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Looking for a good bed bug repellent? The kind you choose will depend on exactly what your bed bug problem is like. Since bed bugs usually “hitchhike” in on clothing or luggage, or sometimes migrate from a neighboring apartment or condo, just putting a repellent down randomly probably won’t do much good. But if you’re trying to keep the bugs from climbing into bed with you, or trying to control a known infestation, there are several good options!
If you’re one of the lucky folks who isn’t currently infested with bed bugs, but you know that your neighbors are, I highly recommend treating with a spray repellent, both inside and outside of your dwelling, and especially near doors, windows, and any wall cracks. Fortunately, there are some great ones on the market, and they come in both chemical and chemical-free styles, so whether you have kids and pets to worry about or not, you’ll be able to find a repellent that will work for you. Probably the most popular product is Steri-Fab. It is an all-natural product with no scary chemicals, and currently has the highest ranking (five stars) on Amazon from reviewers who have actually purchased the product. If you prefer a chemical solution, J.T. Eaton makes the most favorably reviewed products (far better rankings than the Raid or Hot Shot products you’d pick up at Wal-Mart), but they are made from some pretty heavy duty stuff, so make sure you use them according to package directions. You might even want to consider vacating your house or apartment after use or at least opening all the windows for a while.
I, for one, am affected by pyrethrins and other pesticides; they give me respiratory issues even when used in very small doses. I also sometimes have difficulty with even the purest essential oils making my nose run if I smell them for too long, so I was drawn to diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is, well…dirt. Catch is, it’s a very special type of dirt. It’s made up of dried organisms called diatoms that cut and pierce the exoskeletons of bed bugs (and other insects as well), causing them to dehydrate and die. And although it acts like glass shards to insects, it is completely harmless to humans and pets. There is even food grade diatomaceous earth, which is safe to use in kitchens and gardens. Some folks prefer to apply their diatomaceous earth with hand dusters, but I found that just sprinkling it worked OK. Might have been a little clumpier and more noticeable on my carpet, but I didn’t care, as long as the bed bugs got gone! Actually, one reason I could see for getting the hand duster would be to put it into cracks & crevices in walls, but I didn’t have any of those. It would probably have been helpful behind light plates, though.
Finally, more of a bed bug detector than a bed bug repellent, but still really useful, were the bed bug traps. While they don’t do a lot to prevent an infestation, the Climbup kind
