How to Kill Bed Bugs: DIY Extermination Testimonials

Find inspiration and learn how to kill bed bugs form these successful do-it-yourself extermination testimonals.

You can do it – don’t listen to the naysayers!

The testimonials below are from visitors who commented after reading and using our guide on getting rid of bed bugs; the first one is lengthy but gives insight into the process of doing it yourself and what to expect to be successful.

Hello,

Sorry, it’s a bit wordy, but I didn’t want to leave out anything that might help you; had I known then what I know now, it would have helped me more than I can express, so here it is!

You can fight Bed Bugs, but you have to be mentally tough; if not, call an exterminator (expensive and no guarantees). I hope to reduce the stress/costs involved by sharing what I now know. Do everything thoroughly, or you’ll be doing it all over again.

It’s quite an emotional journey, be prepared to shed many tears but never, ever, never give in – after all, they are just a bug. Isolate and keep on vacuuming, steaming, Fossil Shell flouring (see below for instructions on how I killed bedbugs), and stay strong!

I refused to let a tiny bed bug beat me!

Man holding a sign on how to kill bed bugs yourself from DIY testimonials.

I knew the battle would be long!

I diagnosed the problem quickly and took action… I’ve been lucky with only a light infestation; in hindsight, I panicked and did so much that wasn’t necessary, purely because I didn’t know (heaps of information on the internet), and I had no idea where they were!

If you’ve decided to tackle them yourself, be prepared for a long journey (many months) but through dedication, you can succeed. I would rather do it myself as I know it is being done thoroughly by someone who cares… Me!

I highly recommend drowning yourself in knowledge about Bed Bugs/their eggs, and their bites; check them out on the internet for a few days before doing anything (stay calm).

Now inspect where you think they might be, is there any evidence? If you find the bugs keep a few as proof (in case you need to call a Pest Control company) on a piece of sticky tape or in a plastic bag, careful not to squash them… keep everything you suspect of having bugs or eggs in it in one room as much as possible.

How I Killed Them

My recommendations for going into battle are:

A bug steamer.
Bed bug powder.
Mattress cover.
Cheap plastic containers with double-sided tape around the outside for under bed/chair legs.

Please read below for a further explanation of these suggestions.

Place a thin layer of the powder wherever you suspect there may be bugs (rub gently to get some of it deeper into the carpet), and leave it in place for a few months at least.

It’s important to kill them, or you’ll have them forever. They breed fast… it’s not as simple as moving out for a few weeks to starve them, as they can hibernate for 12 to 18 months without feeding.

To reduce the workload dramatically, cover your bed with a mattress cover for bed bugs (vacuum the mattress thoroughly before covering it) and tape any holes/rips. If you have a base on the bed, you can get covers for this also (or vacuum/steam/Fossil Shell flour).

I fashioned a cover myself for our mattress out of 2 fitted sheet mattress protectors (don’t get the cheap ones, make sure the fabric is closely woven so that the baby bugs can’t get through it)… placed one on top and one under the mattress then sealed around the elastic sitting on top with strong tape, a much cheaper option. Leave these covers in place for a year after you think you’re rid of the bugs to make sure they’re dead!

They will be hiding/living quite close to their host, more than likely on or in your bed frame/mattress somewhere (completely dismantle and steam slowly/thoroughly as though your life depended on it) or the lounge suite, especially if you fall asleep on it, wherever their host spends time sleeping, they like to live where it’s dark and undisturbed (don’t sleep or sit anywhere else as they’ll follow you and spread through the house, better to keep them contained so as you can kill them).

I believe they may come into your home in a bag/on clothing but will then make their home in your bed frame/lounge suite where ever you sleep (so don’t go crazy like I did washing/spraying/vacuuming everything in the house)…. they’re attracted to the warmth of your body and the carbon dioxide you breathe out while you’re in the deepest sleep.

They usually feed every few days in the early morning hours (approx 4 am – 6 am), and their only source of food is your blood… the bite is painless. They tend to feed on one person unless they are unavailable (usually the person closest to their hiding spot).

You may be bitten and your partner not (in the same bed). Some people don’t react to the bites, while others have painful allergic reactions.

It took me a while to notice the bed bugs.

The thing I’ve found most challenging is that it takes anywhere up to 10 to 14 days for the bites to emerge (for me approx 10 days) – someone with an allergy to the bites might show quicker (Google images/information on bites, they vary considerably), so you can’t feel an itch/bite and know where they are, also bear in mind you may have been bitten elsewhere and not have them in your home…. that’s why I say don’t panic, be logical and investigate all possibilities before acting.

If you found them or strongly suspect they’re in your home, I would recommend vacuuming/steaming/taping/filling any cracks and crevices (near any place you fall asleep) in walls/ceiling/floor…even the smallest gaps (with Fossil Shell Flour, see below for instructions), also in and under lounge furniture/beds and bed frames.

If you think they traveled in a suitcase/overnight bag, I would strongly recommend you act quickly on vacuuming/steaming/hot wash/hot dryer all clothes and baggage that went with you. Probably too late to get the live bugs, but there are possibly eggs that have yet to hatch.

Wash your bed linen/doona/duvet and any clothing that you think may be affected in really hot water – anything that can’t be put in hot water, put on high setting in the clothes dryer for 1/2 hour (don’t wet them) – you can put in pillows/doonas/bags/shoes/ belts/delicates – put in dry not wet so as not to damage them, also cheapens the electricity bill.

Be logical about killing bed bugs….I created so much work for myself (I did all my belongings, I believe now it just so wasn’t necessary). By the time you realize you have bed bugs, they will most likely be near your bed/couch near their host, and once they’re inside your home, they will make their way to be close to you when you’re asleep.

Once every nook and cranny of your bed is taped, vacuumed, steamed, Fossil Shell Floured, isolate your bed (and all the others in the house, I managed to keep them out of my daughter’s room by doing this very early on), cheap plastic containers under your bed legs with a bit of Fossil Shell Flour in the bottom (just in case they manage to get past the tape), wide double sided tape on the outside (you may need to put more tape over the top in a few months as it loses it stickiness), sprinkle Fossil Shell Flour (work into the carpet a little) on the floor around the containers to kill them (they need to be killed or they’ll keep breeding), careful the containers don’t crack from the weight of the bed as the bugs will crawl through.

Don’t wear any clothing you’ve been wearing during the day/night to bed (best for all to go naked in any affected beds), and do not use/sit/put anything on the bed for any reason ever! Also, DO NOT LEAVE STUFF LYING AROUND ON THE FLOOR (clothes, books, computers, phones, etc.); THEY LOVE TO HIDE IN IT… bed bugs are lazy and will be living close to their host, near or on the bed, in the lounge chairs you sit on, they like to live where it’s dark and undisturbed (don’t sleep or sit anywhere else as they’ll follow you and spread through the house).

Don’t give others your infestation.

Very important note… if you throw away mattresses/bases or lounge suites, make sure that you severely slash them with a knife so that no one else will take them home and have to go through this awful experience.

Another very important note…. In the future, when traveling, check the mattress and surroundings for any signs of bed bugs, keep everything in your bag… zip it up, and place it in the sink/bath/shower or up high on a table, etc., well away from the bed.

I’m in my 6th month of fighting bed bugs, and now I think they are only in our 3 seater couch that I used to fall asleep on…. I’ve now sprinkled Fossil Shell Flour under the cushions and around the short legs on the carpet; no one sits on it…. I’ve sprinkled Fossil Shell Flour around the legs of our other 2 chairs, and we sit on them (I got my daughter a bean bag so she was well away from the lounge suite)…. my plan is to make them come and get me, to do that they’ll have to crawl through the flour, and DIE….. WISH ME LUCK!

Bed Bug Free!

Special thanks go to our visitor (Steamer/DE) from Australia, who took the time to share her tips on how to kill these bed bugs yourself without paying the fees for a professional extermination company.

Update: The method above worked, and the visitor is now bed bug-free! Many people have stated that Pine Sol is VERY effective at killing bed bugs on contact. This, combined with the methods listed on this website, should do the trick!

Tom’s Testimonial on How to Kill Bed Bugs Yourself

Four months after moving into my new home, I noticed my feet had little bites, which I dismissed as chigger & mosquito bites. We searched the house and found bed bugs.

My wife and I panicked, which is the first thing you should not do. We went to war! We purchased an air mattress after throwing out the infested one, cleaned everything, bought glue pads for our four-post bed, and waited a month. Then, my son started showing bites, and we realized the infestation had moved to his room.

We gave up and hired an exterminator to get rid of the bed bugs once and for all. He came out and treated both rooms. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, so we had the exterminator re-treat. Still didn’t work, and the infestation spread!

I decided to check on heat treatment and found it would cost about $3,500. So that was out.

I called Terminix, who said it would run $1,200 and they would finance it but only offered a 30-day guarantee. If the treatment failed and we didn’t discover it for 30 days, then we would be stuck paying a monthly fee for nothing, so we looked elsewhere.

I researched and bought insecticide for around $100, which you mix with water. I also purchased a Steam cleaner online for 90 bucks at Walmart. (be sure it gets over 140 degrees).

We lifted the couches and sprayed underneath the box springs, mattress, floorboards, and cracks. We formed a moat of the spray around all our beds which dries.

We then bought some Diatomaceous Earth from Ace Hardware (food grade) and spread it underneath the bed between the mattress and box spring, in the cracks of the bed frames. In the electrical outlets (I took off the face plate and put it in the wall’s hole around the outlet (I was careful to use only powder, no moisture and made sure not to touch anything in the outlet!) and anywhere else the bed bugs might hide.

The bed bugs died!

A week later, our steam cleaner arrived, and we steamed everything! The bed bugs were dead!

My family is “bite free” and sleeping well. I feel the bed bug dust and steam cleaner are helping me get rid of them one battle at a time.

I will never laugh when I hear someone say they are afraid of bed bugs ever again. I had the same fears as all of you have had. I was scared someone would see a bug crawl on me at work, or I would bring them to work and infest the office.

I know it feels like you will not make it through, but trust me, if you keep at it and be persistent you can kill them.

I wish you all the best of luck!

The Truth About Killing Bed Bugs!

By Keith, owner of a pest control company.

I have been in pest control for 16 years. Then, 5 years ago, we started to get calls for bed bugs. I have performed over 300 treatments and found that they are relatively easy to get rid of.

Most companies will tell you that you need to have multiple treatments done. This is not true at all. 80% of the jobs I have done require only one treatment. 99% of them are stopped by the second treatment, and I have never had to treat them more than 4 times (that only happened once).

The fact of the matter is, if you find and treat every single bed bug infestation on the first attempt, you will have killed every single bug in the house. That’s just a fact. In fact, many times, there is only one infestation. The key is to not miss anything. But, even if you miss some, if you treat them properly, you can still get rid of them. It’s just not that big of a deal.

Any insecticide will kill a bed bug very easily. They are not that resistant to insecticides. When I have to return a second time, it is because I missed something or the customer needed to allow 30 days for it to work. You must allow 30 days for nature to take its course. You have to let the eggs hatch and let the new bed bugs get exposed.

The last thing you want to do is change your behavior. Don’t sleep on the couch. The bed bug will go dormant or move to the sofa. If they move, we hope they will get into the product, but that does not always work. So, keep sleeping in your bed. I know that doesn’t sound good, but you will get much quicker results if you do.

I have never failed, and I never will. If you are worried about the products we use, don’t be. They say there are no potential health risks when used according to the EPA label standards. These products are designed for this purpose and affect the insect in ways that can only harm the insect. They have an internal makeup that is different from that of mammals. The chemistries take advantage of those differences and thus are void in the human system. Besides, we don’t treat the entire mattress. We only treat the crevices that they live in.

Modern insecticides need to be more understood. They get a bad rap for the old, outdated products we have not used for decades. You have nothing to worry about. Bed bugs are much easier to get rid of than German Roaches. I do it every single day. It’s no big deal.

Update:

Hi, Keith Gordon again,

After writing my last comment, I read some of the other comments. I don’t want to insult anyone. I want to get the truth out about bed bugs. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to sell you anything. It just bothers me how much misinformation is out there. I’m here to show you how to kill bed bugs DIY style, and help you avoid common problems.

Most homeowners need to be more informed; even a few professionals could use some education. I have spent a large part of the last 5 years studying this subject and am somewhat of an expert. I don’t want to brag, but I know what I am talking about, and my treatments have never failed. On the contrary, I have achieved 100% control all of my accounts.

1. Many of you have paid large amounts for professional treatment. When we first started getting calls for bed bugs, we charged quite a bit, too, because we didn’t yet know how little we could get away with and still get control. Now that we have learned that they are easy to get rid of, we have dropped our prices.

I can treat an apartment for $250 – $450. A house may be a bit more. It depends on how many beds and pieces of furniture we have to treat. Many companies have not lowered their prices yet because they have not learned that bed bug infestations are often very localized. Bed bugs don’t spread everywhere unless you ignore them for months, carry them into another room, or fail to do a proper treatment. Most of the time, we find 2 or 3 small infestations, and that’s it.

2. If you had a professional treat 3 times, I would bet it was done correctly, but you didn’t allow 30 days for all the eggs to hatch. Nothing on Earth will make the eggs hatch other than time. It is also not true that eggs can be killed with insecticides. You should ask for proof if you are told that an insecticide will kill the eggs too.

Steam will kill the eggs but insecticides won’t. When you hear about eggs being destroyed, they are talking about insect growth regulators (IGR’s), which keep insects from growing, not killing the eggs. The eggs will hatch no matter what we do (other than steam heat), and you will see live bed bugs for 30 days. A few days after exposure to the products, they will die. There is no way around this. You did not waste your money on the treatment.

The only reason your glue traps worked is that the treatment finally worked. I bet if you look at your traps, there is nothing in them. If you were told to rip up your carpet, this guy had no business being in the pest control business. They do not live under the carpet. They often get under the very edge of the carpet (which can be very easily treated) but not all the way under it.

3. It is true that cold is not as effective as heat. You must keep the house at sub-zero temps for a week or 2. The fact that you have not seen any since you opened your windows tells me that you must have thrown out whatever they were living on, performed some treatment that finally worked (remember the 30-day rule), or you only transported a few male bed bugs (and no females) into your home. That happens all the time.

If 1 or 2 males crawl into your suitcase, and you take them home, the problem will take care of itself. As for steam, if you were successful at steam treating every infestation, you would notice instant results. Steam is effective, but if you miss one egg or pregnant female, you must have a residual insecticide in key locations to kill what you missed (like bed bug dust). I use steam sometimes; it is effective but not a silver bullet.

4. Glue traps under the bed legs will not work if the bugs are already living on your bed. In addition, if your sheets ever touch the ground, they can crawl onto the bed. I also agree that they can drop off the ceiling. This alone will not be effective.

Glue traps, as part of an integrated pest management program, will help, but they will not stop the problem alone. Think of it this way. Bed bugs not living on the bed will keep reproducing wherever the infestation is located. As a result, they will keep getting worse. Eventually, one female will find her way into the bed. Therefore, using these as a stand-alone control device is a bad idea.

5. The person who said they found bed bugs on the headboard and threw it away may have solved their problem by getting rid of the infestation. Remember, these things don’t just run all over the place. Instead, they find a nice little crack or crevice close to a blood meal and move in.

Once this infestation is established, they only leave their harborage to feed. Bed bugs do not always live on beds and furniture, but many times they do. If that is the case, all you have to do is get rid of whatever they are living on. If you want to keep it, all you have to do is treat it. It’s just that simple.

I could go on and on, but what I have given you should be helpful.