Does Bed Bug Repellent Work To Prevent Bed Bug Bites?

Don't let the bed bug bites! Learn the truth about the effectiveness of bed bug repellent, what you need to do to prevent the bites and how to get rid of those blood sucking pests.

Bed bugs the idea of having these fast growing urban pest in your bed and house is enough to send anyone running for an insect repellent immediately. After all, realizing there are thousands of these little brown bugs crawling in the mattress that can bite and suck your blood in the dead of night not only can ruin your sleep but is also enough to affect you psychologically and harm one's quality of life.

As such, if you have been bitten by bed bugs, you may feel the need to invest in some sort of bed bug repellent (spray, lotion or cream) for the skin to repel and prevent further bites.

However, do these repellant insecticides really work to prevent bed bugs and their bites? Here are some facts...

According to Dr. Dini M. Miller, Ph.D., an associate professor in Urban Pest Management at Virginia Tech's Department of Entomology, they tested several repellant insecticides on bed bugs and found that none of the repellent insecticides have had any effect against bed bugs.

He says on MSNBC:

...we have found bed bugs to be very determined little creatures and I think it would be hard to stop a hungry bed bug. In addition, the repellants that you buy for mosquitoes last only a couple of hours before the effects begin to wear off. If you apply a repellant before getting into bed, a lot of the material could rub off on the sheets etc. Also, bed bugs are most active between 3 and 5 am, which is several hours after the time you would have put the on the repellant to go to bed. Bottom line, a repellant may prevent you from getting a bite or two but I do not believe that they will significantly hinder a hungry bed bug.

These results have also been further confirmed by the University of Kentucky. According to them:

Conventional insecticides used as skin repellents such as OFF (DEET) to deter ticks and mosquitoes, do not appear to be effective against bed bugs. Attempting to avoid being bitten by applying insect repellent at bedtime is not recommended. Sleeping with the lights on is not likely to deter hungry bed bugs either.

Other Frequently Asked Repellent Methods For Killing Bed Bugs

See the rest here:
Does Bed Bug Repellent Work To Prevent Bed Bug Bites?