Bed bugs are a big problem in Toronto, and if you travelled over the holidays, you might have brought home more than just the gifts you were given. These pesky pests love nothing more than to hitchhike to warmer environments during the winter months and once they’ve made their way into your home, they spread like crazy. Lucky for you, we’re going to be unveiling all the scents that bed bugs hate and how to deter them from your living space in today’s blog.

1. Lemon Juice

The smell of lemon is pleasing for most people, and this citrus fruit has long been used to eliminate unwanted odours in the home, but that’s not all it’s suitable for. Insects absolutely hate the aroma lemon juice gives off and its astringent properties are harmful to most types of bed bugs. Create a mixture of a small concentration of lemon juice and water and spray it in multiple locations in your home.  Use fresh lemon as opposed to store-bought lemon juice to take full advantage of this ingredient’s anti-bed bug properties.

2. Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is a powder made from fossilized aquatic organisms called diatoms. This substance is regarded as one of the most effective pest solutions on the market and bed bugs are killed the second they touch its razor-sharp edges. Bed bugs also can’t stand diatomaceous earth’s pungent smell. This product can easily be bought online or at home improvement stores. After you’ve obtained diatomaceous earth, sprinkle it all over your living space, and it’ll work its magic in no time.

3. Peppered Powder

The aroma of pepper repulses bed bugs and peppered powder, in particular, is a big turn off to them. Simply search for this ingredient at your local supermarket if you don’t already have it in your kitchen cabinet and sprinkle it liberally around your home. Once the bed bugs come in contact with this ingredient, they’ll scurry away.

4. Tea Tree Oil

This essential oil that is distilled from the leaves of Melaleuca alternifolia, a native Australian plant, has surged in popularity in recent years due to its ability to fight bacteria and combat acne. What most people don’t know about tea tree oil is that it is also extremely useful when it comes to getting rid of bed bugs. Bed bugs can’t stand the smell of tea tree oil, and once they catch a whiff of it, they will try to leave immediately. Tea tree oil can also affect the condition of their exoskeleton, so it’s best to liberally spray this oil on large items in your home if you want your bed bugs to be gone.

5. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil is a known insect repellent that effectively destroys all bed bugs and their eggs. It is one of the best natural remedies for these persistent pests as they hate its taste, smell, and aroma. Thankfully, this oil smells absolutely lovely to most humans, so you’ll get the added benefit of a great smelling place after you’ve sprayed it around your home.

6. Blood Orange Oil

Blood orange oil is not as well known as other essential oils that repel bed bugs, but it works just, if not better than, tea tree and lavender oil. Studies have shown that blood orange oil is more effective at killing bed bugs than other oils, but it does take some time to work. You can either spray this oil or put it in a diffuser to keep bed bugs away.

7. Rubbing Alcohol

This popular disinfectant doubles as an excellent deterrent for bed bugs. Rubbing alcohol dries out bed bugs bodies when they come in contact with it and leads to their eventual death. The odour that emits from rubbing alcohol also prevents these pests from laying eggs. Spray rubbing alcohol in the areas bed bugs like to reside to eliminate them effectively. Armed with these bed bug deterrence solutions, your pest problem should be taken care of in no time. On the off chance, your bed bugs are extra persistent and don’t seem to go away no matter what you do; Bed Bug Exterminator Pro can get rid of them for you. Bed Bug Exterminator Pro offers affordable bed bug heat treatments in Toronto that are guaranteed to rid you of your bed bug problem. Our unique extermination methods get rid of bed bugs as well as other insects and moulds in just one visit. Contact us today to eliminate your bed bugs with ease.