Bed bugs can be a terrible menace to deal with, and sometimes you just want to deal with them fast and with what you have at hand. Turns out that, some people go beyond imagination and try to use air fresheners to kill bed bugs, but is it truly efficient?
It is very unlikely that using an air freshener will kill bed bugs, there is no evidence that can support that. However, if you have a situation where you need to stunt and suffocate a lot of bed bugs and you don’t have anything else at hand, a can of air freshener might become handy.
Can Air Freshener Kill Bed Bugs Efficiently?
A can of air freshener may not be the best solution out there to kill bed bugs efficiently, but you can use it in order to suffocate and stop bed bugs briefly so you can get something else to take them out. This can be done with a vacuum or even with bed bug-killing spray.
Is There a Spray That Can Kill Bedbugs?
You can use some commercial sprays that are specifically designed for killing bed bugs, there are a lot of brands out there, that can provide the right solution for your needs. On the other hand, if you have some spare time, you can always try some DIY solutions for bed bug control.
How Long Does It Take for Bed Bugs to Die After Spraying?
The efficiency of bed bug sprays depends on the conditions they are used, and the environment they are being used in. A residual insecticide can be effective from 2 weeks to a year. Some bed bugs may die of exposure in under a minute, others may take a little bit more, taking several minutes to die.
Do Bed Bugs Die After First Treatment?
When doing heat treatment, once the room and everything inside it reaches 122 degrees F, all the bed bugs inside the walls, mattresses, furniture, and bed frames will die within minutes. After this treatment, you shouldn’t see any bed bugs appear.
If doing smoke bomb treatment or any other (spraying, etc), some bed bugs in unreachable places such as inside the walls and in difficult access crevices, may come out after a few hours. This is why, it’s necessary to repeat this kind of treatment for some weeks, in order to fully exterminate them.
Is It Normal to See a Bed Bug After Treatment?
Sometimes female bed bugs may release eggs while being threatened by bed bug sprays, these eggs may stay in unreachable places for a while until they hatch. Because of this, sometimes it is normal to see bed bugs after treatment is done.
Certain treatments need to be repeated after some time to retain full efficiency.
What Smell Keeps Bed Bugs Away?
Scaring away bed bugs is not the best method out there to keep them away for good, but it can help prevent them, or at least it may keep them busy, while you are waiting for an extermination service.
If you want to apply some scents during bed bug peak season you can try the following.
1. Blood Orange Essential Oil
This essential oil can help repel bed bugs fast. Blood orange oil is one of the most effective oils out there against bed bugs. You can use some drops into a diffuser, it will fill the room space within some minutes with the natural fragrance.
Another way of doing it is by diluting it in a spray bottle and using it around the areas where bed bugs are likely to appear. Usually, they like to appear in the inner spaces of the bedroom cabinets and by the foot of the bed.
Just be careful not to overuse it, before doing any treatment with it, read the instructions and follow the seller’s recommendations written in it.
2. Cinnamon Sticks, Cinnamon Powder
Cinnamon spice has a strong aromatic scent, this alone will almost be enough to help repel bed bugs. This is a natural ingredient and it is often used in many products to fight bed bugs.
If you don’t mind the smell of cinnamon go ahead and place some sticks in your room. They can also be placed by the bed headboard, bed legs, and inside the closet. If you know any other spots they might hide, put one cinnamon stick in there too.
Bonus: This is how you can get a refund in a hotel if you find bed bugs.
3. Tea Tree Oil
This is another essential oil that will discourage bed bugs from appearing in your room, bed bugs tend to run away from this fragrance because it can dissolve their exoskeleton.
In addition to the 2 previous methods, you can use tea tree oil with your laundry detergent product when you are washing your bed sheets and bed clothing. There are also some washing products that already contain tea tree oil.
4. Rubbing Alcohol
This kind of alcohol will dry bed bugs to the bone, and the strong smell of rubbing alcohol may also discourage bed bugs to stay. Studies have shown that spraying rubbing alcohol will dry bed bug eggs up and will kill at least half of the bed bug population when giving direct hits to them.
If you want to know more about rubbing alcohol and some methods to repel bed bugs with it, you can check, how to kill bed bugs with green alcohol.
Every now and then, clean and disinfect your bedroom, be sure to only apply it on surfaces that can handle it, and avoid applying rubbing alcohol on wood surfaces and in fabric as it may stain with bed bug residues.
Pro tip: 70% alcohol has proven to be more effective than 99% alcohol solutions, the extra water in the first solution can slow down the evaporation process, making it much more efficient.
What’s the Next Step
If you know someone that can benefit from these tips, feel free to share this article. Bed bugs can be the reason for many sleepless nights. Start fighting them off as soon as possible and claim your sleepless nights back.
