If you have a bed bug outbreak, it may be wise to purchase a contact and a residual spray to help kill the bed bugs quickly and prevent new infestations. Or you could look for a spray that’s a combination of the two. For years, the go-to bed bug killer was a pyrethrin- or pyrethroid-based spray.

• It is a perfect antibiotic powder to kill bed bugs. The smell of this powder and its anti germ qualities work amazingly and kill bed bugs easily. Equally spread this powder on your sleeping cushions and let it rest for the complete day or two. All the bed bugs will die as they come in contact against the antibiotic powder.
• Neem Oil and Bed Bugs Like the previous methods discussed, neem oil can only kill bed bugs when it makes direct contact with a bed bug. So when people use neem oil when trying to combat full blown bed bug infestations, many issues can occur.
• To kill bed bugs on your own, the EPA recommends trying heat or cold treatment, as well as pesticides. Here's how to spot the signs of bed bugs in your home and get rid of them fast. This article was medically reviewed by Mona Gohara, MD, a dermatologist at the Yale School of Medicine.

An old and popular home remedy, rubbing alcohol and its siblings have long been used in the fight against all sorts of critters, including bed bugs. But are these methods really effective and does rubbing alcohol kill bed bugs like many people say?

Research has shown very grey results. Let’s take a moment and look at the strengths and weaknesses of these products. As always, be aware your experience may vary with any home remedy.

The Four Big Bad “Alcohols”

There are four major contenders to consider here, one of which is rubbing alcohol. You may have mistakenly used some of these interchangeably, but they’re all rather different.

Knowing the differences will help shed more light on why these do (and do not) work as bed bug remedies.

1. Isopropyl Alcohol

Known in scientific circles as 2-propanol, isopropyl is a secondary alcohol. It oxidizes to create acetone and works well as a solvent and an ingredient for creating other chemicals.

2. Rubbing Alcohol

Made of 70-95 percent ethanol and additives, this denatured alcohol is highly poisonous if consumed. However, rubbing alcohol works great as a wound or surgical tool disinfectant.

3. Wintergreen Alcohol

This mix generally consists of 50 percent isopropyl alcohol with several additives, including menthol or methyl salicylate. Isopropyl alcohol with wintergreen is used most often as a muscle rub due to its pleasant smell and cooling effect.

4. Witch Hazel

A natural tree extract, witch hazel is a mild astringent that has all sorts of health benefits. Groomers often use it to clean up blood from a cut quick, since witch hazel won’t discolor fabrics or carpets.

How do Bed Bugs React to Alcohol?

Depending upon the type, alcohol may serve as a repellent or even kill bed bugs when directly covered. Of the four, witch hazel is the weakest and not good for extermination purposes.

The rest have varying degrees of success, but all have one thing in common: the effects rely on direct contact or repelling through odor.

Will Alcohol Kill Bed Bugs Instantly?

Unfortunately, no. Spraying bed bugs or their eggs directly with wintergreen alcohol will break down the cell walls, resulting in death, but the alcohol will dry too quickly to use as a one-stop solution.

Rubbing alcohol will last a little longer than wintergreen but has the same poor results. Spraying on the bed before going to sleep will help repel a bed bug but will have dried long before the pest touches the treated spot.

As for isopropyl, a high percentage mix works well against bed bugs but dries faster. Meanwhile, a lower percentage is slightly less effective but will dry slower. You should generally aim for 91 percent or better for both isopropyl and rubbing alcohol.

Does Alcohol Kill Bed Bug Eggs?

Again, the answer depends on whether or not there’s direct contact, as well as the concentration. Using any type of alcohol requires direct contact to affect the eggs and thus has no effect on eggs hidden away.

As eggs can take up to 14 days to hatch, you’ll need to reapply the alcohol spray every few days for a couple weeks to get the best results. Spraying will involve the headboard, mattress, box spring, and as many crevasses as possible.

Changing the sheets daily and running them through a high-temperature dryer may also help against fertile adults so fewer new bed bug eggs get laid.Witch Hazel and Bug Bites

While there’s some evidence to suggest witch hazel can kill bed bugs, there’s no hard proof. Instead, the active ingredient of witch hazel (tannin) works best as a means to treat bed bug bites.

Tannin causes the tissue around the bite to shrink, reducing redness and eliminating the itching and pain.

Some evidence does suggest witch hazel can be used as a bed bug repellent, and a popular home remedy is to spray a mix of witch hazel and cinnamon oil anywhere the bed bug are present.

Note that the store-bought version of witch hazel is greatly diluted, so it won’t be very effective as a repellent. Buy a stronger version online or through a medical outlet when planning to use it for this purpose.

See Also: 9 Effective Ways to Kill Dust Mites

Negative Effects of Using Alcohol

Using any form of alcohol on furniture comes with risks. Keep in mind rubbing alcohol and isopropyl are both used as solvents, and isopropyl especially is good at stripping paint and varnish. They can also discolor fabrics.

Witch hazel is safe on these surfaces but far less effective for extermination purposes. As these products have a high alcohol content, they are increasingly flammable the higher the concentration, so it’s best to avoid having any sort of flame in the room as long as the vapors remain.

Does Rubbing Alcohol Repel Bed Bugs?

Another major risk is the fact that the smell of these alcohols repel bed bugs. This means the ones you fail to kill will spread to other locations throughout the house to get away from the smell, resulting in an even worse bed bug infestation.

You can help reduce this risk by applying Vaseline to the legs of your bed, making a sticky barrier the bugs can’t easily cross, as well as coating any place the bed or headboard comes in contact with the walls or other objects.

Finally, alcohol can reduce the potency of any professional treatments, thus you’ll want to avoid using these products prior to an exterminator visit.

Related: How to Get Rid of Bed Worms

The Rutgers Verdict

In 2013, a research team at Rutgers University completed a study that tried several home remedies to find out how effective they were against bed bugs. When it came to rubbing alcohol, they found that approximately half of those directly sprayed were still alive four days later.

As a result, they deemed the use of alcohol to be one of the least effective ways to get rid of bed bugs. In terms of home remedies, however, it proved to be a decent DIY weapon overall when used as a means of population control.

So, You Ask, What Chemical Kills Bed Bugs Completely?

This is something that most sites (and even some experts) love to skirt around. The truth is, no chemical, be it household or industrial, is guaranteed to kill all bed bugs. Some are certainly more effective than others, but what works well on bed bug eggs may have less impact on adults oe vice-versa.

We certainly recommend using home remedies over hiring an exterminator when they work, but be aware that even paying for a full extermination won’t eliminate every bed bug.

Natural remedies are also preferable because there’s less chance of creating super bugs (an insect capable of withstanding the harshest pesticides). That said, let’s end with a few basic tips to help keep those infestations down.

1. When you discover an infestation, put all clothing and linen from that room into a tightly sealed bag. Treat these with a couple runs through a high-heat dryer.
2. Steam clean your mattress, box springs, and carpeting.
3. Spray your sheet with essential oils or blend of cinnamon oil and witch hazel at night to help keep the bed bugs away while you sleep.

If the goal is to eliminate bed bugs, the job has to be done correctly. Bed bugs are so small that they can live in a crack the width of a credit card, increasing the control challenge.

Pesticides often are an important part of a control strategy but they must be used properly for the treatment to work. There can be many reasons for failure of a pesticide treatment to completely control the bed bugs, including:

• Not finding all the bed bugs.
• Inadequately preparing area (failure to remove clutter, seal cracks and crevices, etc.).
• Overlooking treatment of any of the known resting areas (bed bugs may rest or hide in hampers, bed frames, even furniture).
• Failing to treat nearby areas where bed bugs may have migrated (adjacent rooms or other apartments in multi-dwelling housing).
• Disregarding recommended label rates (applying pesticides at too low a rate may not kill bugs and may speed up development of resistance to that chemical).
• Not following up on treatment in an appropriate timeframe (many pesticides will not kill eggs, so treatment must be repeated after the eggs hatch, or the infestation will not be controlled).
• Not allowing enough time for a pesticide to work (some pesticides, such as drying agents or growth regulators, may be effective but take some time to kill the population).
• Bed bugs becoming resistant to a specific type of pesticide.
  • As insects, such as bed bugs, are exposed to a pesticide over time, the most susceptible ones are killed first, leaving only the less susceptible ones to breed. This can result in a rapid decline in relative effectiveness of the pesticide.

Will Alcohol Kill Bed Bugs

Pesticide Resistance as a Cause of Treatment Failure

Heaters To Kill Bed Bugs

While there is evidence of resistance in some populations to certain types of pesticides, pesticide resistance can only be verified in laboratory tests. Researchers are currently trying to determine the scope of the resistance problem, which will vary from community to community. This research will support the development and use of effective control strategies.
Because of the potential for resistance, homeowners and others trying to control bed bug infestations must always use pesticides appropriately and according to the label. It is also important to:

Contact Fight And Kill Bed Bugs Infestation

• be vigilant in surveillance, identification, and monitoring efforts;
• hire trained, experienced, and reputable pest management professionals; and
• use a comprehensive approach.

For example, you may wish to:

• choose different types of pesticides from the list of currently labeled ones for sequential treatments; or
• use pesticides for which insect resistance has not yet been reported, such as diatomaceous earth, in combination with other control techniques.

Contact Fight And Kill Bed Bugs Extermination

Remember, as illustrated in the list above, resistance is only one of many possible causes of a treatment failure. All possibilities must be explored in any situation.