What Do Bed Bugs Hate the Taste of?
WouterThe smell of garlic, lavender, and peppermint has a strong, repellent scent. These scents are also soothing and calming, and they have antimicrobial and healing properties. Lavender is also effective at repelling bedbugs. And while you may not notice the smell of these ingredients, bedbugs find the smell of used bedding and dirty laundry to be especially attractive.
Lemon is another great natural deterrent. Citrus scents are particularly unpleasant to bed bugs. You can also spray your rooms with freshly squeezed lemon juice. This natural pesticide will leave your room smelling fresh and bug-free. Lemon juice is readily available in any kitchen. Another option for bed bug repellent is tea tree oil. This oil is commonly used in cooking, but is also a great insect repellant.
Lemon juice has antibiotic properties. You can spray a small amount on the mattress and headboard to repel bed bugs. However, be sure that you are using fresh lemon juice – plastic lemon juice will not work! In addition to lemon juice, you can also use rubbing alcohol to make a solution. Lemon juice contains citric acid, which is toxic to bed bugs, but adding rubbing alcohol will increase the toxicity of the solution.
Clothing is another great natural repellent. The more clothing you wear, the less chance bed bugs have of biting you. The bugs look for exposed flesh at night, so clothing makes it harder for them to find a feedable spot.
