Pest control pros warn never to treat bed bugs with essential oils – and what to do instead for true success

Dealing with indoor pests using natural products is a great choice when it works well, but following an explosion of bed bug infestations in Las Vegas and beyond, experts are warning against falling into the trap of trying to treat these persistent pests with only essential oils.

Whilst certain aromas such as eucalyptus, tea tree and citrus can deter bed bugs from entering your luggage on holiday and infesting your bedroom at home, pest control pros warn that essential oils will never work to completely eliminate an infestation and could make it worse.

To truly get rid of bed bugs, add essential oils to your arsenal of deterrents, but do not rely on it for pest elimination. Our experienced exterminators share the reasons why essential oils won't work on bed bugs and what you need instead.

Can you use essential oils to treat bed bug infestations?

In short, no. Peter Rania, president of Waltham Pest Control with more than 40 years of infestation experience, starkly warns against essential oils as a DIY treatment for bed bugs when they’ve hitched a ride into your home from another infestation (the most common cause).

He explains, 'While some natural repellents like tea tree or lavender oil may deter bed bugs in small amounts, they lack the potency to eliminate an infestation.'

Relying on essential oils may instead allow the pests to spread further and the infestation to grow deeper. Peter adds, 'For severe infestations, essential oils will not work and may spread the infestation. Professional heat or chemical treatment is necessary in these cases. I have treated many homes, and essential oils alone do not have the power to eliminate bed bug infestations. An integrated pest management approach is required including powerful chemicals or heat treatments to kill all life stages, including eggs.'

If you're tackling a bed bug infestation yourself and debating using essential oils, Peter recommends instead using reliable commercial bed bug sprays with natural pyrethrin or permethrin which will provide longer protection.

This ingredient is used widely in commercial, highly-effective pest control products, including Permethrin Concentrate liquid from Amazon which is safe to use indoors as it causes the pest's nervous system to stop functioning properly, leading to its death. For pyrethrin-resistant bed bugs, try Ortho Home Defense Max from Amazon which comes highly rated by customers and is the retailer’s best pick overall for its category, which takes into consideration reviews, availability and the number of returns.

Peter adds, 'Using essential oils in enclosed spaces may also irritate some people and reliance on essential oils alone is not recommended. An integrated approach using multiple methods is most effective for bed bug elimination.'

Peter explains if you're committed to using essential oils, patch testing is critical to avoiding your skin getting irritated. 'Dilution and limited use is key, but should only supplement professional treatment, not replace it.’

Rental holiday home and Airbnb host, Jonas Zook Jr has a decade of experience dealing with bed bug infestations brought in by guests.

He adds, ‘While essential oils can repel and deter bed bugs, they will not eliminate an infestation on their own. For severe cases, professional heat or chemical treatments are required. For minor infestations, diatomaceous earth or a good steam cleaner provides longer-lasting protection.’

If you're steam-cleaning your mattress, be mindful too much water can impact the materials and heat may affect memory foam.

Brett Bennett, director of operations, at PURCOR Pest Solutions says, ‘I personally don't tend to recommend using essential oils to kill bed bugs as it's just not the most effective remedy to what can be a very stressful and taxing infestation.’

He adds there are much more reliable ways to kill bed bugs, such as using high percentage rubbing alcohol and heat treatments. You can also use rubbing alcohol for lots of cleaning jobs around the home so the leftovers won't go to use.

With three experienced pest control experts staunchly saying no to essential oils for bed bug infestations, here's what to try instead for prevention and treatment.

Can essential oils deter bed bugs instead?

In Jonas’ experience, the essential oils that show most promise for deterring pests including bed bugs are eucalyptus, lavender and tea tree oil. He explains, ‘I have used diluted tea tree oil with success to deter bed bugs from entering beds and luggage. The strong smell deters the bugs and can kill them on contact. However, the effects only last until the smell fades.’

As someone who personally uses a homemade essential oil based cleaning solution around the house, the smell doesn’t last on surfaces for more than a few hours. This isn’t enough time for any significant deterrent of bed bugs unless you’re liberally reapplying regularly. Learn how to prevent bed bugs.

As an alternative, Jonas uses cedar blocks (you can grab Cedar Sense Rings from Walmart in a pack of 30), cedar oil and diatomaceous earth in all of his vacation rental properties, which you can use at home too. ‘The cedar deters pests with a long-lasting aroma. The diatomaceous earth kills any bed bugs that come into contact with it. But for the most effective bed bug infestation solution, I recommend integrated pest management using natural and professional methods.’

Brett adds, ‘If you are going to use essential oils to kill bed bugs, it's best to stick to those like citronella and other citrus oils, along with thyme oil or lavender. I have found that these all tend to be the most effective, although still with mixed results.’

Remember, if you do not eliminate an infestation completely, it will grow and return worse than before. Sometimes, failure to fully eliminate in the first round or two can result in stronger and harder to shift pests who have a better naturally immunity to insecticides.

Matthew Wilson, a pest control expert and CEO of handygardeners.com has 25 years experience eliminating pests from over 5000 homes and says bed bug eradication is one of the hardest things to do. ‘Tea tree or lavender essential oils contain compounds which interfere with a bug’s neurotransmitters causing them to become paralyzed and die. However, they are not as quick-acting as chemical pesticides so outcome can take few days until observable.‘

Additionally, essential oils won’t go through bed bug eggs, Matthew explains, which means the problem will rumble on. ‘While essential oils can be part of an effective strategy for controlling bedbugs, they shouldn’t be relied on alone. For severe infestations, use heat treatments in conjunction with essential oils. You can buy good quality brands such as NOW Foods , Plant Therapy from Amazon, Walmart or Target. Always choose pure undiluted oils for best results.’

FAQs

When should I call pest control professionals for bed bugs?

If your DIY bug sprays and natural pest control methods haven’t worked to fully eliminate your bed bugs, or the infestation is impacting your physical or emotional wellbeing, call the experts in.

The average bed bug life cycle is a few months, but can live up to a year in comfortable temperature. Bed bugs reach maturity and begin laying eggs in just under 40 days. This means infestations can spiral out of control in just over a month or two. Bear in mind by the time you spot the bed bugs or eggs, they've already been there a while.

Many people are also allergic to their bites and end up with welt-like marks across the body, usually in a line, where the pest has bitten, crawled and bitten some more as its victim slept.

Our tips for picking a good pest control company include checking their experience and credentials not just in pest control, but dealing specifically with bed bugs.

Ask them about their methods, the chemicals they use, how many times they typically need to treat the area to eliminate pests completely and how often they have to return and retreat the spaces they’ve already worked on.

Also check their reviews online, and not just the ones they have cherry-picked to showcase on their websites, but the ones customers have left for them on Google or other public review forums such as Trust Pilot.

Red flags may include a pest control company unwilling to provide this information, lots of negative reviews (look for patterns of bad feedback as one sub-par review in hundreds of good ones isn’t necessarily an indicator of bad form).

Whilst essential oils will not eliminate bed bugs, it can help deter other bugs such as ants entering your home. Mix 10-20 drops of your chosen oil (eucalyptus, lavender and citrus essential oils are good choices for smells pests can’t stand) with water, and spray around windows, doors, and to wipe away their chemical trails (with ants for instance).

You will need to repeat regularly to keep their smell detectable for pests.

Next, learn how to the most common ways pests are entering your home, and whether baking soda is a suitable treatment for bed bugs.