1870s Advice on Exterminating Bedbugs

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The problem of bedbugs is not a new one. My dad used to say to us, “Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.” We never had bedbugs but that didn’t sound pleasant. It must have been a Southern way to say “good night.”

The author of Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, an 1877 book, gives a few remedies to exterminate bedbugs.

Inspect beds for vermin in July and August. Proper steps should take care of the problem.

Scald every crack with hot water, taking care not to damage bed furniture. If the hot water harms the varnish, wet a cloth with oil or turpentine and rub the spot immediately.
Another method of extermination is to fill crevices with salt. Wash the bed furniture with either a strong brine (salty water) or kerosene. (Kerosene seems like it would injure the furniture to me.)
A third method is to mix 1 part quicksilver to twenty parts egg whites. Using a feather, apply this mixture in every crevice on bed and throughout the room. This will kill bedbugs.

The original author advises that, if any of the above recipes are followed faithfully, the pests will be removed.

I (Sandra Merville Hart) cannot vouch for any of the recipes since I’ve not tried them. I share them because it’s an interesting part of our history. As a writer of historical novels, I’m always looking for fascinating facts to include in my stories.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.