Non-synthetic pesticides fail to kill bed bugs: Study

London: Essential oil-based pesticides and insecticides that have flooded the market in recent years may not be good at killing bed bugs, found a research.

In lab settings, researchers put 11 over-the-counter bed bug sprays to the test to see if essential oils can do more than make your bedroom smell nice.

The results were shocking.

Seven of the natural products tested did not manage to kill even 50 percent of the bed bugs sprayed, measured by dead bugs 10 days later.

"None of the non-synthetic insecticides had any noticeable effect against bed bug eggs except for EcoRaider that killed 87 percent of them," authors noted.

Under field conditions, bed bugs hide in cracks, crevices, creases and many other places where insecticide application may not be directly applied onto the hidden insects.

"Additional studies under field conditions are warranted to determine the field efficacy of non-synthetic bed bug pesticides and how they can be incorporated into a bed bug management programme," researchers noted.

The non-synthetic bed bug pesticides contain ingredients such as geraniol, rosemary oil, mint oil, cinnamon oil, peppermint oil, eugenol, clove oil, lemongrass oil, sodium lauryl sulfate, 2-Phenethyl propionate, potassium sorbate and sodium chloride.

The results were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology.