If you wait too long, the bedbugs will have found numerous hiding places and multiplied too much for natural remedies to be effective.
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Remove all the linens from your bed.
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Put the linens in the washing machine, by themselves. Sprinkle 3 tbsp. of borax, which is a kind of salt, over the linens. Wash them in hot water, and dry them using the hottest setting.
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Use the flashlight to inspect the mattress, the bed frame and the surrounding areas -- such as around baseboards, side tables and clutter -- for any bedbugs. Be thorough, as bedbugs are small and good at finding cracks and crevices to hide in.
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Use the vacuum to remove any visible bedbugs on the mattress, the bed and the surrounding area.
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Put baking soda -- another form of salt -- in a bowl, and use a paintbrush to brush it into any cracks or crevices where you suspect bedbugs are hiding. Then sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda all over the mattress, box spring, bed frame and flooring around the bed. Leave the baking soda set for a few hours, then vacuum it up. The baking soda should kill any bedbugs that the salt and initial vacuuming missed.
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Repeat Steps 1 to 5 several times within one week. Because bedbugs are very difficult to eliminate entirely, it is unlikely that you will kill them all the first time.
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Call a professional pest removal service, if a week of treatments does not kill the bedbugs. Such infestations are difficult to control, and expert help is often required.