10 Natural Scents That Keep Bed Bugs Away

What scent keeps bed bugs away? Let’s dig into some homemade natural flavors that repel bugs.

Nearly every adult today has seen or heard about bed bugs. The pest is so common that you can easily find them in so many homes, causing troubles everywhere.

As tiny as they are, bed bugs rank among the most problematic pests of all time. If there is any such list, you can be sure to find them among the top 5. Also, due to their size, they can be very difficult to eradicate permanently.

In this article, we will discuss the various kinds of scents available, if you need to get rid of bed bugs by keeping them away.

What Smells Do Bed Bugs Hate?

Certain household materials are known to release specific odors that irritate bed bugs and repels them. Some of these smells can be so tough on bed bugs that they have to immediately leave the area.

When used against these insect pests, the smells can effectively repel adult bed bugs. However, the eggs may remain.

What Scent Keeps Bed Bugs Away?

There are certain scents out there that are known to keep bugs away from the house. Below are some of them.

• Hot Pepper

If there is one smell bed bugs hate, it is that of pepper.

Powdered pepper mostly, releases a kind of smell that no bug will like to come close to. Pepper also has a way of preventing the adults from laying new eggs, leaving them with the option of leaving your house or dying.

Once applied, pepper forces bed bugs to leave your house permanently. Much precaution is required when applying this product in the house to avoid hurting yourself or others with pepper spray.

• Peppermint Scent

Whether you choose to use the leaves of the peppermint plant or the oil, the smell is among the most effective scents that eliminate bed bugs and several other pests around the house.

The smell forces them to crawl out of their hiding places and take their leave permanently. You can use the scent in areas of your home where you are sure you have bed bugs.

Once applied, the scent will go to work almost immediately.

• Fresh Lemon Scent

The smell of fresh lemon can irritate bed bugs to the point that they would have to run for their lives.

But lemon has a pleasant scent you may say. Yes, they do, but their smell is only pleasant to humans. The scent doesn’t go down well with pests.

Applying lemon juice around the house can go a long way in helping you eliminate bugs without much stress on your part.

• Lavender Oil Smell

Over the years lavender plants have been known as one of the most effective natural insect repellents.

It is from this plant that the popular lavender oil is gotten. Though the smell of the oil can be very pleasant to us, it irritates bed bugs a lot. That is why applying the oil or using the leaves from bed-bug repelling plants can be very useful in eliminating bugs from homes.

Lavender oil is non-toxic. It is safe for use around the house. You just have to apply it enough in all rooms that need liberation from bugs.

• The Smell of Rubbing Alcohol

The odor from rubbing alcohol can keep bed bugs away from your home. Apart from just repelling bed bugs, alcohol can cause bed bugs to lose moisture, dehydrate, and die.

Rubbing alcohol acts as birth control for bed bugs, It prevents the pests from laying their eggs wherever it is applied.

If applied directly on bed bugs, rubbing alcohol can kill them almost instantly, so feel free to apply it in the corners of your bed and every place you believe you have bed bugs.

• Neem Oil Scent

Neem oil Is gotten from the Neem tree. It is one of the most popular natural pesticides that is known all over the world.

The oil is derived from the seeds which are grounded and taken through a lot of processes to arrive at what is used for many purposes in the world today.

The scent from Neem is hated by many pests and they avoid this tree as much as they can. Among those pests that can be affected is the bed bug, which avoids both the Neem scent and the oil itself.

If you are searching for scents that can eliminate bugs from your home, consider giving Neem oil scent a trial. The effect of the oil is known to last for long after it has been applied.

• Diatomaceous Earth

This is another natural pesticide that is very rough on bed bugs.

Once applied in the house, diatomaceous earth eliminates any bug that makes contact with it. D.E. is known to contain particles that cut through the body of bed bugs and other pests. Once that cut is made on the body, the bed bug will start losing moisture. It will eventually die out of dehydration.

Apart from killing bed bugs by contact, diatomaceous earth is also known for its strong odor. The odor irritates bed bugs, causing them to stay as far away from it as they can. By applying Diatomaceous Earth in your house, you win on two sides: the smell and contact it will likely make with bed bugs.

These days DE is not even hard to come across. For anyone searching for where to obtain it, you can buy it online on Amazon or check the closest pest control products shop.

• Cinnamon Scent

Cinnamon is one of the natural pesticides that are safe for home use.

You can sprinkle the powder all over your house and watch it perform wonders on those troublesome bed bugs. The smell is also known to repel bed bugs, keeping them away from your home completely.

Cinnamon is known to be very effective, not only in the elimination of bed bugs. It takes care of other pests lurking around the house too. Once applied, the effect can last in a room for a very long time.

You can easily get this product online or order any brand of your choice by walking into a physical store.

A very good place to apply the Cinnamon powder or oil (whichever one you choose to use) includes inside the closet, next to the bed headboard, and close to the legs.

Though the smell will not directly kill bed bugs, it will repel them from your apartment. They will be forced to relocate elsewhere due to the odor.

• Tea Tree Oil Smell

In high concentration, tea tree oil will dissolve the exoskeleton of bed bugs, killing them outrightly. This, in addition to the pungent smell, is why the oil is seriously avoided by bugs.

Applying tea tree oil in the house may not directly kill bed bugs unless there is contact. However, it can go a long way in repelling them from homes.

Due to the effectiveness of tea tree oil against bed bugs, it is one of the commonly used oils in the making of laundry products like detergents. It is also used regularly in the production of natural pesticides.

During application, ensure that items like beds, carpets, furniture, etc, are well sprayed. To increase effectiveness, mix tea tree oil with warm or hot water before applying it all over your house.

• Blood Orange Oil

Blood Orange oil scent is one natural way to repel bed bugs from your house. Applying it to mattresses and bedding can send bed bugs away from those places.

However, this does not happen instantly as it may take some time for the smell to get to the bugs. But once it does, you can be sure of having a peaceful night’s sleep, without any bug to bite and feed on your blood.

The smell of Blood orange oil may not be that bad to you as a human but it is very offensive to bugs.

Scents As Bed Bug Control Strategy

Scents are practical ways of controlling bed bugs at home. Many of the oils and powders derived from household substances have proven to be effective in the treatment of bed bugs.

However, the smells are mainly used for repelling pests. They do not kill bed bugs unless contact is made with the substance that releases the smell.

Another thing that is worth knowing is the fact that when it comes to heavy infestation, you cannot rely on smells to completely put an end to it. You have to combine it with one or two different pest control methods to achieve good results.

Summary

What scents do bed bugs hate? You asked. This is because they hardly stay away.

In this article, we discussed the most effective scents that you can use to repel and keep bugs away from your home completely.

I hope you find this useful.