How to kill bedbugs in an apartment: an overview of reliable tools and useful tips

Next you will learn:

• Why is it much more difficult to kill bed bugs than, for example, cockroaches or house ants;
• Why, even after using a highly effective insecticidal preparation, after a week or two, parasites can start biting you again;
• What additional methods of dealing with bedbugs (in addition to the use of chemicals) can be effectively used in practice to obtain a truly reliable result;
• What preparations for bedbugs are today considered the most effective and safe to use;
• How to kill bedbugs if these bloodsuckers are constantly crawling from their neighbors;
• What is important to consider if you suddenly decide to call the pest control service ...

Bed bugs are considered one of the most difficult household insects to eradicate. This is largely due to the fact that it is impossible to feed these parasites with any poisoned bait, while it is this method of struggle that gives the greatest effect, for example, against cockroaches and house ants.

The fact is that bed bugs are obligate bloodsuckers, and they are simply not able to eat anything other than blood (and in most cases it is fresh human blood). This means that no poisoned gels or, for example, food products mixed with boric acid or any modern insecticide will give absolutely no effect.

Thus, it is advisable to kill bedbugs in an apartment with insecticidal preparations of contact action - that is, those that destroy insects due to simple physical contact with their external chitinous covers. The form of release of such drugs can be different: powders (the so-called dusts), concentrates in the form of a suspension for dilution with water, aerosol cans, smoke bombs, and insecticidal crayons (pencils).

On a note

Oddly enough, even today, when there are many relatively inexpensive, highly effective insect repellents on the market, some still try to kill bed bugs in their apartment with kerosene, gasoline, turpentine, and even vinegar essence. Unfortunately, these "grandmother's" recipes are not only ineffective in general, but often pose a potential danger to human health if used unreasonably.

Imagine, for example, how the tenants, exhausted by bedbugs, furiously fill all the cracks with gasoline, coat the baseboards with it, and abundantly moisten the upholstery of the sofa. And here it is no longer clear who they are killing - bedbugs or themselves (with a terrible smell). Well, if you think that in a closed room a mixture of gasoline and air vapors can explode from a small spark, then the price of such a “disinfestation” may become too high ...

The complexity of breeding bedbugs is also associated with the very high resistance of their eggs to the action of most insecticides. Even if it is possible to successfully kill adults and bug larvae, there is always the possibility that somewhere in the secluded places of the house several eggs of these parasites will remain, from which the larvae will subsequently hatch, grow up and begin to terrorize the owners of the premises again.

Therefore, when starting to kill bedbugs in an apartment, it is important to understand that in most cases this will not be a one-time “victorious” treatment of the premises. As a rule, especially with a significant contamination of the apartment, for a reliable effect, it is required to carry out the treatment at least 2-3 times with an interval of 2 weeks. (during this time, almost all of the surviving bedbug eggs will hatch into young larvae).

On a note

Practice shows that a significant number of bedbug fighters, having not received 100% destruction of bloodsuckers in one treatment, are already inclined to consider the drug ineffective. After all, how so - it would seem that the whole apartment was generously processed, and after two weeks the parasites bite again. So, the drug is a dummy?!

In fact, if even for a week after the treatment of the premises, the bugs practically ceased to disturb at night, this can often be considered a good result, indicating that the adults and larvae of the parasites are “out of order”. In such a situation, it is important not to give the hatching larvae a chance to grow to the state of an adult and lay eggs, otherwise the bedbug population in the house will again begin to rapidly increase.

Meanwhile, it is useful to keep in mind that bedbugs can be destroyed not only by insecticides, but by physical methods of influence, and in some cases it is the combination of different methods of pest control that allows you to get the desired result with minimal effort and in a short period of time. Therefore, before considering the most effective modern preparations for bedbugs, let's also touch on the methods of physical destruction of bloodsuckers, which can be used in conjunction with insecticidal treatment of an apartment.

 

Physical methods for the destruction of bedbugs

Perhaps the main drawback of various chemical poisons used to combat bedbugs is their certain toxicity to humans too (as well as to pets). And no matter how the advertisement says about the safety of a particular drug, it should always be understood that insecticides, when inhaled or prolonged contact with the skin, will definitely not add health.

At the same time, instead of killing bedbugs with insecticidal preparations, it is sometimes advisable to combine such treatment with physical methods for the destruction of parasites, which include:

• Freezing;
• As well as the destruction of bedbugs with hot steam or just hot air.

Such methods are well suited for the destruction of parasites in children's things, a crib, things of people prone to severe allergic reactions, in the case of living indoors with asthma, and in some other situations. That is, in cases where it is desirable to minimize the use of chemicals.

On a note

Most modern insecticidal drugs against bedbugs are quickly and without consequences broken down in the human body to safe compounds, and therefore are not as toxic to humans as they are to insects. However, if they come into contact with the skin or mucous membranes, they can cause irritation and provoke allergic reactions, sometimes very pronounced.

Especially severe cases of poisoning occur when the instructions for use of a particular drug are not followed, in particular, when personal protective equipment (respirator, gloves) is neglected.

The method of freezing bed bugs is especially well suited when clothes, bedding and furniture are infected with parasites - instead of poisoning bloodsuckers here with insecticides, it is enough to take it all out into the cold: bed bugs, as well as their eggs, die at temperatures below -22 ° C.It is important to take into account that it may take a certain time to cool furniture or mattresses “full thickness”, so it is advisable to leave things in the cold for at least 24 hours.

And further: The Get Express tool really killed all the bugs quickly - after 42 minutes only corpses were lying around

You can also freeze the entire apartment (or the entire private house), but it is important to protect the water and heating pipes from freezing.

However, if the yard is far from a harsh winter, then you can “starve” the bugs with heat: the parasites die quite quickly at temperatures above + 50 ° C. Accordingly, the following options are possible:

• Take out infected things to a glazed balcony on a hot summer day;
• Wash bedbug-infested clothing in hot water;
• Treat furniture, mattresses, clothes with hot steam using a steam cleaner (steam generator);
• Treat things and furniture with hot air from a hair dryer (it should be borne in mind that hot air will not pass, for example, deep into a thick mattress);
• With the help of powerful fan heaters, create a temperature in the room above + 50 ° C for several hours (this is how some companies abroad destroy bedbugs).

In general, it can be said that both freezing and high temperature treatment are more suitable for the destruction of parasites, so to speak, locally - in individual items, infected furniture, mattresses, allowing you to reliably destroy not only adults and larvae, but also bedbug eggs. However, in most cases, it is advisable to use highly effective insecticidal preparations to treat the main areas in an infected apartment.

At the same time, the choice of a drug with which it is planned to kill bedbugs (especially in a residential area) must be approached competently - let's consider this point in more detail ...

 

Bed bug insecticides

What do you think is the most important property of the drug from bedbugs? Its high efficiency? Affordable price? Or maybe the absence of an unpleasant residual smell in the house after treatment?

Practice shows that the main thing in a quality preparation for bedbugs (as, indeed, for other domestic insects) is its safety for humans and pets. There are many cases when, it would seem, the banal treatment of a room with an aerosol ended tragically for the person who carried out this treatment.

That is why the issue of safety when choosing a drug (and in the process of treating an apartment) must be approached especially carefully, without chasing lethal pesticides for professional use - fortunately, today there are many drugs that are comparable to them in terms of effectiveness, but at the same time adapted for domestic use, including odour-free.

Review:

“... The first time I walked, my breath caught, such a stinking poison. For half an hour I sprayed it into all the cracks, inhaled, then felt sick all evening. But the bugs calmed down immediately, for a week now we have been sleeping peacefully. Although the apartment still stinks, all the furniture and clothes stink. Especially the sofa...

Vitaly, St. Petersburg

As for the effectiveness of the means, the so-called microencapsulated preparations have proven themselves well for the independent removal of bedbugs.Their peculiarity lies in the fact that the active substance is enclosed in a kind of microcapsules - these small particles adhere well to the chitinous covers of parasites, later the bugs manage to get to their nest, where they die, sometimes "infecting" their relatives here.

In particular, among the modern microencapsulated preparations, with the help of which it is possible to poison bedbugs in an apartment quite effectively and safely for one's health, include the following:

• Xulat Micro is a combined preparation based on three active ingredients (cypermethrin, tetramethrin and piperonyl butoxide). Allows you to kill bedbugs without an unpleasant odor after treatment, and you should not confuse Xulat Micro with a strong-smelling preparation Xulat C25;
• Get is a one-component microencapsulated preparation based on chlorpyrifos. The smell after processing can be described as rather weak;
• Delta Zone is a highly effective microencapsulated drug based on the insecticide deltamethrin. There is practically no smell during processing;
• Lambda Zone is also a very effective drug (based on lambda-cyhalothrin), which allows you to treat an apartment without an unpleasant odor.

For comparison, some drugs are based on the outdated organophosphate insecticide karbofos (aka malathion), which has a very unpleasant odor. There have been cases when tenants, after being treated with strong-smelling preparations, had to throw expensive furniture out of the apartment, as it retained an unpleasant odor for months.

On a note

There are a number of drugs with which bedbugs are killed by professional pest control services - Tetrix, Microcin, Biorin, Sinuzan, Chlorpirimak, Minap 22, etc.They are quite effective, but have a strong unpleasant odor and are mostly more toxic than products adapted for self-use.

Other useful things to keep in mind regarding the use of insecticides in the fight against bed bugs in the house:

• Aerosol preparations such as Combat, Raptor, Dichlorvos of different brands are advisable to use in cases where there are few bedbugs in the room and their locations are well known;
• In case of severe contamination of the premises, as well as if it is necessary to treat large areas with relatively low financial costs, concentrates of microencapsulated preparations from bedbugs (the same Xulat Micro, Delta Zone, Get and the like) are well suited;
• The use of dust from bedbugs saves only with a slight infestation of the room. In addition, powdered insecticides are very inconvenient to apply to vertical surfaces. But you can put the legs of the bed in such a powder - then the bugs in search of food will not be able to get dirty in the poison;
• Insecticidal crayons (for example, chalk from cockroaches and bedbugs Masha) are useful as a means of preventing bedbugs in the room. Often, parasites penetrate from neighbors through ventilation, so treating the walls with small pieces around the perimeter of the ventilation hole, as well as treating the legs of the bed and other places where bloodsuckers can move, allows you to destroy single bedbugs before they give rise to a new population in your apartment;
• Insecticidal smoke bombs (Quiet Evening, City, etc.), used in nature against mosquitoes, also well destroy bedbugs, cockroaches, fleas and domestic ants in enclosed spaces.It is enough to set fire to such a bomb - and literally in an hour the smoke itself will spread throughout the room (however, it should be borne in mind that clothes and furniture after using insecticidal smoke bombs may retain a specific smell for some time).

And further: The Get Express tool really killed all the bugs quickly - after 42 minutes only corpses were lying around

 

How to kill bed bugs with insecticides

In general, bed bugs can be killed in an apartment in accordance with the following plan:

1. Aerosol preparations (Raptor, Dichlorvos, Kombat, Chisty Dom, etc.) treat found bedbug nests;
2. Treat the main areas in the apartment with a microencapsulated preparation, diluting the concentrate in accordance with the instructions;
3. Wash clothes and bed linen at a temperature not lower than 60°C;
4. If you don’t want to treat the crib and mattress with “chemistry”, then you can carefully walk through them with an ordinary household steam cleaner (steam cleaner);
5. Treat the paths of possible penetration of bedbugs from neighbors with a microencapsulated preparation, and after drying, additionally draw strips here with insecticidal chalk.

On a note

Bedbug eggs in a heavily infested home can be found in any clothing, so it's important to make sure everything has been properly treated (washed, hot steamed, or ironed).

And once again it is worth recalling that even after a very thorough single treatment of the apartment, individual eggs of parasites often survive - accordingly, bites can be observed again after a week or two. Therefore, after 1-2 weeks, it is necessary to re-treat the premises.And sometimes a third treatment may be required.

 

What to do if bedbugs constantly crawl from neighbors

If at least one apartment next to you is heavily infested with bedbugs (and sometimes it happens that all neighboring apartments are infected at once - side, lower and upper), then in this case the bugs will constantly penetrate from the neighbors, and processing your apartment will give a result only about 1-2 months. In such a situation, it is necessary either to kill bedbugs with neighbors at the same time, or, if it is not possible to agree, call the SES and complain.

Review:

“We moved into an apartment, made expensive repairs. We thought that now we will live. For two months they lived normally, and then out of nowhere the bugs appeared. This is some kind of horror, the child is 2 years old. They bite mercilessly. They bite me too, but for some reason they don’t touch my husband. Than they didn't take it out. We've tried everything - to no avail. Our neighbors on the site are just a guard, an alcoholic. They also have bedbugs, but they treat them calmly, they are used to them, like cockroaches - they say there are, but so what ?! I talked with other neighbors, call the SES together, but they don’t care ... "

Tatiana, Moscow

As already noted above, as a preventive measure, it is possible to treat, for example, insecticidal crayons, the wall along the perimeter of the ventilation grill (barrier treatment). However, a more effective option is to install a new ventilation grill with a very fine mesh.

 

We call special services for the fight against bedbugs

Companies specializing in the fight against bedbugs and other synanthropic insects operate in almost any large city (and there are several dozen in Moscow and St. Petersburg).And although it is generally accepted that the services of local Sanitary and Epidemiological Stations are the most reliable, nevertheless, many private disinfestation services also kill bedbugs quite effectively.

For example, killing bedbugs in a one-room apartment will cost about 2000-4000 rubles - depending on the company, locality, processing method (cold fog, hot fog, manual spraying) and a range of related services.

When choosing a pest control service, it is useful to first read reviews about it on the Internet, making sure that the quality of the services provided is sufficiently high. And then there are times when, having chosen the wrong pest control service, residents simply throw money away (as an example, see the review below).

Review:

“...These scammers just squeeze money out of normal people. A master of their type came to us, talked a lot, persuaded us to take a more expensive drug, supposedly more powerful, so that we would be calmer. And what to do, we agreed. He quickly processed everything for us in 15 minutes and dumped it. I didn't find a single dead bug. As they bite, so they bite. And they called, demanded a guarantee. They said that under the guarantee the processing was paid, I would have to pay another 800 rubles. Wow guarantee! I told them that if I meet their employee on the street, I will break his jaw ... "

Ramadan, St. Petersburg

In conclusion, I would like to note that although an independent fight against bed bugs in an apartment may seem difficult and lengthy, nevertheless, everyone can fully cope with parasites with a competent approach.The main thing here is not to give up halfway: albeit slowly, with varying success, but methodically and steadily destroying parasites, in the end you will certainly reduce the population of bedbugs to zero, thereby restoring comfort and tranquility in your home.

Good luck with pest control!

(If you have already killed bedbugs on your own, then do not forget to leave a review at the bottom of this page: what worked, what did not work, how things are now - all this can be of great interest to those who are in a similar situation).

 

5 effective ways to kill bed bugs in the apartment

 

And some more informative information about bedbugs and preparations for their destruction