![]() ![]() People often think using essential oils is safe because they are natural and don’t realize they can be dangerous and cause skin rashes and burns.Īlthough lavender oil and other oils such as peppermint or tea tree oil may be toxic to bed bugs, it’s unknown exactly how much would be needed to kill them, but we do know it’s a lot as confirmed by the study above. This is fine as long as the recipe has been tested and is effective, but this is rarely the case as the recipes are just copied from another site and often don’t mention how many drops are needed, or if a solubilizer needs to be added when trying to dilute an essential oil in water. Sadly, there is a great deal of misinformation on this and a lot of it is on so-called pest control sites, where they give you a lavender (or other essential oil) bed bug spray recipe. If you search the internet for what scent keeps bed bugs away, then you’ve no doubt come across sites claiming lavender oil is the answer, and all you have to do is add a few drops to a bottle of water and spray it on your bedding or directly on the bed bugs themselves. There have been no scientific studies on the effectiveness of lavender oil for bed bugs, so there is only anecdotal evidence to suggest that lavender and other essential oil scents can repel or kill them. Does Lavender Essential Oil Really Repel Or Kill Bed Bugs? As the study says, further investigation is needed. Maybe the essential oil would not be enough to repel them when in an actual room instead of in a petri dish, or if they have regular access to a host and blood meal. Further studies are warranted to confirm the effectiveness of oregano essential oil in personal protecting against bed bug biting.”Īs promising as this sounds, as with most studies, this took place in a controlled laboratory setting where bed bugs are not able to feed or hide as they normally would. The conclusion of the study stated: “ Oregano oil 40% exhibited more repellency compared to commercial insect repellent stick containing 33% DEET. ![]() vulgare) on bed bugs in comparison with DEET against bed bugs (C. lectularius) and found oregano essential oil to be somewhat effective. There have not been many studies on how or if essential oils repel bed bugs, but a 2018 study was carried out to “determine the repellency activity of oregano essential oil (O. ![]() The amounts needed to eliminate them are just too great and impractical when compared to synthetic insecticides. These studies have shown although essential oils can kill bed bugs, they are not effective enough or work quickly enough to be able to treat a bed bug problem. However, killing a bed bug by contact took approximately 70,000 times more of the most effective essential oil compound than the synthetic insecticide used as the control in the experiment. carvacrol (derived from oregano and thyme).The most effective when directly applied were: The findings looked promising as all were effective when applied directly to the bed bugs, although the amounts needed to kill them varied somewhat. However, all the essential oils tested were still less effective than the silicone oils and paraffin oils.Ī different study was carried out by Purdue University to identify the essential oil compounds most toxic to bed bugs. It was found that out of all the essential oils, blood orange killed the most bed bugs. However, the Journal of Economic Entomology reported on the Rutgers University study that tested 18 essential oils (blood orange, peppermint, cedarwood, and geraniol were some of them), 3 silicone oils, and paraffin oils for their toxicities against bed bugs.įour experiments were conducted on bed bugs collected from an apartment building in Indiana. There seem to be numerous essential oil-based products on the market claiming to kill or repel insects. Not surprisingly, most people are looking toward a “greener” way of living and essential oils are seen as a natural alternative to the unknown chemicals in the products we use. Essential oils can be toxic and dangerous if misused. This process uses condensation to collect the oils by extraction and isolation and vaporizes the plant material’s volatile compounds.Īs these are natural, people tend to think they are safe to use and are often unaware of how highly concentrated and potent they are. These oils are extracted from the roots, stems, seeds, flowers, and bark of the plant or tree in various ways, but the most common method is via steam distillation. Simply put, essential oils are the liquid extracts of aromatic plants.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |