If bed bugs have taken over your house, you probably already know why it is important to fight off bed bugs. Bed bug bites are not only annoying, painful, and itchy but having a bed bug infestation in your house can be harmful to the health of your family members. In short, these pesky parasites can make your life miserable!
Small in size and brown in color with flat bodies, these insects usually infiltrate a house through luggage, used bedding, clothes, or old furniture and mattresses. Once inside the house, they find their way into the mattresses of your house, couches and other similar places where they can hide during the day and come out at night to feed on you and even your pets.
No one likes to wake up with itchy bed bug bites in the morning. So, it’s only natural that you want to get rid of them as soon as possible. While there are multiple remedies to put an end to a bed bug infestation in your house, a lot of people use bleach to do so. However, before you douse your mattress with bleach, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Does bleach really kill bed bugs? Can bleach destroy bed bug’s eggs? Is it really effective or is it another myth?
Scroll down to learn all about bleach and bed bugs. Learn if and how you can use bleach to drive these annoying insects out of your house once and for all!
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Does Bleach Kill Bed Bugs?
Here’s the most important question – can bleach really kill bed bugs? Well, it most certainly can! Bleach is a powerful substance that is toxic in nature. The good news is that it can effectively take care of your bed bug problems. However, the bad news is that since it is a potent and dangerous substance, it may not be the best idea to use bleach to kill bed bugs. In other words, just because bleach can effectively kill bed bugs, it does not mean that you should use it undiluted and without caution whenever you want!
Let’s take a deeper look into this matter by looking at the constituents of bleach. In other words, what makes bleach such a powerful and toxic bug bed killer?
Ingredients Found in Bleach
- Sodium chloride
- Sodium hypochlorite
- Water
- Sodium chlorate
- Sodium polyacrylate
- Sodium hydroxide
- Sodium carbonate
While all ingredients are equally important, sodium hypochlorite is the active chemical. Together, with all the other ingredients, it works to kill the bed bugs.
How Bleach Works to Kill Bed Bugs
You may already know that bed bugs are hard to kill. They are small, resilient insects that are extremely good at hiding. Plus, they lay eggs that are generally resistant to most bed bug killers. So, how does bleach work to kill bed bugs? Well, loaded with sodium hypochlorite, bleach oxidizes the outer layer of the bodies of bed bugs. However, one drawback is that bleach works only on contact.
How to Use Bleach to Kill Bed Bugs
On top of that, bed bugs will run and hide as soon as you pour bleach on the infected areas. This only makes it harder to kill bed bugs using bleach. Also, keep in mind that bleach can be hazardous to your health, so dousing your mattress in bleach is never a good idea. Therefore, your best chance to kill bed bugs through bleach is to make a diluted bleach solution and spray it onto the infested areas. Here’s how you can do that.
Step 1 – Get Rid of the Clutter
Before treating your house with bleach to kill bed bugs, it is advisable to get rid of the clutter. Remove all the books, toys, wall hangings, and everything else that is not required. In order to make sure that bed bugs don’t find a way back into your house through these materials, it is advisable to get rid of the items that you do not require.
Step 2 – Clean the Wardrobe
Sure, they are called bed bugs but these pesky insects don’t remain limited to your bed and mattress. They can easily find their way inside your cupboards. In order to put an end to a bed bug infestation once and for all, it is important to make sure you drive them out of your wardrobe. One way to do that is to remove things from the wardrobe, wash the washable items in a bleach solution while thoroughly vacuuming the items that are not suitable to be washed. Next, seal them in airtight bags so that the bed bugs would suffocate.
Step 3 – Prepare a Bleach Spray
Use common household bleach to prepare a bleach spray. All you need to do is mix potent bleach and water in equal amounts.
Step 4 – Use the Bleach Solution
Use the bleach solution to kill bed bugs. First of all, soak a washcloth in the solution and thoroughly clean all the washable surfaces with it. Next, transfer the bleach solution into a sprayer and spray over other hiding places like under the bed, in the cervices, cracks, headboard, etc. Also, spray the bleach solution on the mattress to make sure no bed bugs can escape.
Step 5 – Repeat the Process
Keep in mind that bleach kills bed bugs and their eggs only on contact. This means that you may have to repeat this process every few days until you get rid of all the bed bugs. It is important to wait for a few days before treating your house with bleach for bed bugs for the second time in order to give time to the eggs to hatch. Failing to do can start the infestation all over again!
Remember, bleach is a powerful killing agent, therefore, it should always be used with caution. Refrain from using mattresses treated with bleach for at least a week. Also, keep your children and pets away from the treated areas. In short, it is important to be very cautious while using bleach to kill bed bugs and put an end to the annoying infestation in your house!