Do natural pesticide sprays really get rid of bed bugs? CC BY 3.0 Josef Reischig As people become concerned about the potential dangers of home-use pesticides for bed bugs, a number of more natural products have been developed. Non-synthetic bed bug sprays are on the market, which use essential oils, alcohol and other substances to fight infestations.But how effective are these products? Researchers at Rutgers University tested 11 different non-synthetic bedbug sprays, and their findings were recently published in the Journal of Economic Entomology. They analyzed the following products: The researchers sprayed the products directly onto adult bed bugs. They found that only EcoRaider and Bed Bug Patrol killed 90 percent or more of the bugs. EcoRaider was found to kill 87 percent of bed bug eggs, while all the others “had little effect on bed bug eggs.” EcoRaider’s active ingredients include geraniol, cedar extract, and sodium lauryl sulfate, which is an organic compound that can be derived from coconut or palm oils.
Bed Bug Patrol’s active ingredients include clove oil, peppermint oil, and sodium lauryl sulfate.Interestingly, some of the less effective sprays contained many of the same active ingredients as the effective ones, which means that some of the inactive ingredients may play an important role or create synergistic effects with the essential oils.It should also be noted that the lab conditions favored the products somewhat compared to real-life situations, because spraying bed bugs directly is often difficult as they hide and scatter. “These findings suggest that EcoRaider and Bed Bug Patrol are potentially useful pesticides for controlling bed bug infestations, but further testing in naturally infested environments is needed,” the authors write.Have you used a natural bed bug spray? What has been your experience? Just as a precaution.. I would like to travel with beg bug spray - but don't know which brand. Does anyone know a good one? Great travel size bottles. Get the kind that kills norovirus too ;-)
I just ordered the rest easy one that 50waves recommended. May be just a placebo effect that makes me feel better- but ..... Cool...honestly I didn't know there was a bed bug spray!!!! I leave for Provo in 4 weeks, so I'll be buying some this weekend!!! And about bed bugs....,.,I read some good tips on yahoo...,,, They recommend that when u arrive in your hotel room, don't just put your luggage on the floor or the bed, instead use the luggage rack or even the bathtub, as the bathtub is a hard surface leaving no where for bed bugs to hide..., Then inspect your bed/sheets/pillows .... I'm also bringing a plastic garbage bag to put my suitcase in wherever I'm not needing it.....it may be overkill, but I travel often and I've never brought anything home I also pack a travel size of Lysol Spray. Walgreens, Target & CVS stores have it in the travel items section. Anything that will cure my ringworm outbreak? Sorry, love ya, Gigi. Edited: 4:20 pm, October 06, 2012
my dog's heartworm medicine may help! so now it has to kill bed bugs, norovirus and ringworm? I'm sure DR. JIM or DR. VICKI have an answer for this one. We are an island. We do not have bed bugs on this island. Please do 'spray' everything before you come and dont bring them with you. Looking for a rental villa Taylor Bay - Its all over now...... :( Sands at Grace Bay ??? Help with final details for our trip.... Wow and thank you! Is it worth exploring the island in a rental car? First time trip to Turks and Caicos planned, any tips Beaches Resort - Soy Restaurant Directions airport to seven stars When is lobster season over? First Time Trip to T&T - Advise Needed Trip Report My 27th trip, my sister’s 2nd & my friend's 4th Buy liquor at duty free to bring into Turks? See All Turks and Caicos Conversations All Inclusive Adults Only is food and beverage expensive? The Veranda Resort vs Sandals
cheapest groceries and beer Beaches Turks and Caicos - CLOSED October honeymon in Turks & Caicos?? Turks & Caicos - How gay friendly? Honeymoon: Turks and Caicos or Maui?Bed bug infestations are increasingly common, but there are steps that can be taken to prevent bed bugs from infesting your home. When bed bugs are present, they can be safely controlled. This web site will help you learn more about how they thrive, how to recognize and inspect for their presence, steps to take to prevent them from infesting your home, how to safely rid your home of bed bugs if they do occur, and also how to select and work with a pest management professional. Read the guide, Preventing and Getting Rid of Bed Bugs Safely (PDF) Bed bugs are small insects that are usually active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs have flat, brown oval bodies and are about the size of an apple seed. The New York City area has more than 1,000 pest control companies and thousands of licensed pest management professionals.
To get rid of bed bugs, you need to choose the right company, be clear about what you want done, and monitor the service you get.(Image credit: Claire Bock) A warning before you read further: this post will make your skin itch. A good friend of mine aptly pointed out that bed bugs are like the adult version of head lice. I never had head lice as a child, and I never imagined that I would have bedbugs as an adult, until it happened to me. I had heard about the great bedbug epidemic in New York back in 2010, but my personal nightmare with bedbugs began last fall. Sometime around 3AM Halloween morning, I awoke to what would become my very own Halloween nightmare, to last months. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a bug crawling next to me in the dark, and, not typically squeamish, I smashed it between my fingers. When I got up to wash my fingers it appeared as if I had cut myself, and my fingers had blood on them! Suddenly it hit me — what if I had bedbugs? That might explain the mysterious rash I had been suffering from all month.
I frantically Googled images of bedbugs and spent the next two hours reading up enough to realize that yes, I had bedbugs. The more that I read, the more I realized that my nightmare was just beginning. The amount of work that it takes to get rid of bedbugs is overwhelming and costly. We were lucky to catch the infestation early on, thanks to my highly sensitive skin. Only 10% of humans have a reaction to the bites, so even though my husband and I were both being bitten he wouldn't have known that he had a problem until they were crawling out of the walls. If you think you might be playing host to these dreaded critters, here's what you need to do. (Image credit: Claire Bock) EXTERMINATE: Call an exterminator to identify and confirm the bedbug diagnosis. Once you know what you're dealing with, you can figure out your individual treatment plan. It is a good idea to start treating the bedbugs right away, so our exterminator sprayed the same day that we had the diagnosis.
Our extermination plan changed as we studied up more and weighed various costs. We started with a spray treatment that was supposed to be followed up every two weeks for six weeks. The follow-ups are very important to kill any eggs that start to hatch. We switched extermination companies for the follow-up two weeks later, and went for an in-home heat tent treatment in addition to a powder pesticide sprinkled around our baseboards. You can see our heat pod set up in the photo above. It is a tent made out of hot air balloon material — everything you want treated is placed inside, and the tent is heated above 60°C. We treated our bed, mattress, sofa, and luggage. Since our infestation was low to begin with, our mattress wasn’t ruined, and this heat treatment gave us piece of mind. The heat treatment is one of the costlier treatment methods, but as my husband saw me frantically throwing away nearly everything we owned out of fear, he decided on something drastic to calm my nerves.
LAUNDER: Launder every piece of fabric in your home. This is the most daunting task, but start with the epicenter and work your way outwards. Generally the epicenter is the bed, hence the name, as these bugs like to come out at night and feed on human blood. Despite the early diagnosis, even the upholstered furniture in my living room and dishtowels in my kitchen were laundered, just to be safe. Guidelines for Laundry: There are many conflicting reports out there about what temperature the wash needs to be at, and my exterminator made a good point by saying that bedbugs can’t swim, so they will drown in any water temperature. However, extreme temperatures are necessary to kill the eggs, which cycle and hatch every 2 weeks. You must either place the fabric in a hot dryer for 15 minutes, or freeze the item for 72 hours. ORGANIZE: Just doing laundry isn’t enough — there needs to be careful organization and separation between what has been laundered and what could be infested.