To keep bed bugs away there are different natural products you can use. These products produce a scent that these bugs don’t like and that’s how they function to drive them away. Some of these natural items include a blood orange essential oil which yields the best result as a bed bug scent repellent. Due to their powerful aroma and scent, Diatomaceous earth and Cinnamon Sticks or Cinnamon Powder is another effective remedy against bed bugs infestation. Use Tea tree oil to keep bedbugs away. Use the astringent feature of lemon juice to harm bedbugs and keep them off. Did you know that bed bugs hate the aroma from pepper powder? You can, therefore, use it to repel the bugs. Apply thyme essential oil to destroy bed bugs and prevent future infestation. Rubbing alcohol is effective as a bed bug repellent because it is proven to dry out these bugs.
9 Natural Products that Repel Bed bugs
What Scents Can I Use To Eliminate Bed Bugs?
In this section of the guide we’ve gathered some of the most common and effective natural products that have a strong scent that bed bugs don’t like:
Spray Blood Orange Essential Oil around to Repel Bed bugs
Among the common essential oils that you can use to drive away bed bugs is Blood orange essential. To determine the efficiency of this oil, research was carried out by Rutgers University and findings demonstrated blood orange as the top natural oil that repels bed bugs. You can use this essential oil in different ways in your quest to drive off bed bugs. Try adding the blood orange oil into a diffuser to be able to spread the oil quickly across a room infested with bed bugs. Another option is diluting the oil then spraying it over areas that are infested with these bugs. You can do this by combining water with some drops of the blood orange inside a spray bottle, spray this mixture on places like cracks, corners, and spaces of your bed and furniture in the bedroom. Stick to the guidelines for this product when you’re using this essential oil around your house. This natural oil is poisonous when ingested and as a result, you take necessary precautions because it may also poisonous to your pets.
Drive Away Bed Bugs Using Diatomaceous Earth Aroma
A second option for repelling bed bugs is this natural product. Diatomaceous earth is an efficient and easy way of removing bed bugs from your room. This natural agent contains a powerful aroma and scent that makes it effective as a repellent. It is designed with sharp corners that may as well kill these bugs. Diatomaceous earth is conveniently available in the market, you can also purchase it on online beauty shops. This ingredient is also available as a powder. To effectively fight these bugs, place the powder across common hiding places such as bedroom furniture, your couch, crevices, and dark spaces. Spread this powder evenly across your room to prevent future infestation. The guidelines on the products packaging will assist you to properly spread the diatomaceous earth powder.
Tea Tree Oil as a Natural Bed Bug Repellent
The other kind of essential oil you can use to drive bed bugs away is the Tea tree oil. High amounts of tea tree essential oil is shown to breakdown a bed bug’s exoskeleton. The common ways of using this essential oil is adding it into a diffuser or putting it in a spray bottle to quickly spread it across infested areas and rooms. You may as well incorporate this ingredient in your next bedding wash, this technique will leave your sheets and pillowcases with the tea tree oil scent. Alternatively, purchase detergents that have tea tree oil as one of the active ingredients and use it when washing the sheets.
Repel Bed Bugs Using Cinnamon Powder or Cinnamon Sticks
Both cinnamon sticks and the powder variant contains a powerful scent that is effective when you’re trying to get rid of bed bugs.For most natural bug repellents, you won’t miss cinnamon spice as one of the ingredients. Cinnamon won’t destroy these bugs however, it only functions to repel them away. Unless the aroma of cinnamon affects you, one of the most effective ways of using cinnamon sticks is positioning around your room or places that the bugs are lurking. Another good place to put these sticks is around your bed legs.
Lemon juice Smell Will Drive Bed Bugs Away
This natural remedy is very convenient because you can make it within the comfort of your home. Lime or lemon is a common astringent that is highly dangerous for most bed bugs. The smell of lemon juice repels the majority of household bugs. This means lemon juice can be effective when trying to drive away bed bugs from their hiding spots. Slice a fresh lemon and squeeze out the juice from the lemon fruit to make a lemon extract that you will use to destroy and repel the bugs. Lemon extract is among the most popular products within the market, just make sure you purchase fresh lemon to get the maximum results out of this DIY remedy. The lemon extract may come with potential side effects, and as such you need to dilute the lemon juice with water before using the product. Actually, you need only a few drops for each space when repelling bed bugs. Spray the lemon extract in areas you suspect bed bug infestation and it’ll be enough to drive them away since most bugs dislike the smell of the juice. A small concentration of lemon juice is good enough to get rid of any bed bugs quickly. Most bugs don't like the aroma of lemon juice, especially when this juice is sprayed in several areas in your home.
Pepper powder Aroma as a Bed Bug Repellent
Pepper powder is an effective solution for repelling bed bugs because these pests dislike the aroma produced. Start by sprinkling the pepper powder across areas you suspect the bedbugs could be hiding. Pepper powder is one of the most common kitchen ingredients today because they’re easily available in supermarkets and local shops. It is easy to use this product and it is also a cost-friendly remedy. There’s hardly any health side effects you have to worry about once you decide to use pepper powder as a bed bug repellent. To get the maximum results out of this remedy, ensure you spread it regularly.
Rubbing Alcohol Has a Drying Effect on Bed Bugs and Is an Effective Repellent
Rubbing alcohol is effective in driving away bed bugs due to its drying feature. This product can easily dry the bodies of these pests. The bugs also hate the smell produced by rubbing alcohol and will avoid laying eggs in areas you’ve poured this product. According to research by Rutgers University, this product was shown to destroy more than 50% of the bugs under the study. You should apply rubbing alcohol in common bed bug hiding places every now and then. Ensure you spread this product on surfaces that won’t get damaged due to the level of alcohol. An interesting fact is 70 percent alcohol content is more effective than 90 percent because the more the water content the lower the evaporation rate of the alcohol.
Thyme Essential Oils For Bed Bug Repellent
For decades, thyme essential oil has been used as a strong repellent for flea pests. Research also shows that the same thyme is effective as a bed bug repellent. Thyme essential oil comes with insecticide features that make it efficient when driving away bed bugs, stopping future infestation as well as destroying these pests. Remember, however, that this type of essential oil needs to be diluted before using it within your household particularly if there are pregnant women and infants around; since it may not be safe for these groups of people. Other extra advantages of thyme essential oil include preventing the development of pathogens, improving circulation of blood, offering anxiety relief as well as boosting the human immune system. You will be able to stop bed bug reproduction and reduce their population through a direct spray on both the bed bugs themselves and their unhatched eggs. It’s important that you never apply or spray thyme essential oil on your body even after diluting it, without prescription for professional medical personnel. You need a doctor’s advice because using this product on your skin may result in high levels of blood pressure as soon as your body absorbs the product. Individuals with prior cases of high blood pressure are in more danger. Generally, before using thyme essential oil to drive away bed bugs, take equal parts of water and mix with this product; then you can spray the mixture on locations that bed bugs have infested.
Lemongrass Essential Oils To Repel Bed Bugs
Lemongrass essential oil contains a strong scent that is quite effective when driving away pests like pests. Lemongrass contains a nice aroma which makes it an important ingredient in meals as well such as tea. Lemongrass has numerous extra benefits like helping you relax, offering instant relief from headaches, joint pains, muscle aches, and stomach aches.To assist in repelling bed bugs, dilute then spread this essential oil on your skin. It’s also been proven that spraying this oil directly on bed bug eggs will deter them from hatching. This means more research can be done to improve the functioning of this product as a bedbug repellent. Once this product prevents the hatching of the eggs, the bed bug population around your home will reduce and you’ll be able to control the possible infestation. Lemongrass essential oil is quite potent and you need to mix it with virgin olive oil before you spread it on your skin surface. Spray this product on different parts of your skin that are vulnerable to bed bug attacks, particularly those that remain bare while you’re sleeping. This product is safe for use on infants but you need to use it with caution. For direct application on the bed bugs however, use an undiluted version of lemongrass essential oil, this will assist to repel them. A great benefit of this essential oil is that even after you have eradicated the pests you can still use it to prevent any potential infestation.
Research On What Scent Keeps Bed Bugs Away
Products with Pheromones that Repel Male Bed Bugs
Swedish researchers in 2010 found out that both immature bed bug and nymph produced a particular scent when they get confronted by male bed bugs. Interestingly male bed bugs have only one goal, which is to mate with any bedbug within their sights and this includes, myphs, males and females. What saves the young bed bugs is this defense mechanism that involves the emission of the pungent smell that drives off the male bed bugs. Due to the effect of this pheromone, numerous products now contain this ingredient; the only disadvantage is it repels the male bed bugs only. Presently, there’s hardly a repellent that effectively drives off female bed bugs. Another downside of using products with the pheromone as a repellent is the rate of female laying eggs will multiply up to 25 times more due to the absence of male bed bugs. However, despite these setbacks, using these pheromone products is a better remedy than allowing bedbugs to infest your home. Remember that using the pheromone isn’t a substitute for sealing your mattress and using the services of an exterminator.
Are Bed bugs Repellents Enough To Drive Them Off?
How Effective are Bed Bug Repellents?
Most pheromone agents drive away male bed bugs, however, the female bugs aren’t affected by these products. Presently among the best agents are para-menthane,-3,8-diol and DEET, research is still underway for more effective natural products. Other natural ways of repelling bed bugs are already listed in the previous sections of this article. Combine these products with an expert exterminator to deal with a bed bug infestation. Research has proven that nymphs produce pheromones that assist in driving away male bed bugs, the only disadvantage is that it doesn’t work on female bed bugs. Remember that using only scents as a repellent for bed bugs won’t be enough to manage this type of infestation.
