How to Kill Bedbugs With Salt

The microscopic, jagged corners of salt is harmful to insects like bedbugs.

If you wait too long, the bedbugs will have found numerous hiding places and multiplied too much for natural remedies to be effective.

1. Remove all the linens from your bed.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Use the vacuum to remove any visible bedbugs on the mattress, the bed and the surrounding area.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

Things You Will Need

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• Flashlight
• Borax
• Vacuum
• Insecticide
• Bowl
• Paintbrush
• Baking soda