Bed bugs are difficult pests for most home owners to control. They’re tiny, awful creatures and many home owners don’t even realize they have them!
Read on to learn if essential oils like peppermint are a way to deal with them.
Does peppermint oil repel bed bugs?
While the idea of using a natural remedy to kill bed bugs is tempting, the truth is that the usefulness of peppermint oil and other essential oils against them is mixed. While peppermint oil can kill bed bugs that are sprayed directly, it doesn’t seem to have any lasting effect on the remaining infestation of bed bugs.
This means you’ll need to use another approach otherwise you’re going to keep suffering from these dreadful pests longer!
What is the best way to get rid of bed bugs?
Did you know? Most pesticides are also ineffective against adult bed bugs. Ultimately, the surest way to eliminate a bed bug infestation is by heat treatment. Bed bugs are sensitive to high temperatures.
Nymph and adult bed bugs die if exposed to 113 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 90 minutes. Bed bug eggs require constant exposure to 118 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes to ensure 100% mortality.
A reputable pest control company can help you decide how best to remove bed bugs if you have the misfortune of having an infestation. They’re experience in preparing a house or personal items for the heat necessary but can also offer more options than you may be aware of.
How can you kill bed bugs yourself?
You can also use heat, hot steam, hot water, washing, and other approaches yourself to kill a bed bug infestation as well.
Bed bugs are able to hide in baseboards, in the joint between drawers and cabinet bodies, in electrical outlets, and even in the heads of screws. They come out only at night and the first time you might notice one is when you have suffered a painful bite.
- Vacuuming the house thoroughly can help control bed bugs.
- Washing clothing at the hottest temperature the fabric can stand can kill bed bugs and washing your laundry with borax should help kill them as well.
- Another alternative is cold-pressed neem oil. Neem oil is the only biochemical pesticide approved by the EPA for use against bed bugs. It’s effective when used as directed, against all stages of the bed bug life cycle including eggs, juveniles, and adults.
Does peppermint oil kill bed bug eggs?
Yes, peppermint oil can kill bed bug eggs. Bed bugs like to lay eggs on the underside of furniture so look underneath chairs, tables, and other hidden surfaces for small clumps of white eggs.
The menthol in the peppermint oil is poisonous and should kill the eggs. The eggs can also be washed away with soap and water and discarded if they can be reached easily enough. You’ll definitely still want to deal with the adults remaining, however, otherwise they’ll reproduce and create more eggs all over again.
How do you use peppermint oil for bed bugs?
If you want to try using peppermint oil to kill bed bugs, here’s how:
- Mix 20 drops of peppermint essential oil in a cup of water. This mixture, in a spray bottle, can be sprayed directly on bed bugs.
- An alternative would be to mix the oil with cooking oil to make certain that the mixture sticks to the bed bug.
Peppermint oil may also have some ability to repel bed bugs although scientific studies are mixed. These types of pests can go without feeding for a long time and so they can simply outwait any repellant. That’s one reason they’re such a pain to deal with!
Can I spray peppermint oil around my house?
Spraying peppermint oil or other essential oils around your house may leave a pleasant scent, but it isn’t likely to do anything to reduce the bed bug population. Essential oil sprays may kill bed bugs on contact but it doesn’t have any lingering effect.
You can spray the oil around your house if you don’t have pets or small children who can be exposed to the oil. Essential oils can be toxic to pets in some cases or give them health problems.
Before spraying peppermint oil in your home, consider also trying these suggestions:
- Steam and heat treatment methods are more likely to kill bed bugs effectively.
- Boric acid crystals and diatomaceous earth may kill bed bugs as well although the crystals have to be scattered effectively in order to work. ( Bed bugs will simply avoid large piles of crystals in their search for a meal.)
Can you spray peppermint oil on furniture?
In order to be effective peppermint oil or other essential oils must be sprayed on the bed bugs directly. Spraying any eggs you find might kill the eggs but essential oils have no permanent or persistent effect.
Pure essential oils are very strong and may damage the finish on furniture so I don’t recommend it. Always test your mixture on a small area that’s not easily spotted in order to make sure it is safe for use on the furniture.
Can you spray peppermint oil on carpet?
If you spill essential oils directly on a carpet you can leave a stain and isn’t the best solution. As with any treatment, it’s always better to test a small area in a hidden corner first.
A common recipe for carpet deodorizer is to mix 4 tablespoons of baking soda to 15 drops of peppermint oil. You can then sprinkle this mixture over your carpet. Such a minor concentration isn’t going to help to do much to the bed bugs though.
Careful and repeated vacuuming of the carpet to remove any bed bugs hiding in the fabric of the rug might do more to eliminate the problem.
What essential oils do bed bugs hate?
You can use other essential oils like lemongrass oil, oil of oregano, thyme extract, or tea tree oil. Many of these oils are irritating to the skin or lungs and so they’ll need to be diluted before use or you could risk harming people or pets.
Oregano and thyme oils have been shown in at least one study to be better at killing bed bugs than peppermint oil. Use special care if you select thyme oil as it’s not safe for pregnant women.
Does lavender repel bed bugs?
Lavender oil may kill bed bugs that are sprayed directly but it’s not 100% clear whether the aroma of the oil also repels the bugs. Lavender oil is strong and will have to be mixed with oil or water to create a mix similar to peppermint oil.
There have been far fewer studies on lavender than on other sorts of essential oils so for the time being I don’t recommend putting the time and effort into using it for this particular problem.