The power and properties of specific scents have been studied for a long time now. There is even a practice nowadays known as aromatherapy that involves the utilization of specific scents to combat pains while also helping with relaxation. It’s pretty amazing when you sit down and think about it, but can certain scents cure ales and pains? What about the utilization of scents for eliminating specific species of bugs? This is something that has long been studied as well.
The United States Department of Agriculture even went as far as to conduct a study on the phenomenon. What they discovered was more than exciting, as it proved that specific scents not only affected bed bugs, but it affected them in a different way than most people would think. For instance, essential oils like peppermint, tea tree oil, and lavender were not only proven effective at repelling bugs, but it appears that the scents affected the bug’s bodies.
All in all, to truly understand the power of these scents, you need to understand how exactly they work. Take the nymph pheromone for example. If you look at most modern bed bug repellents sold on the market today, you’ll see that these products contain one common ingredient. That ingredient will be nymph pheromone. This is because it is effective and has proven effective over the years.
However, it is only effective in specific situations under the right circumstances with the right bugs. This is where is know why these scents work. The nymph pheromone is a pheromone that is secreted by baby bed bugs as a means of protection. These bugs secrete these pheromones when male bugs try to mate with them. What exactly does this mean? Yes, it means that male bed bugs are prolific maters, but it also means that the nymph pheromone is only effective at repelling adult male bed bugs.
This is just one of the reasons that today’s over-the-counter bed bug repellents are only mildly effective. Essential oils have proven mildly effective as well. Certain scents like blood orange oil, paraffin oil, silicone oil, and spearmint oil have proven more effective than other scents. Although these scents and repellents are only mildly effective, they might make a more formidable solution when used in conjunction. Utilizing several of these scents at one time might make an effective repellent. This is just something to keep in mind when considering utilizing these scents as repellents.