Certain scents can be extremely powerful. In fact, some are so impactful they can remind one of the most pleasant childhood memories. Some will even bring about less than pleasurable experiences. This just explains one of the reasons that people have been toying with the idea of using specific scents to deter bugs. Some bugs have a natural dislike for specific scents. Regardless, the theory of using essential oils to eradicate bed bugs is fascinating. It’s so fascinating that the United States Department of Agriculture became interested.
What they uncovered through their investigations was truly fascinating as well. They discovered specific essential oils can be effective as natural bed bug pesticides. Some scents may be more effective than others, but most offer a specific amount of reprieve. Blood orange oil, paraffin oil, silicone oil, and spearmint oil are just amongst some of the oils that have proven to be the most effective.
With all this being said, the theory of using essential oils to deter bugs is still new, which means there are bound to be myths and misconceptions. And there are! To truly understand why specific scents work and why they don’t, you need to understand their properties better. Take the nymph pheromone, for example. Scientists discovered many decades ago, bed bugs were deterred by nymph pheromones. The reason for this is because bed bug nymphs naturally emit this pheromone to prevent adult males from mating with them.
Adult male bed bugs are prolific maters and when they go into heat, they will mate with nearly anything in sight, including the nymph bed bug. Unfortunately, this is a traumatic and sometimes deadly experience for the nymph. Therefore, they naturally secrete this pheromone to prevent the process. This is one of the main reasons that repellent manufacturers thought of the idea of using this scent as a repellent. However, some exceptions must be considered here. These scents are only effective at repelling adult males. In addition to this, they will not have any effect on females or other nymphs.
So, you can see how certain scents could be effective at repelling bed bugs. However, one should never put all their eggs in one basket when it comes to these scents. Instead, make sure you utilize a variety of tactics, rather than wholeheartedly relying on scents. This will only increase your chances of repelling the invaders.
It can also help to conduct your own research to determine which essential oils will deter bed bugs. And, which bed bugs will eradicate bed bugs.