With just a bit of effort and research, you’ll quickly discover that there are a variety of natural scents and smells that deter all kinds of insects, critters, and reptiles. One such known smell is peppermint. Some others are tea tree oil and lavender. When you really think about it, it only makes sense that bed bugs would also be deterred by specific scents and smells. This trick is finding out what those scents and smells are.
The pheromones secreted by baby bed bugs are one of the best options. Nymphs or baby bed bugs secrete these pheromones as a means of protection. When mating season arrives, male bed bugs will mate with just about any type of bug. Male, female, or baby bug, the male will try to mate with the bug. Unfortunately, this is a process that will kill babies. This is why they are able to produce such pheromones to deter males.
While the pheromone is extremely effective, it will only be effective against males. Baby or females bed bugs will not be deterred by this scent. That being said, this scent is sold in many products available today. In addition to this, a lot of people today utilize essential oils to repel bed bugs. As a matter of fact, the United States Department of Agriculture even conducted a study on the efficiency of essential oils against bed bugs.
The results of the study were extremely interesting. The most interesting part of the study was that the essential oils didn’t deter bed bugs, but they did have a positive effect on the bug’s bodies, making them a somewhat effective solution.
While such scents and oils are not overly effective, most homeowners still utilize the scents since they do have an effect on the bug’s bodies. Amongst the scents available, some of the most popular are blood orange oil, paraffin oil, silicone oil, and spearmint oil.