There are several home remedies for removing or exterminating bed bugs. These include washing the bedding in hot water, bagging infected items and placing them in sunlight on hot days, isolating infected areas, freezing infected items at very low temperatures and vacuuming all possible sites of infestation.
Washing infested clothes and linen in hot water is one of the simplest ways of eliminating bed bugs. Bed bugs have soft skin and cannot survive at high temperatures. Tumble drying and ironing linen infested with bed bugs is an effective means of extermination. Double-bagging items and placing them in direct sunlight on hot days is another way of getting rid of the problem. Bed bugs can chew through one bag, so double-bagging is important.
Isolating items contaminated by bed bugs for two to five months removes the bed bugs from their source of food. In warm periods, bed bugs die of starvation quite quickly. Bed bugs are also susceptible to extreme cold. Placing infected items in airtight bags at zero degrees F is an effective measure for remedying bed bug infestations.
Vacuuming helps to eliminate bed bugs at home. Vacuum all the places where bed bugs could hide like mattresses, bedding, box springs, furniture, curtains, and carpets. After vacuuming, discard the bugs in a sealed bag to prevent them from escaping.