Do Insect Repellents Repel Bed Bugs?

History

• Pesticide use was once a highly effective mechanism for battling bed bugs. In fact, bed bugs were common throughout the United States prior to World War II until the DDT pesticide nearly eradicated them. Now they are back with a vengeance. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a warning to citizens that the bugs are reemerging throughout the country. Surviving bed bug populations seem to have developed a resistance to many pesticides, making it more difficult to battle the insects with poisons and repellents alone.

The Facts

• Pyrethrums, which work as both repellents and pesticides, are considered the most reliable tool to fight off the pests. The problem is that some populations have evolved resistance to pyrethrums. Derived from the chrysanthemum, or sometimes synthetically created, pyrethrums attack the bugs' nervous systems similar to the way DDT killed them. Now the U.S. is swarming with bed bugs that have developed genes to resist the effect of those pesticides. In fact, the CDC and EPA recommend limiting chemical control of bed bugs to discourage the evolution of even more highly resistant populations.

Conventional Repellents

• Conventional insect repellents, often used to repel mosquitoes and deer ticks, do not seem to have the same effect on bed bugs. Spraying repellent on oneself before bedtime is not recommended for deterring the critters. Once a bed bug population is established, highly repellent insecticides may not be effective because they can scatter the bugs in many directions and cause them to spread to other locations.

Effective Combat

• Use insecticides along with other control mechanisms for an integrated combat method. Apply poisons in cracks and crevices where bugs may be hiding. Bed bugs usually emerge at night to suck their host's blood while they are sleeping. They tend to prefer fabric or wood surfaces. Heat treatment is also a reliable approach. Treating sheets, pillows and infested fabrics with temperatures between 113 and 120 F will kill bed bugs. General housekeeping and using a vacuum on seams and folds of fabric and beds, especially with a suction wand, will also help fight the problem.