Getting Rid of Bed Bugs: 7 Homemade Bed Bug Spray Recipes and Tips (2024)

Making your own bed bug spray is efficient and cost-effective.

Here’s how I create a highly effective and affordable bed bug spray:

  • I combine one cup of water with one tablespoon of witch hazel.
  • I add five drops each of bergamot, cedarwood, and lavender essential oils to the mixture.
  • I mix all the ingredients in a spray bottle, ensuring they blend nicely.
  • I spray the solution around the corners of my bedding and under the sheets.
  • I repeat the process regularly to maintain a bed bug-free environment.

This natural bed bug spray solution is not only easy and quick to prepare but also a safer alternative to chemical sprays. Plus, it’s gentle on my wallet! The essential oils I use are known for their pest-repelling properties, and by incorporating them into my routine, I find myself effectively managing and preventing bed bug infestations at home.

Have you ever woken up to find little red spots all over your sheets? Did you know those small spots are probably blood, and bed bugs are most likely the suspects in question? Unfortunately, these bugs hide in your mattress and are typically carried around via a human or animal’s body unknowingly.

What steps can you take to implement pest control targeted at bed bugs? Have you considered creating a homemade bed bug spray? Many products today can kill bed bugs, but most of them are infused with chemicals and preservatives.

Instead, try creating a DIY bed bug spray using our tips, tricks, and recipes. Start by gathering ingredients like rubbing alcohol, diatomaceous earth, baking soda, and essential oils.

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Table of Contents

  1. Here's how I create a highly effective and affordable bed bug spray:
  2. My Natural Bed Bug Spray: A Vinegar Solution
  3. How I Can Use Vacuums to Help Get Rid of Bed Bugs
  4. Bed Bugs Don't Like High Heat
  5. My Effective Natural Bed Bug Spray with Diatomaceous Earth
  6. My Bed Bug Killer Spray Using Essential Oils
  7. I Use Alcohol to Get Rid of Bed Bugs
  8. What Is Better Than My Homemade Bed Bug Spray? Talcum Powder
  9. My Recipe for Homemade Bed Bug Spray

I Make Amazingly Simple and Effective Homemade Bed Bug Sprays

Don’t worry; we will teach you what to mix and how to combine them to guarantee you’ll become a pest control professional in no time.

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My Natural Bed Bug Spray: A Vinegar Solution

If you’re looking for a solution to early bed bug infestation, try using the effective method known as the vinegar solution. Purchase some white vinegar at your local convenience store and fill an empty spray bottle with the liquid. Make sure you tighten the lid before spraying the solution.

Soak areas where you see signs of bed bugs; this includes bed frames and windowsills in bedrooms and hotel rooms. Target all hiding places, including every crack and crevice in between furniture pieces.

This solution is guaranteed to drown the little pests. You may have to do this every week for quite some time to entirely avoid the bed bug problem turning into an infestation.

How I Can Use Vacuums to Help Get Rid of Bed Bugs

If you’d like one piece of advice regarding a home remedy to get rid of bed bugs, listen to this: Vacuum everything. Grab your vacuum cleaner and start vacuuming the entire house.

Bed bugs are typically found under furniture, and the adult bed bugs tend to lay their eggs in the crevices of the furniture.

If you start vacuuming all furniture and areas where the bed bugs can potentially hide, you’ll end up attacking their nervous system and sucking them up into the hose. In turn, this will kill them and drastically lower your bed bug count in the house.

Bed Bugs Don’t Like High Heat

Though bed bugs love to cozy up inside furniture, they are not able to withstand any heat treatment. If you’re trying to avoid bed bug bites and you’re trying to set up bed bug traps, expose the little suckers to high heat.

Take all fabric items off any furniture you have. For instance, remove all sheets, pillows, rugs, and stuffed animals. Throw them all into the washing machine and set the cycle on at the highest heat you possibly can; this will implement bed bug control immediately.

My Effective Natural Bed Bug Spray with Diatomaceous Earth

There are still items that you cannot put in the washing machine, and for those, you’ll want to use diatomaceous earth. This natural substance works as a bed bug treatment by ripping through the little pests’ bodies.

If you have some of these bugs hanging around in your box springs, sprinkle the substance onto your mattress and give it a few hours to settle into the fabric. After some time has passed, vacuum the remains.

My Bed Bug Killer Spray Using Essential Oils

Essential oils like tea tree oil and lavender essential oil can typically be used as the main ingredients in fighting off some bugs. What’s more is that these oils can be combined to create the perfect spray, where you won’t have to climb up furniture to reach every surface.

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Bed Bug Killing Recipe with Essential Oils

  • 1 tablespoon of pure witch hazel
  • 1 cup of water
  • 5 drops of bergamot essential oil
  • 5 drops of cedarwood essential oil
  • 5 drops of lavender essential oil

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To effectively use lavender oil for bed bugs, stir all ingredients in a spray bottle. Spray the liquid onto the corners of your bedding and under any sheets.

I Use Alcohol to Get Rid of Bed Bugs

Using alcohol won’t typically work as a bed bug repellent, but it will get rid of the bed bugs that are roaming around in your cracks and crevices for the time being.

Take 100% rubbing alcohol and mix it with equal parts of water. Put the solution into a spray bottle and soak the areas where you suspect the pests are hiding.

What Is Better Than My Homemade Bed Bug Spray? Talcum Powder

Using talcum powder to get rid of these creatures is much easier than picking them out of your mattress and placing them in plastic bags (though this is not recommended, as you probably won’t be able to see them).

This home remedy for bed bugs is super simple. Sprinkle the powder over the bed bug hotspots. You can also sprinkle the powder under all furniture that you believe is infested with bed bugs, as this will eventually dehydrate the bugs and kill them.

In this article about bed bugs, you’ve discovered the best tips and tricks to creating your personal homemade bed bug spray.

By using natural ingredients like essential oils, diatomaceous earth, and white vinegar, you’ve developed the perfect bed bug killing spray. Use these contact sprays and tips to protect yourself against these nasty bugs.

My Recipe for Homemade Bed Bug Spray

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs: 7 Homemade Bed Bug Spray Recipes and Tips (3)

Homemade Bed Bug Spray

Yield: 8 ounces

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Enjoy pleasant-smelling bedding that repels bed bugs.

Materials

  • 8 ounces water
  • 5 drops lavender oil
  • 5 drops cedar oil
  • 5 drops bergamot oil
  • 1 tbsp witch hazel

Tools

  • 12-ounce glass spray bottle
  • Tablespoon
  • Measuring cup

Instructions

  1. Add the liquids to the bottle and shake.
  2. Spritz all areas of the bed or other furniture.

Notes

Since essential oils break down plastic over time, use a glass bottle so you have your bed bug spray when you need it.

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We hope you liked our natural bed bug killer spray recipes and advice. If you enjoyed reading our tips regarding natural bed bug infestation remedies, please share these home solutions for bed bugs on Facebook and Pinterest with your family and friends.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs: 7 Homemade Bed Bug Spray Recipes and Tips (2024)

FAQs

What is the best homemade bed bug killer? ›

Diatomaceous earth is a great chemical-free option for getting rid of a number of pests, including bed bugs. This natural powder contains properties that can dehydrate bed bugs, absorbing their fat and oil, and killing them dead as a doornail. Spray or sprinkle in infected areas and allow it to sit for at least a week.

What is the number one thing to get rid of bed bugs? ›

These bugs are pretty easy to kill with high heat at 115°F (46.11°C) or intense cold at 32°F (0°C). Here are a few ways to treat bedbugs using these methods: Wash bedding and clothes in hot water for 30 minutes. Then put them in a dryer on the highest heat setting for 30 minutes.

What are the ingredients in bed bug spray? ›

Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids: Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are the most common compounds used to control bed bugs and other indoor pests. Pyrethrins are botanical insecticides derived from chrysanthemum flowers.

What is a homemade bed bug killer spray? ›

Method: Dilute around 20 drops of tea tree oil in a spray bottle filled with water and apply the solution to the common bed bug hotspots.

How do you make your own bed bug spray? ›

To create a vinegar insect treatment, mix ½ cup of water with ½ cup white vinegar and shake or stir to combine. After you've mixed the vinegar with water in a spray bottle, spritz the entirety of your bed.

What kills bed bugs 100 percent? ›

Paint Thinner. It's a chemical that contains 99 percent ethanol which can instantly kill bed bugs. All you need to do is to spray the paint thinner directly on the bed bugs. It's undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs.

What smell kills bed bugs instantly? ›

In general, all citrus smells will keep bed bugs away, but the smell of the lemon is death. Some bed bugs cannot resist the smell of lemon juice, and having it around will help you eliminate the problem once and for all. Use fresh lemon juice to kill bed bugs because it has harsh properties that are bad for pests.

How to get rid of bed bugs permanently in one day? ›

One of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs is by exposing them to high temperatures. You can use a professional heat treatment service or do it yourself by placing infested items in a clothes dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes.

What chemical kills bed bugs permanently naturally? ›

Silica gel, a form of diatomaceous earth, is one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs. These tiny pests often hide in the cracks and crevices, as well as seams, folds, and tufts of mattresses and sofas. They can also be found in carpets, headboards, and even hiding in tiny spaces.

What can I put on my body to prevent bed bug bites? ›

  1. Essential Oils. Most skin-applied pest repellents must be registered by the EPA before they can be marketed, but that hasn't stopped people from concocting their own remedies. ...
  2. Diatomaceous Earth. ...
  3. Peppermint Leaves and Oil. ...
  4. Black Walnut Tea. ...
  5. Petroleum Jelly. ...
  6. Rubbing Alcohol. ...
  7. Baby Powder. ...
  8. Dryer Sheets.

What is a bed bug afraid of? ›

Tea Tree Oil

Bed bugs can't stand the smell of tea tree oil, and once they catch a whiff of it, they will try to leave immediately. Tea tree oil can also affect the condition of their exoskeleton, so it's best to liberally spray this oil on large items in your home if you want your bed bugs to be gone.

What smell do bed bugs love? ›

Bed bugs are primarily attracted to scents associated with carbon dioxide, body heat, and the scent of human skin. They locate their hosts by detecting the carbon dioxide exhaled during respiration, body heat, and certain chemical compounds found on human skin, such as sweat and pheromones.

What surfaces can bed bugs not climb? ›

Glass or tile walls, on the other hand, are an impossible obstacle for bed bugs because they are perfectly smooth. As luck would have it, you can actually use their inability to climb smooth surfaces to your advantage.

What kills bed bugs permanently? ›

Heat is one of the best ways to kill bed bugs. Pest experts use professional heating elements to kill bedbugs. You can also use a steam cleaner with a diffuser to kill bed bugs hiding in fabrics and baseboards.

What really kills bed bugs and their eggs? ›

Heat treatment offers certain advantages when it comes to bed bug management. Heat is non-toxic, and can kill all bed bug life stages including bed bug eggs. However, heat treatment of any kind (except your home clothes dryer) is still relatively expensive and has no residual (long lasting) activity.

What kills bed bugs instantly and permanently with baking soda? ›

Searching for a way to do so may lead you to DIY and home remedies. One such remedy is spreading baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, in the areas where you think bed bugs have been. Unfortunately, the idea that baking soda will kill bed bugs is a myth.

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