YOUR BED IS FILLED WITH LUNG-HARMING BUGS: HERE’S HOW TO KILL THEM QUICKLY, EASILY, AND NATURALLY.

If you immediately make your bed with the sunrise, the tight sheets will trap millions of dust mites that live on your bed, feeding off your dead skin cells and sweat and potentially contributing to asthma and allergy problems.

An unmade and open bed, however, exposes the creatures to fresh air and light and will help dehydrate and kill them off.

Dr. Stephen Pretlove from Kingston University School of Architecture offers a simple explanation. When you make your bed, especially immediately after waking, you’re trapping your body heat, your skin cells, and most importantly, your sweat, all over the bed.

But leaving the bed unmade exposes the sheets to air and light, drying them out and thus, depleting the mites’ lifelines.

When we sleep, we sweat. The average person may sweat up to a liter of fluid per night. This creates an ideal breeding ground for the mites.

The reason behind this advice? Curbing the number of dust mites that live in your bed. (Try Eradicator dust mite spray)

Scientists estimate that there could be as many as 1.5 million dust mites living in the average bed, feeding on our old skin cells that we shed onto our sheets as we sleep.

It’s not so much their existence. Rather, what they leave behind is what poses problems for humans. Their excretions can irritate dust allergies and cause asthma flare-ups when inhaled.

Carolyn Forte, director of the cleaning lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute, told Good Housekeeping that since there are dust mites everywhere, leaving your bed unmade might not make much of a difference.

But she did say it’d be wise to leave your bed unmade for some time during the morning so the sheets have an opportunity to dry from your nighttime tosses and turns.

As we sleep during the night, we sweat and our skin flakes onto the sheets – providing a veritable feast for our bed’s dust mite inhabitants.

Forte said making your bed after you eat your breakfast and get ready for the day ahead is a good rule of thumb. Also, wash your sheets every one to two weeks — and don’t forget about those pillow cases.

“We know that mites can only survive by taking in water from the atmosphere using small glands on the outside of their body,” Dr. Stephen Pretlove of Kingston University’s School of Architecture said.

“Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die,” he added.

So yes, experts have recommended leaving your bed unmade for the entire day – saving this chore for when you get home at night.

After a day’s exposure to fresh air and light, many of the dust mites in your bed will have died, leaving you to breathe a little easier, and a scientific excuse as to why you haven’t made your bed.

Your Living Christmas Tree Is Most Likely Crawling With Bugs

When this time of the year comes, the euphoria and the Christmas spirit are boosted with the colorful Christmas trees in every single house, market, mall, and shops.

We all love them, but if you think about getting a live one and gather around it to open the presents, we advise you to think again.

Apparently, since the tree has been grown outdoors, it brings you guests to the Christmas party!

Mites

Mites most often live on douglas-fir, white pine, Fraser fir, and spruce trees, and prey on insect and mite eggs. They are small and difficult to notice, with a light color.

They become active once they are exposed to heat.  They are harmless, but if you notice an old bird’s nest in your Christmas tree, remove it to avoid these parasites.

Aphids

This creature has 6 legs, no wings, and measures one-eighth of an inch. As soon as it enters your home on the tree, it mimics the conditions of springtime and activates their life cycle.

The most common variety is Cinara aphid, which lives in spruces, pines, balsam fir, Fraser fir, and white fir trees.

Spiders

Spiders are harmless too, but most people find them creepy. Yet, they control the bug population of the tree under control. Most spiders die off not soon after being introduced to the indoors.

To keep insects at bay, especially over the holidays, you should carefully inspect the branches and trunk of the tree, in order to check for visible egg sacs or other infestations.

When you buy A Christmas tree, leave it in the garage for a day to give the bugs time to leave it. Then, spray some neem oil on it to destroy the ones who have remained. Avoid the use of pesticides, as they are flammable.

However, having a fake tree can be as festive, and is your best option if you want to be sure that your tree is bug-free.

11 Natural Remedies to Eliminate Bed Bugs for Good – Recipes Included

Whenever we hear the word bedbugs, chills run down our spine, we know they’re a nightmare to get rid of and are simply disgusting.

Bedbugs are small parasites that feed on our blood and dead skin cells and are so tiny that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

They’re oval, brownish parasites with a flat body that turns red and swells when they’ve fed. Bed bugs are more active at night but are not entirely nocturnal.

The female bedbugs can lay thousands of eggs during one lifetime as they reproduce awfully quickly.

These eggs are as big as a speck of dust which can easily be brought to your home through used furniture, baggage, used bed, linens, clothing and so on.

Bed bugs can cause serious problems as they can cause rashes, allergies and even psychological problems in certain cases.

How to tell if you have bed bugs at home?

The most common symptom people with bed bugs experience is an itching sensation all over their body first thing they get up from bed.

The itching place is where the bug has bitten you and sometimes these places become reddish and swollen as a result. There can even be blood stains on your sheets and pillows from the bites.

The bed bugs’ feces are another sign that you’ve got a bed bug infestation.

Look for these among your sheets and mattress.

They secrete a musty odor from their scent glands, so this is another sign you probably have a problem with bed bugs.

Since they’re small and flat they can move rather quickly and hide in places like the mattress, the headboard, box springs and bed frames.

As time passes by they can scatter around the bedroom and cause serious infestation problems.

Getting rid of bed bugs

So you’ve got bed bugs? Don’t worry it’s not the end of the world, they may be a nuisance and difficult to eliminate but be patient, it may take a while but there’s a way to get rid of them.

The main thing you need to do is clean every corner of your house where you found these parasites. Wash and dry the linens, bedding, curtains, clothing and everything else you think needs washing.

Then vacuum your entire house thoroughly, including the furniture and furnishing. This needs to be done regularly. When you finish vacuuming remove the bag and throw it out in the garbage immediately.

You can also try freezing the infested items at -17C as they cannot survive these temperatures.

Steam is a good idea as well, as it can get into all the crack and crevices and terminates the bed bugs. Use 60C to clean the infested areas.

Home Remedies For Bed Bugs

You can get rid of bed bugs with certain alternative remedies as well, we recommend using essential oils as they are quite effective.

Here are the best natural remedies for bed bugs:

1. Diatomaceous Earth

This is a no-toxic insecticide that we commonly use against pests in the garden and the house. It’s completely safe and natural and can be used in the unreachable places around the house. Just sprinkle the food grade diatomaceous earth around the house, on the bed, the floor and everywhere where you think these pests may reside. Leave it on for 3 days and vacuum the entire house afterwards. Throw the vacuum bag in a garbage bag and throw it outside in the garbage.

2. Tea Tree Oil Spray

Studies show that tea tree oil is super effective against insects. Mix it with some water and create your own homemade anti-bed bugs spray. Combine 2tsp. of tea tree oil with 50ml of water and pour the mixture in a small spray bottle. Spray this mixture wherever you think bed bugs may live, spray it every day until there are no more bugs. Just shake the bottle before every use.

3. Clove Oil

Clove oil is a powerful insect repellent with insecticidal properties. Thanks to the clove’s acidic pH and its pungent smell it destroys these parasites effectively. Mix 1tsp. of clove essential oil with 1 cup of water and pour the mixture in a spray bottle. Spray as needed.

4. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil is a powerful natural insecticide that is effective against bedbugs. Its bug-eliminating properties are mostly owed to its smell. But it also acts as a cytotoxin, killing the parasites almost instantly.

Mix 10-15drops of lavender oil with 50ml of water and pour the mixture in a spray bottle. Shake it well and spray it around the house.

A combination of peppermint and lavender is also very effective. Mix 15 drops of peppermint and 15 drops of lavender essential oil and transfer the mixture in a spray bottle. Shake well before use and spray it everywhere.

5. Thyme

Thyme oil or thymol concentrate is an excellent bed bug repellents and deterrents as well. Using thyme to repel insects is not as simple as the previous remedies but you’ll get the hang of it, we’re sure.

Tie a thyme stick in a cotton cloth and burn it in your bedroom or anywhere else where you feel there’s a bedbug infestation.

You can also put a bunch of thyme leaves in small net bags and place these bags in the infested areas. Replace the bags every three days and repeat the procedure for a month until the bedbugs are eliminated.

6. Citronella Spray

Citronella or lemongrass is an essential oil with amazing insecticide properties, killing both the bedbugs and their eggs. It increases the acidity within the bugs and eliminates them from within.

Add 10 drops of the oil in a small bowl with water and pour the remedy in a small spray bottle. Shake well and spray it all around the house.

7. Bean Leaves

Studies show that bean leaves contain trichomes, which are microscopic hairs, on the surface which hook onto the bedbugs’ legs and trap them.

Scatter some kidney bean leaves around the house everywhere you think bedbugs reside. Place some under your mattress as well. Leave them around for a few days before throwing them out and replacing them with new ones.

The bugs will be trapped in the leaves and thrown outside in the garbage, eliminating them for good.

8. Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus essential oil is a widely used product in the cosmetic industry, in perfumes, pharmaceuticals and other products. But it’s also very powerful as an insect repellant.

Mix 30 drops of eucalyptus essential oil with 2 ounces of water and 1,5 ounces of witch hazel or vodka. Transfer the liquid in a spray bottle and spray every corner of your house. Continue spraying every 4 hours while you’re at home.

9. Sweet Flag

Sweet flag is a semi-aquatic, perennial plant, native to Eurasia and America. Its medicinal and insecticidal properties make is a rather popular plant.

Recent studies show that it has antimicrobial and antifungal properties which make it an effective bedbug destroyer.

Boil a liter of water and add 100gr. sweet flag and 50gr turmeric. Let it simmer for an hour and transfer the mixture in a container with a lid.

Store it for a day before you dilute the mixture with water in 1:10 ratio. Spray your entire house with the mixture.

10. Orange Essential Oil

Orange essential oil is the last powerful natural bedbug insecticide on our list.

To create your very own spray mix 2 ounces of orange essential oil, 4l of water, 1 ounce molasses and 1 cup of compost tea. Shake well and spray your house with the mixture. The bed bugs will be eliminated instantly.

11. Neem Oil

For a long time, the neem oil is used for different insecticidal and medicinal properties. In fact, the seeds, the leaf and the tree, everything is used for medicine and is very beneficial.

According to studies, the cold pressed neem oil can repeal a lot of pests, and it is highly toxic.

Also, it has high properties when it comes to larval growth inhibition.

How to Make

To make your own spray, in 4 ounces of water put 1 ounce of concentrated neem oil. Also, put ½ tsp. of soap to emulsify the mixture.

You will need to mix well. Take the mixture and put it in a spray bottle.

You can use it to spray and wipe walls, sheets, beds, and crevices. Use it in all places where the bed bugs hide.

In the first 3 days, you will need to spray 3 times per day. Then for 18 days, you will need to use this solution, but you will only need to do that every alternate day.

The essential oils are effective when it comes to eliminating bed bugs because they act as cytotoxins. Which means that they destroy the membranes of the bed bugs.

Start today and stay safe from bed bugs.