Bed bugs are most likely to blame, if you have ever awakened in the middle of the night, due to itchy bites. These insects feast on your blood while you sleep, since they are most active at night. They can easily get into your house and bring on irritation, discomfort, and perhaps even allergies. It is crucial to manage them effectively as a result.
Upholstered furniture, beds, and mattresses are common places to find bed bugs. They lurk in the shadows, in your bedroom, all over your house. This prevents them from being found, and they can easily target you. Because of their minuscule size, they are frequently challenging to eradicate. The best course of action is to hire a professional exterminator and consult with pest control companies for speedy removal.
Nevertheless, there are DIY techniques for repelling bed bugs. One of them is by using scents that they dislike. There are quite a few smells that can keep them away and using them can help you solve your problem, at least temporarily, until a pest technician arrives.
Natural scents that repel bed bugs
Although, hiring a bed bug treatment specialist is the best way to deal with an infestation, there are ten different smells that can help temporarily. The list includes blood orange, lavender, tea tree, peppermint, neem oil, rubbing alcohol, cinnamon, pepper, and clove. The presence of the chemical linalool unites them all. It is the main reason why bed bugs dislike all of these scents.
Lavender essential oil
Lavender is widely recognised as a highly efficient insect deterrent. The strong fragrance of lavender essential oil, derived from the plant, is commonly utilised as a bug repellent that people enjoy and pests dislike. If you prefer natural pest control, lavender oil should always be a part of your list of supplies.
You can spray the oil in your home or in areas infested by bed bugs. The pests will be eliminated because the smell will drive them away. Besides keeping bed bugs away, the lavender scent will also improve your sleep.
Tea tree essential oil
Treating a bed insect infestation, with tea tree essential oil, can be beneficial. This essential oil’s antibacterial and antifungal qualities, are well known for their ability to destroy microorganisms. It might also work well for insect control. They are encouraged to move on and locate a new location to lay their eggs by the smell. Insects, are repelled by the strong odour of tea tree essential oil, and it may also harm their outer shells.
If you have access to tea tree oil, generously, apply it to areas where you think there may be a bed insect problem.
Peppermint
Peppermint oil has been studied extensively, as a pest deterrent, including for bed bugs. This plant has a smell which they dislike. To disperse the aroma, around your home, use peppermint leaves or peppermint essential oil spray. Not only will regular bed bug control keep other pests at bay, but it will also deter bed bugs, from returning.
Blood orange essential oil
If blood orange oil is unfamiliar to you, it is an essential oil that can effectively address issues with bed bugs. This, specific, essential oil has shown to be quite helpful in treating and getting rid of bed bugs naturally.
To ward off bed bugs, use a spray bottle to mist your mattress, pillowcases, and clothes, with blood orange essential oil. To distribute the aroma, throughout your home, you can choose to place it, in a diffuser.
Rubbing alcohol
You can repel bed bugs by using rubbing alcohol. They hate the smell of alcohol and, because of that, using it is very effective. The rubbing alcohol will also dry out the bed bugs’ bodies, which will eventually kill them.
Utilising the odour of rubbing alcohol is beneficial for your household as the scent deters pests from laying eggs in its vicinity. Once they detect the scent, they will exit your home and search for a different location to reproduce. Spraying rubbing alcohol can help reduce the bed bug population by almost 50%.
Powdered pepper
Powdered pepper is not liked by bed bugs. This product can be frequently found in the majority of kitchens since it is commonly utilised for cooking and serves as an affordable natural method for managing pests.
Cinnamon
The smell of cinnamon drives away bed bugs and other pests. Apply the powder on your bed to eliminate bed bugs. You also have the option to utilise items that include cinnamon powder in their ingredients.
Neem oil
Having neem oil at home allows you to use it as a repellent against bed bugs. Neem oil functions as a natural insect repellent. Its smell makes pests leave very quickly. It does not only deter bed bugs but also mosquitoes.
Lemon
In general, citrus scents, such as lemon, are pleasant to humans, but bed bugs dislike them a lot. Bed bugs are repelled by the scent of lemon juice to the extent that its presence can effectively eradicate the issue.
To utilise lemon for natural pest control, fresh lemon juice must be used to eliminate bed bugs due to its strong acidic qualities. Spray it in the vicinity of where you believe there may be a bed bug infestation.
Clove oil
One spice known for both its strong scent and antimicrobial properties is cloves. Because of its strong, spicy perfume, clove oil works well as an insect repellent against bed bugs. Combine it with water and apply it as a mist to eliminate bed bugs.
Tips on using scents safely to repel bed bugs
When you’re using any of these scents to repel bed bugs, there are a few considerations to keep in mind:
- When you’re using alcohol, do it carefully because it can pose fire hazards.
- Using tea tree oil can take a while as a pest control method to show results.
- Directly applying concentrated essential oils can damage the surfaces you put them on. They are also harmful if they are inhaled or touched. When you’re making a pest-repellent spray with them, always mix a few drops of the essential oil with water and a small amount of carrier oil or alcohol. The oil will be distributed more evenly and safely.
- Using lavender essential oil and neem oil as a pest control treatment against bed bugs will only work to some extent.
Final words
To deal with bed bugs there are quite a few ways of keeping them away. One of them is by using smells that they dislike. Nevertheless, to achieve total eradication of these pests, one must schedule a professional pest control service. Despite using these fragrances, the likelihood of their return will remain high.