BedBug Bytes: 10 Remedies that DO NOT Work

Itchy and frustrated, people dealing with a bedbug infestation are willing to try just about anything to get rid of the insects. At best, most of these are ineffective – some downright dangerous.

Brian Hirsch, director of Protect-A-Bed’s Pest Control Division, has compiled a list of the 10 least effective home remedies he’s heard of people are using:

1) Gasoline or kerosene – dousing the bed and other home furnishings in diesel fuel or kerosene

2) Sulfur – burning sulfur inside the home

3) Bug Bombs – setting off multiple bug bombs are creating a risk of explosion

4) Fire Extinguishers -using fire extinguishers to “freeze” the bugs

5) Lights – sleeping with the lights on to trick the bedbugs into not biting

6) Exterior Pesticides – Using pesticides that aren’t effective against bedbugs

7) Olive Oil – covering your body in olive oil so the bugs can’t climb on you

8) WD-40 – Spraying the bugs directly with lubricant 

9) Cold – turning off the heat in the winter and freezing out the bugs

10) Baking Soda and Rubbing Alcohol – applying this combination to a mattress or upholstered furniture.

“Bedbugs and their aftermath have caused many rational people to lose the ability to reason,” Hirsch says.

Hirsch tells people to remain calm and to contact a reputable pest control expert to help remove the problem. A mix of chemicals and non-chemical methods is usually require to eliminate bedbugs and infestations often require several treatments. 

Protect-A-Bed is a leading supplier of mattress and pillow encasement products hat can be used as a part of bedbug prevention and contamination process.

<Article Source: Sleep Savvy Magazine March 2011>