Aromatherapy is not entirely new. It may be new to you, but individuals and entomologists have been experimenting with specific oils for a number of years now. Some people have found that certain scents can help ease pain symptoms. Some essential oils are believed to relieve anxiety and depression.
Some essential oils may reduce stress and provoke a calming sense. Well, it has recently been proven that specific scents can deter certain pest species. Most pest and rodent species are repelled by various essential oils, such as peppermint, tea tree oil, and lavender. So, why wouldn’t bed bugs be repelled by these scents as well? They are, but there is a limit to their effectiveness.
That being said, if you are like most people, you do not want to spend a fortune experimenting around with different scents only to be mildly successful. This is why you have to understand these scents and what properties it is that turn the bugs off. Of course, this is going to be much harder than it seems, but learning to diagnose these scents and how to work will help you when it comes to choosing the right ones to repel specific bugs. Take the bed bug nymph pheromone, for example. There couldn’t be a more perfect example than this.
Today, a few bed bug repellent manufacturers are utilizing what is known as synthetic nymph pheromones to repel bed bugs. This is because nymph pheromones have been proven somewhat effective. The question is why. Well, these pheromones are generated by the bed bug nymph. Adult male bed bugs are prolific breeders. During the mating season, they will mate with anything they can, including baby bed bugs. Unfortunately, this is a process that proves lethal for these baby bugs. It can kill them, and this is why they secret this pheromone. The pheromone deters adult male bed bugs.
While this might be interesting, it only means that the scent is effective at deterring adult male bugs. It will have no impact on the female or nymph. Utilizing these products will be more effective than doing nothing at all, But, they will not provide complete results. This is why it is important to know exactly what properties of these scents deter bugs. The United States Department of Agriculture has even gotten in on the debate. The has begun conducting individual studies, regarding the effectiveness of certain essential oils as bed bug deterrents. The findings from some of these studies are fairly interesting, as they proved that some scents can have adverse reactions on the bed bug’s bodies.
While essential oils are not a complete solution for deterring and eradicating bed bugs. They will certainly be more effective than simply sitting by and doing nothing. Some essential oils do a much better job than others. Some of the scents that have been proven to be more effective include blood orange oil, paraffin oil, silicone oil, and spearmint oil.
One just has to remember that the effectiveness of these oils is extremely limited. This is why it is usually just best to get a professional involved at the first sighting of a bed bug. Heck, if you even suspect you are dealing with bed bugs, you’ll want to get the pros involved immediately.
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