Squashing bed bugs leaves bed bug eggs, a blood stain plus bad odor. General pesticides won’t do the trick.Home Can you squish a bed bug with your fingersĬan you squish a bed bug with your fingers? Well, you can squash or burst bed bugs with your fingers or shoe leaving behind a red stain from the host's blood. A 2014 study noted that people tend to over-apply pesticides when trying to control bedbug populations, and the levels of pesticide residue on places where adults, children, and pests sit or sleep can reach dangerous levels.īe sure you’re using a pesticide that specifies bedbugs on the label.
#WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SQUISH A BED BUG PROFESSIONAL#
If you aren’t able to control the infestation on your own, reach out for professional help before you re-apply the pesticide.If you don’t dose at the right intervals, you could miss the egg hatching cycle. If you don’t use enough of the pesticide, the bedbugs could become resistant to it. Follow the dosage amount and timetable on the product label.Find the bedbug pesticide that best meets your needs using the EPA’s interactive list.The EPA also recommends treating your home and belongings with pesticides to help rid your home of bedbugs: If possible, leave the infested belongings in sealed containers for several months to year. If you aren’t able to dry your belongings on high heat, place them in strong garbage bags, tie them up, and place them somewhere it’s likely to be very hot for prolonged periods, such as in a car during summer.īedbugs are notoriously hardy, and they can live for months without a blood meal. Place bedbug interceptors on the legs of your bed to keep bedbugs from being able to climb up.Encase your pillows, mattresses, and box springs in zippered, bug-proof covers.Freeze - below 0☏ (-18☌) items you cannot wash, dry, or heat, like shoes, jewelry, and newer books.Subject each room in your home to high heat - over 120☏ (49☌) - for 90 minutes or longer (bedbug removal specialists provide this service).Wash your clothes, bedding, and fabrics and dry them on a high heat setting.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends what it calls the integrated pest management approach, which combines chemical and non-chemical methods. While this approach can be costly, it will probably save time and frustration in the long run. Most researchers who study bedbug infestations recommend that you hire a professional exterminator. The Washington Post reported at least three other similar cases. A nearby candle or incense burner ignited the flames, and the resulting fire left 10 people without homes. In 2017, a Cincinnati woman tried to rid her home of bedbugs by dousing furniture in alcohol. Vapors that linger in the air are also highly flammable. Though it dries quickly, spraying it on upholstered furniture, carpets, fabrics, clothing, and mattresses creates a fire hazard. Isopropyl alcohol is extremely flammable.
The most important reason to avoid using alcohol to kill bedbugs has nothing to do with the bugs themselves. Neither product killed more than half of the bugs.īedbugs infestations spread quickly - the average female can lay up to 250 eggs in her lifespan, so a product that kills just half of the accessible population isn’t going to resolve the problem. One product contained 50 percent alcohol and the other 91 percent alcohol. Researchers at Rutgers University studied two different products with high concentrations of isopropyl alcohol. Getting alcohol into these spaces can be almost impossible.īedbugs often gather in out of the way spaces (called “harborages”), so killing the bugs you can see won’t eradicate the ones you don’t see. That means you have to spray the bugs directly, and it can be extremely difficult to find and expose bedbugs if you have an infestation.īedbugs can hide in very small amounts of space - cracks in furniture, electrical outlets, between books on shelves.
Here’s the tricky part: Alcohol only kills on contact. So why isn’t everyone opting to end their bedbug problem with it? It requires direct contact It kills eggs in the same way: dissolving and drying out the egg and preventing it from hatching.Īlcohol is inexpensive, it’s readily available in every drugstore in the nation, and it can be effective.
With the outer shell dissolved, the alcohol dries out the bug’s insides, finishing the job. It also acts as a desiccant, a substance that induces drying out. The dissolving action might be enough to kill some bedbugs, but alcohol delivers a one-two punch. First, it acts as a solvent, which means it eats away the bug’s outer shell.
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