You’ve likely heard that certain pests can be repelled by specific smells. For instance, it might be possible to prevent pests from approaching your home by using peppermint oil, tea tree oil, or lavender oil. If this works for other pests, it should work for bedbugs too. What is the truth? Will you be able to keep bedbugs out of your home by using certain smells.
Ultimately, homeowners will find that there is one scent that keeps bedbugs away from their property. That scent is the pheromones that are released by baby bedbugs or nymphs. However, it is important to realize that this scent isn’t going to be effective for all bedbugs. Nymphs release this odor so they can stop male bedbugs from approaching and mating with them.
As a result, this smell is great for keeping male bedbugs away but it won’t work for female bedbugs. Are there other smells that can prevent bedbugs from approaching your home? The United States Department of Agriculture recently studied this subject. Unfortunately, the study found that most essential oils were not effective at deterring bedbugs.
While the smells had an impact on bedbug bodies, they didn’t keep them away. The most effective essential oils for this purpose were paraffin oil, silicone oil, spearmint oil, and blood orange oil. Still, they weren’t strong enough to keep bedbugs away.