When bothered by bed bugs, you may want to get rid of them fast. If you give them to multiply, the situation may be harder to contain because their population may be very high. And the areas they will have found to hide in the house may be places that you cannot suspect. So, you may ask yourself, can bleach kill bed bugs?
Chemicals that Bleach Contains
Before you decide to use bleach to kill bugs in your home, you should first understand its components. It is a very dangerous chemical that when used incorrectly may lead to health problems. It may also destroy your property leading to material and financial losses. Bleach contains the following elements.
- Water
- Sodium hydroxide
- Sodium carbonate
- Sodium polyacrylate and
- Sodium chloride
Each of these elements plays various roles. For example, sodium hydroxide plays a very critical role in removing grease from clothes. Sodium carbonate, on the other hand, makes water soft so that it may be easy to clean with.
How to Use Bleach to Kill Bed Bugs
If you have just discovered bed bugs in your home, and you are sure that they have not spread very wide, you can use undiluted bleach. The chemical kills the bugs by suffocating them to death. However, you should be careful because it can also cause breathing problems for you and the people who are around. You should apply the bleach at a time when you are the only one around. Even then, you should take care not to get affected by the chemical.
The best way to use bleach is to spray it on the suspected areas. Therefore, fill it in a hand spray and then go around spraying the holes and corners where the bugs are known to hide most of the time. While at it, it is important to note that bleach can destroy your bed, mattress, and clothing that come into contact with it.
Avoid Using the Bleached Room for Some Days
As stated earlier, bleach can cause respiratory issues. Therefore, when you apply it in a room, ensure that no one sleeps or even spends time in that room for a few days. If you have sprayed it on the mattress while diluted, ensure that no one uses that mattress for five or more days. The time allows the chemical to work on the bed bugs, and during the period, the pungent smell of the chemical also reduces.
Note that before bleaching a room, you should move things around. For example, you should move your clothes from the room where you are applying the bleach to a safer room where the chemical will not be applied. However, if the clothes and beddings were also infested, soak them in very hot water before washing and drying in direct sunlight.
Call for Professional Help if the Bleach Does not Work
After applying the bleach once, you should repeat its application if you still find the bed bugs crawling in the room. And if this does not work, you can always call for professional help. However much you try to save money, if you cannot contain the situation fast, you may end up not saving anything. Therefore, finding an expert who has experience may be the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to eradicate bed bugs from your home.
