What To Do About Bed Bugs In The Bay Area

When bed bugs get into your Bay Area home, the first thing you're likely to do is go to the internet to find some answers. When you do, you're going to get a lot of suggestions about how to control bed bugs. One suggestion that might really appeal to you is the use of essential oils to create a smell that drives bed bugs out of your home. It's all-natural, right? And who wants to spray chemicals all over their bed to get rid of bed bugs? There are actually two things wrong with this way of thinking. This is what we're going to talk about today. In doing so, you'll have a much better understanding of how bed bugs are removed from Bay Area homes.

How Essential Oils Work

People use natural products that have an aroma bed bugs don't like, such as peppermint or lavender. These are far from the only scents used. You can use lemon, cinnamon, marigold, catnip, tea tree oil, and many others. Unfortunately, these products don't last long. If you spray them on before bedtime, it is not likely that any of them will still be potent enough to deter bed bugs by the time you wake up. What's worse is that the mixture levels have to be quite high. You're likely to find that a treatment that works will be too strong even for you. The only bed bugs you'll keep away with a mild application will be bed bugs that aren't strongly motivated to get a blood meal. At some point, the bugs in your home are going to be strongly motivated to eat.

Another factor to consider is that, while entirely natural, these products are still chemicals. If you use essential oils to exterminate bed bugs in your home, rather than to simply drive them out, you can actually make yourself sick.  

What You Should Know About Chemical Treatments

• The products used to control bed bugs have to be low in toxicity. You're not going to get sick from being near them. They are strongly regulated by the U.S. government. A licensed professional will adhere to all government regulatory standards.
• The products used are applied to your bed, not your bedding, sheets, and pillowcases. You're not going to be sleeping in chemicals.
• The products used by professionals are also applied to targeted areas to reduce the amount of exposure even further. Some products are applied to the cracks and crevices in your home, not your bed.
• A pest professional uses field-tested methods and strategies to ensure that applications address the bed bugs in your home without presenting any risk to you.
• Modern products are engineered to target bed bugs with active ingredients such as insect growth regulators (IGRs). An IGR works to arrest the development of insects. This prevents bed bugs from growing from tiny nymphs to reproductive-adults.
• Certain products are dangerous to insects but not at all dangerous to humans. One obvious reason is that humans are much larger than insects. It would take a lot more chemicals to make you sick and because you have a liver and other organs that can process chemicals. You may not know this but you're exposed to chemicals all the time. You even eat chemicals that come with the food you purchase from the grocery store. You needn't be concerned about having a chemical treatment for a bed bug infestation.

A chemical treatment is a low-cost solution for bed bugs, this is why many Bay Area residents select it. If you're still concerned about having a chemical treatment performed, there are other treatment options, such as heat treatments and fumigation.

So, Do Essential Oils Work At All?

If essential oils don't work, why are there so many people saying that they do? Well, it is possible to use smells to prevent a bed bug infestation. If you apply a scent to your luggage, you could prevent bed bugs from getting into your stuff when you go on vacation and spend the night somewhere. This works because you don't sleep in your luggage—at least, we hope you don't. When bed bugs move past smells they don't like, it is so they can get to "you" to feed on you. You're the target because bed bugs feed on blood. There is nothing in your luggage that bed bugs need desperately. A mild smell can be enough to deter them. We recommend this use of essential oils.

Bay Area Bed Bug Control

When it comes to bed bug control, it is always best to have a trained and experienced pest control professional perform treatments in your home. A professional knows what to use, how much to use, and where to apply the products. If you find bed bugs in your Bay Area home, don't go after those bugs with essential oils. They just don't work. Contact Bay Pest for effective bed bug control. We can help.