Bedbugs? Before you call an exterminator, try this cheap solution!
I'm a clean guy. I shower daily, shave every other day, change my sheets regularly, and am careful to straighten up the house before it becomes a breeding ground for disease and vermin. In other words, while I'm not Howard Hughes, I take personal hygiene very seriously. Consequently, when I began noticing little bumps on my legs a few months ago, I was pretty alarmed. The fact that my wife and daughter had them as well made me feel simultaneously relieved and disturbed; on the bright side, I realized that my bumps weren't a symptom of herpes or some debilitating infection that I caught off a toilet seat (I used to watch way too many medical dramas). The downside came with the realization that my wife, daughter, and I were now sharing our house with some unwanted visitors that my wife subsequently identified as bedbugs.Bedbugs! I'd thought the little bastards were extinct. After all, the only place I'd ever encountered them before was in the pages of old English novels, where they were a tool for demonstrating the slovenly lives of various villains. After researching the bedbug issue, I discovered that, like me, many scientists had assumed that the little creepy crawlies were eliminated about 50 years ago through the use of DDT. Sadly, however, bedbugs have been on the rise over the past twenty years or so. The New York press has even taken to tracking infestations as they crop up in each borough.
I was pleased to discover that my family's bedbug problem wasn't a sign of filthiness or moral decrepitude, but I was still grossed out by the fact that tiny insects were crawling all over me at night, injecting my body with an anti-coagulant, and feasting on my delicious, flavorful blood. Later, I learned that, in all likelihood, our bloodsucking roommates jumped to us from another passenger on the subway, which both my wife and I ride regularly. As a recent New York Post article noted, the subways are teeming with bedbugs, or "blood-bugs" as the ever-restrained paper calls them. While it's always nice to hear about New Yorkers sharing, I began to realize that there are some things that I wish they'd keep to themselves.
And how did we get rid of our bedbug problem? Well, while I wandered from room to room, trying to crawl out of my skin while contemplating a slash-and-burn campaign of chemical warfare (I'm sure I can get my hands on some DDT), my wife calmly began an investigation of the best cures. Finally, she came across a few sites that advocated using lavender oil mixed with alcohol. Faced with a choice between a solution that's worked for 200 years and industrial chemicals that would probably give our grandkids gills, we decided to try the lavender oil. The method was simple: we put about twenty drops of lavender essential oil into a spray bottle that was filled with about 2 cups of denatured alcohol. We sprayed down our mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows, towels, and anything else that remotely resembled fabric. The next day, the bugs were gone.
While I'm really, really impressed with both my wife's genius and the incredible effectiveness of cheap 19th century technology, I'm still looking into DDT. The little bastards aren't going to catch me unaware next time ...
Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. Cancer-shmancer, DDT kills bedbugs!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
5-21-2008 @ 10:36AM
patty said...
So sorry you had to go through that but it brightened my day to read your witty recount...
thanks I needed that!!
Reply
5-21-2008 @ 3:00PM
Bruce Watson said...
Patty, I'm glad you got a kick out of it. A few months after the fact, it's kind of funny. At the time...not so much!
5-21-2008 @ 3:29PM
Kate said...
Your account was interesting. I think I should buy a powerful magnifying glass. Did you ever see any?
It can happen to anyone. I'm sure we bring many micro creepy crawlie mites home every day. Love the lavendar solution. I just heard of 'spraying listerine' too.
(gotta go, have an itch)
Reply
5-21-2008 @ 3:31PM
Bruce Watson said...
Kate-
I never saw any bedbugs, but that may be because they're nocturnal. Supposedly, they're a couple of millimeters large.
I haven't heard about spraying Listerine, but someone suggested using eucalyptus oil instead of lavender oil if the problem was particularly bad. Sounds like a similar situation.
Thanks for dropping in!
5-21-2008 @ 6:10PM
Marie Ferree said...
Bruce,
Our household also had an encounter with bedbugs a few years ago. Our daughter and her class went to New York City for a field trip and I think she brought them home. Bye the time we figured it out they had multiplied BIG TIME and I spent eight weeks treating our house with an enzyme elixir hubby bought online. since the house was torn apart anyway I did some major painting, when life gives you bed bugs why not redecorate! Blessings to you and your family.
Reply
5-21-2008 @ 6:11PM
Bruce Watson said...
Marie-
I have to give you major credit for finding the bright side on this one. I hope the redecorating was fun!
5-21-2008 @ 10:13PM
Esther said...
From wikipedia:
Lavender oil has recently been implicated in gynecomastia, the abnormal development of breasts in young boys. Denver endocrinologist Clifford Bloch discovered the link after several boys presented with enlarged breasts. Subsequently, Derek Henley and Kenneth Korach of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, N.C., discovered in lavender and tea tree oil the presence of compounds which both suppress male hormones and mimic female hormones.
Because sex hormone levels are normally low prior to puberty, young boys and girls are particularly sensitive to estrogenic and androgenic compounds. The discovery of the gynecomastia link in boys has led some researchers to suspect lavender and tea tree oils, which are present in various personal care products including shampoos and lotions, may also contribute to the increased incidence of early breast development in girls.
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5-22-2008 @ 12:59AM
Bruce Watson said...
Esther-
I knew about tea tree oil, but not about lavender. Luckily, my only child is a girl, but thanks for the information. It's worth noting, though, that some other essential oils, including eucalyptus, also work. Some sites suggest washing your clothes with eucalyptus, while others suggest using it the same way that I used the lavender oil.
Thanks again for the info!
5-22-2008 @ 9:30AM
sharonharshman1 said...
I am so surprised to hear all of the talk right now about this "peskie" little problem, about 5-6 weeks ago one of my childhood friends who is wheelchair bound had a really severe attack of these bugs. It was so bad that she even got very sick from the bites that she recieved from them. I heard after-the-fact that this is NOT an uncommon thing to have happen. Believe me her parents really tried EVERYTHING, couldn't get rid of all of them, so they just decided that it was time for her to move. And that's what they did. She's better now and no more little bugs. Wish they knew now what they didn't know then.............good luck to all who have to battle this problem.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 9:31AM
Bruce Watson said...
Sharon,
That's awful; it sounds like this was a lot bigger than the average infestation. I wonder if it had anything to do with where your friend lived.
5-22-2008 @ 9:34AM
Johanna said...
My sister recently found that a condition she had been treating as if it were hives (with anti-depressants) was an 8 month old infestation of bed bugs. We suspect that they followed my niece home from her meth dealers house. I recently had to declare war on some kind of chicken mite (yes, they were house pets of mine) and it was some of the worst times I've seen. I used a african daisy/diatamacious earth powder, anyone know if that's going to kill me? j
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5-22-2008 @ 9:38AM
Bruce Watson said...
Johanna-
I've found some warnings about diatomaceous earth. OSHA, for example, has some definite guidelines about how much workers are allowed to breathe. Apparently, it can cause serious lung problems.
5-22-2008 @ 9:39AM
Mick said...
I had bedbugs in 2003, much to my horror. The exterminator said that there had been outbreaks all over my neighborhood. He suspected the source was a laundromat in the neighborhood. I got rid of them, but two nights ago I woke up with what I am sure is a bedbug bite. They love the webbing between fingers and toes. I'll try the oils mentioned in the article. I don't want to go through the exterminator again. Thank you.
Reply
5-22-2008 @ 9:39AM
Bruce Watson said...
Mick-
Good luck and let me know how it works!
5-22-2008 @ 12:30PM
christine said...
I am so creeped out by this now. I am looking between my fingers and toes!! I am going home today and washing and changing my sheets!!
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5-22-2008 @ 12:31PM
Bruce Watson said...
Actually, the more I talk about it, the more I'm thinking about breaking out the spray bottle again. Just in case!
5-23-2008 @ 9:22AM
DC said...
Great story and advise. Now, for dummies like me, where does one purchase Lavendor oil, or Eucalyptus oil, or any other of these sensible cure products?? Also, do the bites look like tiny red marks that are "bumpy"?? And, is there any corresponding relationship with these little critters and the other villians know as Dust Mites?? I just purchased a product at Wal-mart, in the vacuum cleaner products area, know as Acarosan (made by Bissell). The product claims are that it will kill dust mites, is unscented, and is a water based spray. It says to spray on sofas, and anywhere these critters may be but again, since you have done so much research, do you know of any "buddy" relationship between the two critters??
Thanks, and by the way -- great article.
Reply
5-23-2008 @ 9:31AM
Bruce Watson said...
DC-
Thanks for writing in!
I've just researched this a little bit. Actually, there is no relationship between bedbugs and dust mites. Dust mites are, oddly enough, arachnids, which means that they come from the same class as spiders and ticks. Unlike bedbugs, who drink blood, dust mites eat dead skin. Apparently, they also contribute to asthma.
As far as lavender and eucalyptus oils, I get them at my neighborhood botanica, but you can probably find them in green supermarkets, health-food stores, or anywhere that there's a large gathering of people in hemp clothing.
The bedbug bites that I've gotten have been small, hard little lumps that were red. Also, the bumps often run in rows, as the bugs follow the paths of blood vessels.
I'm not familiar with Acarosan, but I'd love to hear if it works. One thing to note is that rubbing alchohol, by itself, can temporarily halt a bedbug infestation. If Acarosan has a lot of alcohol, it might have that effect.
Best of luck, and thanks again for dropping in!
Reply
5-23-2008 @ 9:33AM
Lutine said...
LAVENDER OIL? Wish someone had mentioned that to me a couple months ago. Our neighbors apparently brought the little beasties into the building. We couldn't get rid of them for SEVEN MONTHS, even with biweekly exterminator visits, because the neighbors refused to let the exterminators into their apartment. They infested our bedroom furniture and couches, which we had to throw out, along with all our blankets and pillows. We finally cut our losses and moved.
Afterwards, a friend sent me this: http://wcbstv.com/seenon/bed.bugs.dogs.2.710699.html. If the lavender oil isn't working, this could help pinpoint the infestation so that you don't have to chemically treat or throw out ALL your stuff.
Reply
5-23-2008 @ 9:34AM
Bruce Watson said...
Lutine-
I was sorry to hear that your bedbug experience was so horrific; they really are nasty little beasts. Thanks for the link--it was fascinating!