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Bedbugs! Non-toxic Eradication and Homeopathy

Joette Calabrese, HMC, PHom M

September 8th, 2013  |  18 Comments

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bedbug 2

All God’s creatures, great and small? Okay … bumblebees, butterflies, bunnies.

Got it. But bedbugs? 

Oh, I think not! Bedbugs are not nice, not fluffy, not useful at all. 

They can lie dormant in your walls for a year without feeding, and then suddenly wake up hungry for blood.

They can latch on to you in hotels, on busses, in dentists’ offices … anywhere people gather, sit, and can drop a critter or its eggs.

Bedbugs are dirty, disgusting, and demoralizing.

They creep, they crawl, and they cause a lot of alliteration in this blog. 

Bedbugs are embarrassing and their hosts are unwilling. 

An influx of bedbugs in your home is not exactly a topic of polite conversation: “Johnny was accepted to Harvard; Suzie won her swim meet … and we have bedbugs!” 

Having gone online, I learned that the consensus was that the pesticides weren’t very effective.

There, I found reports of people spraying several times (exposing themselves and their families to dangerous chemical toxins) and having limited or no success.

Three Non-toxic Treatments

I read of three (non-chemical, ironically) treatments that actually worked: extreme heat, extreme cold, and diatomaceous earth.

Here is a link to a source on Amazon: Nature's Wisdom Food Grade DE. I have also found it at my local Home Depot.

Since most of us can’t easily heat a house to 115F (46C), nor was it possible to freeze the house at -26F (-32C), the choice was easy. Diatomaceous earth is stupidly inexpensive and much cheaper than cancer-causing sprays and bombs.

Diatomaceous earth is a non-toxic silica dust. 

You can put it on your mattress, around the baseboards and all over the floor, in the electrical outlets, in the furniture, etc. I love that I can carry it with me when I travel. 

My assistant reports that she was plagued with them and left the diatomaceous earth for a week or two, then vacuumed up the dust.

It makes a mess, she said, since it is a very fine powder. 

But she put up with it and reapplied twice. Eventually, she was deprived of their company for good.

Bedbug bites – homeopathy of course

So, what if it’s too late and you find out that those nasty, bumpy bites are indeed from bed bugs?

Now what?

Why homeopathy of course!

The first remedy to consider is Ledum 30X every 3 hours if the itching is bad enough.

This won’t rid your bed or luggage, but it will certainly reduce the swelling, itching and restlessness.

If the level of itching grows into an itching frenzy, then also consider Arsenicum album 6 or 30 every few hours. 

These remedies can be used for days if needed to reduce the effects of the bites.

I love when solutions arise that give us self-sufficiency, cost only a few dollars, and are not only non-toxic but intelligent. 

A clever use of non-chemical products, homeopathy and self-education; the way to a life well-lived. 

 

I am a homeopath with a worldwide practice working with families and individuals via Zoom. I'm also a teacher and most importantly, a mom who raised my now-adult children depending on homeopathy over the last 31 years. I lived decades of my life with food intolerances, allergies, and chemical sensitivities until I was cured with homeopathy, so I understand pain, anxiety, and suffering. You may feel that your issues are more severe or different than anyone else’s, but I have seen it all in my practice and in my work in India. My opinion is that nothing has come close to the reproducible, safe and effective results that my clients, students and I have achieved with homeopathy.

Call today and learn how homeopathy might just be the missing piece in your health strategy.


Joette is not a physician and the relationship between Joette and her clients is not of prescriber and patient, but as educator and client. It is fully the client's choice whether or not to take advantage of the information Joette presents. Homeopathy doesn't "treat" an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. Joette believes that the advice and diagnosis of a physician is often in order.


We've provided links for your convenience but we do not receive any remuneration nor affiliation in payment from your purchase.


The Author disclaims all liability for any loss or risk, personal or otherwise incurred as a consequence of use of any material in this article. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.



 

18 thoughts on “Bedbugs! Non-toxic Eradication and Homeopathy”

  1. Jenn says:

    So if you carry the diatomaceous earth with you, does it work as a preventative to keep the bugs off your bags? Do you spread it around your room regardless of seeing any signs or bites? Would you carry it with you for just a week away or for longer month journeys? thanks

  2. Joette, Thanks so much for all the helpful information your blogs and newsletters provide. You are awesome and inspiring to me, a new homeopathic practitioner.
    For those in need Diatomaceous Earth is also available at any pool store, it is used to filter pool water. Best wishes! Kristen

    1. K Bryant says:

      Swimming pool DE is processed differently from food grade DE and is NOT safe to use around your house… It is a carcinogen. Please only use DE that is stamped “food grade”

    2. N says:

      DE MUST be Food grade to use in your home and internally.
      DO NOT USE POOL DE.

      HARMFUL.

  3. Julia says:

    Kristen, please be sure to use FOOD grade, not pool grade DE! Pool grade has been chemically treated at very high temperatures and is poisonous to humans and pets!

  4. Amy S. says:

    I have been using DE this year since we moved to a hobby farm. I sprinkle it around my chicken coop and where they take their dust baths to keep lice away. I put it on my dog and cats for fleas. It’s okay to eat, but avoid inhaling it. I got a 50 lb bag for a great price at the local feed store.

  5. K Bryant says:

    Please DO NOT use swimming pool DE!!! There is a big difference between swimming pool DE and food grade DE. Swimming pool DE is processed differently and is a carcinogen if you breath it. Food grade DE is safe for all applications. There are several articles online about the differences. Hope this clears up any confusion.

  6. Liz says:

    A great topic! This in another issue that has a lot of fear around it and people need a reasonable voice and reasonable solutions! I have also heard of people using heat effectively to treat this issue, but it does involve paying someone to come in and do that.
    thanks

  7. Joanna Katherine says:

    Just want to add, if you have children or pets in the home, make sure it’s FOOD GRADE DE, or Fossil Shell Flour. Also, I’ve heard that breathing it is not advised so wetting it down is a good precaution.

  8. Lorna says:

    DE is the only thing that worked (and I tried everything) when I had an infestation of fleas in my apartment from the previous renter’s cats.

    It is AWFULLY messy though. Be prepared to spend some time living amidst DE dust everywhere.

  9. Terry says:

    With several dogs, we used to have terrible flea infestations. Now, at the first sight of a flea on any of the dogs, they all get treated with a few pinches of diatomaceous earth spread on the skin under their fur at key flea sites, and we have not had an infestation in years. We were about ready to give up having dogs because of the flea problem and not wanting to use toxins, but now, with the DE and high quality raw food for the dogs, we are again able to enjoy our pets. The DE also worked well to control some ant infestations. It’s wonderful stuff!

  10. @Kristen, the pool grade DE is not the same as FOOD GRADE DE, unfortunately, and really shouldn’t be used as it can be toxic with heavy metals, and the silica has been changed (it’s only good for filtration- no other uses). It’s a confusing topic for sure, and I just didn’t want you accidentally toxing yourself 🙂

    Here’s a quick explanation:
    http://www.absorbentproductsltd.com/food-grade-diatomaceous-earth-vs-pool-grade.html

  11. Mimi Mills says:

    Diatomaceous earth takes forever and all it does is scrape off the waxy coating on the bug exposing it’s underlayer. But what if they crawl to an area where you can’t sprinkle it, like inside walls? They breed so fast that an infestation could happen before the Diatomaceous earth could work. Gardner’s supply (www.gardeners.com) has a spray that I’ve never tried (because I have never had bedbugs) but it has peppermint oil and orange oil in it (along with another ingredient).

    Supposedly the natural enemy of bedbugs is cockroaches. They get into the walls and under places where we can’t spray or sprinkle anything. Yes, that is a less desirable approach, but roaches are easier to kill than bedbugs, so once the bedbugs are gone, just kill the roaches. 😛

  12. Joy says:

    Thanks for the great information! I bought a 50lb bag of DE a few years ago and use it in my veggie garden all the time. Now I know I can also have it in my arsenal in case of bedbugs!

    A number of years ago we had an infestation of fleas and I got rid of them by sprinkling 20 Mule Team Borax around the baseboards and under furniture and left it until the vacuum cleaner happened to get it. That worked great for me. I wonder if that would also work for bedbugs as well. I just mention it because borax is not as flour-like texture to deal with as the DE. I assume since it’s an ingredient in home made laundry soap it would be safe to use around the house…. but maybe not with pets, I have no idea. Oh wait, I had pets when I used it for fleas and one particular kitty lived a healthy life for 18 years.

  13. Beth L. says:

    I recently heard pertinent info worth mentioning from a biostatistician who researches health, writes scholarly articles, and makes health recommendations.

    He said that some colleagues research silica. Apparently breathing it in can cause silicosis and can put a person at risk for developing lung cancer.

    So, great care should be taken when using…

  14. Anna says:

    Joette, My mother is a teacher and now has what we think is “Scabies” or some sort of mite from the school. She itches ALL over her body extremely bad and has red dots all over from the,probably, bites! Would the same remedie be good for her?

    1. Joette Calabrese, HMC, CCH, RSHom(Na) says:

      Arsenicum album 6 would be part of the protocol for scabies, but Psorinum and another one or 2 remedies would need to be considered as well. This is something that would require the case to be taken.

      1. N says:

        What does your last statement mean?

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