines, while the tissues themselves are deprived of water and die. The insect quickly dies from dehydration.
- The substance also has a certain nerve-paralytic effect. The nervous system becomes paralyzed, nerve impulses are blocked, and various body systems begin to fail. As a result, the insects die within a few hours.
- Those who survive suffer from reproductive systems. The acid has a sterilizing effect, causing the population to decline. However, this effect mainly occurs in cockroaches and ants.
The insect quickly dies from dehydration caused by boric acid.
Boric acid for pests
Among its many household uses, boric acid is an effective and natural pest control solution. Boric acid is mainly known as an extremely effective ant killer. It can be found as a main ingredient in many common insecticides.
It is highly toxic to most pests, causing severe loss of their tough outer shell on contact. It will also kill them if eaten - it destroys their stomach and metabolism.
Also find out: Can you use Listerine as a lice treatment?
Temperature control method
Bed bugs are afraid of sudden temperature changes, so the temperature method is often used to combat blood-sucking parasites. Insects cannot tolerate either too high or low temperatures.
To kill bedbugs, you can use hot steam treatment using a steam generator or a powerful industrial hair dryer. Such devices are difficult to find at home. In such cases, you can use the services of a sanitary and epidemiological station, which uses special checkers and other equally effective methods of destruction.
Freezing parasites has a good effect. This method is suitable for people living in a private home. Collect all clothes, carpets, rugs, bedding and take them outside, leave for 2-3 days.
Turn off the heating in the house and open the windows. Leave the room for 8-10 hours - after such extreme freezing, not a single bug will remain alive.
This method of insect control is used quite rarely - this is due to its labor intensity and the possibility of freezing only at the appropriate air temperature.
How to remove bedbugs from an apartment: is boric acid safe for people?
Luckily, boric acid affects the insect body differently than it does the human body! For the human body, the powder is slightly more toxic than table salt (when compared in large doses). The smaller the body, the more toxic boric acid will be.
Although it requires a large lethal dose, this does not mean that boric acid is necessarily safe for humans. Always keep it out of the reach of children and try to avoid inhaling the powder.
Like everyone else, just use common sense when it comes to boric acid. Do not swallow it, do not try to inhale it, and make sure it does not come into contact with broken skin.
Description of the product
Boric acid is well known to everyone and looks like a white powder. She has no smell. The substance can dissolve in water, but it must be taken into account that it takes a long time to dissolve and does not completely dissolve.
The product has extremely low toxicity for warm-blooded creatures. Therefore, it has no effect on either domestic animals or humans.
Advantages of the product
- low toxicity;
- ease of use;
- low price;
- availability.
Boric acid is well known to everyone and looks like a white powder
How to remove bedbugs from an apartment: the effectiveness of boric acid
Many people try to use boric acid to kill bed bugs, but most industry experts advise against using it. Boric acid is not the most effective solution for bed bugs, and here's why.
How to remove bed bugs from an apartment effectively, the creatures must ingest something to kill them. Boric acid can kill some by damaging their exoskeleton, but it doesn't seem to work in general. Boric acid is not actually an effective bedbug bait like human blood.
The jury is still out on whether boric acid is harmful when it comes into contact with human skin. If you decide to use boric acid, make sure you err on the side of caution. The use of boric acid in areas that come into direct contact with the skin, such as mattresses, is not recommended.
Sprinkling boric acid on all areas of the bed except the mattress can kill some bedbugs, although it is not the best option.
Processing Features
Boric acid for poisoning bedbugs should be taken in dry form and under no circumstances should it be diluted with water. For the success of the entire operation, it is necessary to first inspect the entire room and identify places where parasites accumulate and their nests. Treatment must be carried out quickly and immediately after the discovery of nests. This is important because bedbugs should not have time to hide in hidden places where the dry product cannot reach. The powder must be kept at the ready.
As soon as insects appear in sight, they should be sprinkled with the product. All nests must also be filled with the substance.
Direct contact of bedbugs with boric acid leads to their death
It is also recommended to sprinkle the surfaces with dry powder, trying to get:
- in the crevices of baseboards;
- in the folds of upholstered furniture.
The product can be scattered in paths in cabinets, drawers, and along the walls. If you want the powder to linger on vertical surfaces, you can use a simple method: dissolve boric acid in water and rinse the vertical surfaces with this solution. The solution will dry and the substance will crystallize on the walls.
The point of this treatment is that the bugs, when they go hunting, will begin to move, and they will have to walk through boric acid. Direct contact and infection will occur, which will lead to the death of the insects. There are more effective ways to kill bedbugs, which you can learn about in one of our articles.
What are bedbugs and how to identify them?
Bedbugs are famous travelers. They can be transmitted through used furniture, clothing, bedding, luggage, theater seats, etc. Despite their small size, they are an incredibly aggressive and dominant pest.
With these characteristics, bedbugs can infest entire buildings. They are reddish-brown in color and have a tiki-like appearance. Like ticks, their size varies depending on how much blood they suck.
What bedbugs are considered true bugs for is that they have a jointed beak and a so-called stylet, which is used to break the skin and find a blood vessel. The bug sucks out enough blood until it is full and then hides to digest the blood.
The best way to tell if you have bedbugs is if you notice unexplained itchy bites that look like red welts in zigzag paths or clusters. When you notice this, determine where they came from by looking in small places that are usually overlooked.
Healthy recipes
There are several simple recipes, the use of which is given the greatest preference when faced with the problem of the appearance of these parasites:
- Mix soap, kerosene and water in a ratio of 7:20:10. Treat all rooms and pieces of furniture with the composition (with the exception of clothing, dishes, personal hygiene items).
- Take a bar of laundry soap and grate it. Mix the resulting shavings with carbon disulfide, then add kerosene. Next, you need to pour the entire mixture through a funnel into a plastic bottle of a suitable size. After this, mix with water in a 1:1 ratio and treat all rooms in the house. The procedure should be repeated after a week.
- Mix ammonia and turpentine in a ratio of 5:1. Treat all rooms of the house or apartment.
Attention: the described methods are effective until the peak of infection occurs, that is, while there are few bedbugs in the apartment. In advanced cases, resorting to powerful chemical means of control is inevitable.
Why are bedbugs so difficult to eliminate?
To say the least, bedbugs are extremely durable. They can go for a long time without a blood feast. These dry spells surprisingly don't reflect them. They are tolerant of changing conditions and reproduce very quickly.
Although the battle against bedbugs may seem hopeless, they can be beaten. There are many different natural ways to get rid of bed bugs, most of which are better than boric acid. Below are 12 more effective (but still natural) ways to get rid of these unwanted intruders.
How to get bedbugs out of an apartment: 13 ways
Send all bedding before you do anything.
As soon as you suspect you have bedbugs, wash everything that can be washed in the hottest water possible and dry on high heat. The extreme heat will kill any bed bugs on your bedding.
Vacuum and steam cleaning
The mattress, box spring and area around the bed should be thoroughly vacuumed using a wand attachment. Make sure the vacuum bag is located somewhere outside your home. It is also helpful to thoroughly steam clean the mattress and box springs.
Disposal of contaminated furniture
If at all possible, replace any bedbug-bearing items. Although it is expensive and inconvenient, sometimes the eggs are located in places that are almost impossible to reach. In this case, deletion is your best option.
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a powder that comes from a type of soft and sedimentary rock. If the environment is dry, it is very successful in controlling bedbugs.
The dusty component can get on the bed bugs' exoskeleton, breaking the layer and eventually dehydrating them. They can also pick up diatomaceous earth by passing through it.
When they lick their feet, the silica is so sharp that it damages their insides and leads to death.
Rubbing with alcohol
Using alcohol friction can be effective. Spray it on and around the infested area to kill bed bugs and dry out the eggs. Just remember that alcohol can damage wood that has been varnished. Test a small amount on the wood before spraying/wiping the entire area.
Invest in a protective coating
The sealing of your mattress and box is critical. The mattress cover leaves errors in care or in bed. This will also keep your bed protected even if you don't have any bedding. After all, who knows what your next home might be unknowingly wearing?
Seal all cracks and cracks that bedbugs can get into.
In order to say goodbye to the pest, it is logical to get rid of your home. Find any cracks in the walls or gaps between baseboards and walls and fill them. Although this may seem tedious, it will certainly be worth it once the bedbugs stop appearing.
Essential oils and lavender sachets
Diffusing some essential oils is beneficial for bedbugs, such as tea tree, cedar and oil. These essential oils have the ability to significantly suffocate bedbugs. They block the external openings of the respiratory system, thereby closing everything.
Something that is important to know about this technique, however, is that essential oils are only effective when in direct contact with the little parasites.
Not only are lavender packets beautiful, but the scent of lavender repels bedbugs. Storing some of these sachets would be a win-win.
Pyrethrum
It is a natural extract found in chrysanthemum flowers. Pyrethrum travels through the nervous system of bedbugs, having a toxic effect on them.
bean leaves
This is a popular technique that was first used in Eastern Europe. Leaves are scattered in areas where bedbugs are present. When they step on the leaves, the hooked hairs attached to the leaves pierce them, successfully capturing them.
Legume leaves are very difficult to find. If you can't find any items for sale, you can always plant beans yourself using other methods such as plant sprouts.
Clean and disinfect thoroughly
Poor sanitation is not a direct cause of bedbugs. However, unnecessary places where they can hide are beneficial. Again, wipe everything down with alcohol and/or bleach and scrub!
Heat treatment
Direct heat will kill bedbugs and their eggs after about 30 seconds of direct contact. Many items cannot be placed in washers or dryers, so move them outside (if the weather is hot and the sun is good).
You can also invest in a space heater or two and place them right where the bedbugs are. This may be a good idea, since space heaters will cover a larger area, unlike steamships, which may not be able to reach these narrow areas.
Invest in such natural products
This spray, called EcoRaider, gets great reviews as an effective bedbug killer. It is used and preferred by exterminators and is made from natural and organic ingredients, making it safe to use around children and pets.
Disadvantages of the product
- Low efficiency.
- Long destruction period.
- Does not destroy eggs.
- The biggest drawback is the inaccuracy of the method. The bed bugs are supposed to pass through the poison, which is purely coincidental. Therefore, the population is declining extremely slowly.
- In addition, a lot of powder will have to be mixed in order to guarantee at least some percentage of it reaching the parasites. This will no longer be as economical as expected based on the cost of the product.
- Another disadvantage is inconvenience. To ensure that the product reaches the bedbugs, you have to sprinkle it everywhere, which interferes with the normal use of cabinets and storage areas. And scattered powder in the corners creates an untidy appearance of the apartment. Additionally, it is not appropriate in homes where there are small children or animals who might take the powder into their mouths. Although it is of low toxicity, it is still a poison and can cause undesirable consequences.
You can use boric acid if there is no other remedy at hand or the use of stronger poisons is extremely undesirable
Boric acid is sold in household chemical stores and pharmacies. Finding it is not difficult. The price is affordable for almost everyone.
The conclusion from here is simple: you can use boric acid if there is no other remedy at hand or the use of stronger poisons is extremely undesirable. It can be effective only if the population is not so large and the bedbugs do not cause great concern to the residents of the house. Otherwise, using the substance will do nothing. Therefore, it makes sense to use it only in combination with other means and mechanical cleaning of the apartment from bedbugs and eggs.
