What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs may not be the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to pest control, but you'll be thanking yourself for being informed about them when the wreck havoc on your home. These pesky little bugs feed on human blood in the middle of the night and leave you waking up with itchy welts all over your body. Though they tend to build their nests in mattresses, they can be found virtually everywhere people are. Bed bugs are quite contagious and often get around by latching themselves onto people clothes, suitcases, or backpacks - that's why they are so common in hotels. Another way they get into people's homes is through their pets or buying second-hand furniture, so be careful the next time you go used sofa shopping.
How Can You Tell If You Have Bed Bugs?
If you wake up in the morning with red welts all over your body that itch like crazy and it continues happening, you probably have bed bugs. The good news is that bed bugs don't carry any infectious diseases. However, you still want to get rid of them as soon as possible because the infestation will only continue to grow if you don't act quickly.
How Can You Get Rid Of Bed Bugs?
Getting rid of bed bugs can be a tedious process that involves a lot of bed bug spray and non-insecticide approaches. If your house gets infested, you need to run all of your clothes, blankets, sheets, and any other personal item through your dryer at the highest setting. Bed bugs and their eggs will die instantly when exposed to heat of 180 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. You will also need a good quality bed bug spray to treat your entire home and belongings. We listed our favorite bed bug sprays that work for any situation below.
1. Ortho Home Defense Bed Bug Killer
Why You Should Buy It
Ortho Home Defense Bed Bug Killer is really great for large surface areas! The continuous spray wand on the packaging helps save time by covering a lot of space at once while helping control bed bugs for up to two weeks. The formula is non-staining, dries fast, and unscented, so you don't have to worry about it stinking up your house or ruining your furniture. Not only does this spray protect against bed bugs, but it also kills fleas, ticks, bed bug eggs, and even those pesky pyrethroid resistant bed bugs that seem to keep coming back. Your dogs will thank you.
Key Ingredients
Active ingredients include 0.4% Sumithrin, 0.05% Imidacloprid, and 1.0% MGK 264®.
How To Use It
Aim the applicator away from you or any other bodies in the room. From a distance of 8-10 inches, spray surfaces until damp.
Where To Purchase
2. Eco-Defense Bed Bug Killer
Why You Should Buy It
Eco-Defense Bed Bug Killer was created by professional exterminators with your family's health in mind. This bed bug spray is made with non-toxic, naturally derived ingredients that kill bed bugs, but won't harm your pets, your children, or your home. It's also one of the only bed bug sprays that is USDA Biobased certified!
Key Ingredients
Active ingredients include 4.0% Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and 0.5% Geranium Oil.
How To Use It
Eco-Defense breaks down how to use the product into three easy steps:
- Strip your sheets and blankets from your bed and spray your mattress. Make sure you spray it top to bottom and include every crevice, seam, handle, edge, and label. Load all your bedding into your dryer and tumble on the hottest setting.
- Put all your clothes, toys, shoes, and other personal items that may be infested with bed bugs into heavy duty plastic trash bags. After everything is bagged up, put an Eco-Defense Bed Bug Killer soaked towel into the bag, seal tightly, and shake well. Keep the bags tied up for at least two weeks before reopening
- Thoroughly spray room from the ceilings to the baseboards and everything in between. Spray curtains, rugs, carpets, and furniture. For serious infestations, do this weekly for two to three weeks.
Where To Purchase
3. Rest Easy Bed Bug Spray
Why You Should Buy It
Bed bugs are notorious for setting up camp in hotels. And let's be honest, we've all seen hotel beds that we were too nervous to sleep on. That's why Rest Easy's Bed Bug Spray is a great option for people who are traveling and always on the road. This spray conveniently comes in 2 oz travel sizes and is safe to take aboard airplanes. This bed bug spray doesn't contain any harmful pesticides. Instead is it made with mostly essential oils, which are said to be holistic alternatives to exterminate bed bugs. The essential oils give this spray a pleasant cinnamon scent, and will give you peace of mind when your away from home.
Key Ingredients
Active ingredients include 5.0% Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, 4.0% Cinnamon Oil, 0.3% Lemongrass Oil, 0.3% Peppermint Oil, and 0.3% Clove Oil.
How To Use It
Shake the spray bottle well before using. Hold the spray bottle 12-18 inches away from the area you are treating. Spray evenly throughout surface and do not saturate. This product should not stain, however, it does contain essential oils, so it is recommended that you do a test for possible staining on a small area before you spray an entire surface.
Where To Purchase
4. Bedlam Plus Bug Spray
Why You Should Buy It
This consistently shows up at the top of the list when it comes to bed bug spray. Bedlam Plus Bug Spray is a fast acting product that kills all types of bed bugs and their eggs and is safe to use on fabric, mattresses, wood furniture and carpet.
Key Ingredients
Active ingredients include 0.40% 3-phenoxybenzyl-(1RS, 3RS, 1RS, 3SR)-2, 2-dimethyl-3-(2-methylprop-1-enyl) cyclopropanecarboxylate and 1.53% *N-Octyl bicyclohptene dicarboximide
How To Use It
To test for staining, test spray in an inconspicuous area and evaluate before continuing to spray room. Hold container upright with nozzle aimed away from your body. Depress valve and spray surface from a distance of 8 to 10 inches. Spray each square foot for five seconds or until damp.
Where To Purchase
Though all of our recommended bed bug sprays have positive customer reviews, serious bed bug infestations may require you to get rid of and replace your bed, furniture, and other belongings. We know it's not ideal, which is why you should take action as soon as you notice them, but sometimes thats the only way to truly get rid of them.