How to properly use wormwood in pest control

At a time when people were not yet aware of chemical insecticides, natural ingredients were used to combat pests and parasites. Many of the plants are used to protect homes and gardens even today. One example is wormwood, which helps get rid of house bugs. The repellent effect gives the grass a pungent odor, which irritates the bedbugs, and they tend to leave the area as quickly as possible.

Some interesting facts about the effect of wormwood odor on bed bugs:

1. Blood-sucking parasites have a strong and acute sense of smell, so even a small bunch of a plant with a pungent odor will help protect the sleeping area from insect invasion.
2. The tart-bitter smell of wormwood blocks the aroma of blood, which is attractive to bed bugs, and reliably protects a sleeping person from attack by parasites. Adults and larvae try to avoid such places.
3. The smell of wormwood lingers in the room for a long time. This plant should not be used in a home where allergy sufferers and sensitive people live.
4. To protect against blood-sucking parasites, fresh wormwood, decoction and tincture, and essential oil from the herb are suitable.
5. It is impossible to kill bedbugs using wormwood. The smell only has a deterrent effect, will help create a protective barrier for a short time and is suitable for preventing the reappearance of insects.

To completely get rid of bed bugs, radical methods will be required - the use of household products and chemical components, and calling a professional pest control team.

Why does wormwood cause hostility among bedbugs?

One of the most famous properties of wormwood is the many bitternesses it contains. The leaves of the plant are rich in phytoncides, saponins and glycosides, which give the plant a bitter taste and aroma. It is thanks to phytoncides that a person taking wormwood tincture is completely protected from any bacterial infection. In addition, parasites such as bedbugs are very afraid of their aroma.

It should be noted that the pronounced smell of wormwood can not only repel insects, but also serve as a kind of “camouflage” for a sleeping person. If you put wormwood under the bed, it will become much more difficult for the bedbug to find a victim. This happens because the aroma of the plant suppresses the odor emanating from the body of a sleeping person. In addition, the insect is unlikely to even want to get close to the bed.

The mechanism of action of wormwood on bedbugs

Bedbugs have a rather acute sense of smell, so even one small bunch of wormwood will act as an irritant on them. A pronounced and unpleasant aroma will force parasites to look for other shelters or leave the room completely.

But bedbugs leave only until they get very hungry. Feeling unbearable hunger, the insect returns to drink the blood of a sleeping person. And here not a single smell can disturb him.

Wormwood is not an effective insecticide; it does not disrupt the life cycle of bedbugs, does not reduce their ability to reproduce, and does not harm insect larvae and eggs in any way.

It follows from this that wormwood does not rid the apartment of parasites, but is only temporary protection for a sleeping person from bedbug bites. If disinfestation of the premises is planned for the near future, then wormwood will help you sleep peacefully during the waiting period.

How to use wormwood against bedbugs

Bedbugs have very poor eyesight. When searching for prey, they use their well-developed sense of smell. Thus, the pungent smell of wormwood disorients the parasites, not giving them the slightest chance to detect prey. Is it possible to get rid of bedbugs in an apartment using wormwood herb? Yes, wormwood helps against bedbugs, but how effective?

Laying wormwood leaves around the house

The simplest method of using this herb is to spread its leaves throughout the infested area. The main places for laying are the bedside space, the gaps between the cushions of chairs and sofas, ventilation shafts, darkened areas under furniture, baseboards, and door jambs. Since these parasites are predominantly nocturnal, wormwood should be placed in the evenings, before bed, which will increase its effectiveness.

Alcohol infusion of wormwood into a bedbug nest

Unlike ants and cockroaches, bedbugs do not build shelters. They choose the most comfortable places in the room where they gather for daytime rest. Their characteristic feature is the presence of excrement, forming dark spots, and scales of integumentary tissues that have peeled off during the growth of insects. To add discomfort to parasites, an alcoholic infusion of wormwood is used to treat bedbug nests. Alcohol concentrates are rarely used for treating residential buildings and fabric surfaces, as they have a strong odor of alcohol.

Wormwood decoction - spray throughout the room with bedbugs

The most effective and convenient to use is to spray a decoction of wormwood throughout the infected room. Its preparation does not take much time, and the water in which the herb is boiled easily takes on the strong tart smell of the plant. The resulting odorous liquid is used to spray all necessary surfaces and places where bed bugs accumulate using a spray bottle. All of the above procedures should be carried out every two or three days to avoid recurrence of bloodsuckers.

Terms of use

Undoubtedly, if you put a bunch of wormwood under the bed, and insects hide inside the mattress, then there will be no effect from using the plant. Therefore, before using wormwood, it is necessary to thoroughly clean:

1. clean all surfaces in the apartment from dust;
2. wash the floors thoroughly;
3. change bedding and be sure to boil it;
4. all pillows and blankets must be thoroughly beaten in the fresh air;
5. Clean all carpets and leave them outside for a short time.

During the drying process, the aroma of wormwood quickly disappears. This means that you will need to frequently replace dried and wilted plants with fresh branches. Dry tufts do not need to be disposed of immediately. They can be preserved until winter, and then used to prepare a decoction to combat bloodsucking insects.

Ways to use wormwood

For wormwood to help against bedbugs, you need to correctly use the beneficial properties of the plant. There are several methods to combat parasites at home yourself. Here are some tips on how to use wormwood at home:

1. Using fresh bunches. It should be noted that freshly cut wormwood helps for no longer than three days. Once the bug-obnoxious aroma dissipates, the pests may return. Therefore, the bundles must be periodically updated.
2. The second effective method of use is a tincture against bedbugs. Many owners of apartments damaged by insects ask where they can buy such a product. But it’s easy to prepare it yourself. It is enough to take a liter of medical alcohol or vodka and add several branches of wormwood with a total weight of up to 200 grams. The grass should be cut into small pieces, placed in a glass or porcelain bowl and left for a week and a half. The resulting infusion is used to treat furniture and other places where bedbugs accumulate.
3. Another effective method is wormwood oil. Typically, fighting bedbugs using this method brings good results. Another question is where to buy this oil. It is sold in any pharmacy, as well as in stores selling cosmetics. True, the price at the pharmacy is usually lower. Using scented oil against bedbugs is easy. It is enough to apply a few drops to pillows, baseboards and other areas that have become infected.

Another simple way to prepare a remedy for bedbugs is to make a decoction. For those who don’t know what wormwood grass looks like, the photo will help them find this plant.

As practice shows, the most effective method of fighting insects is still fresh herbs. It repels both bedbugs and other pests best. True, one should not forget about the allergic properties of wormwood.

If there are children and pets in the house, then you should choose a different method of controlling parasites.

Getting rid of bedbugs using dry grass

The essential oils contained in wormwood are not highly effective insecticidal agents that ensure the destruction of bedbugs.

With the help of dry stems and leaves of wormwood placed under the bed, you can repel parasites for a while. But the result directly depends on the size of the bedbug population and how hungry they are.

Therefore, dry wormwood cannot be considered as the only or primary remedy against bed bugs. It is recommended to use the plant as a temporary measure before carrying out pest control measures.

Why do bedbugs look for people?

Bedbugs are bloodsuckers. They clearly sense human blood even through the skin.

These insects settle next to people and attack them at night, so their main location is sleeping places (beds, sofas).

Blood-sucking parasites do not simply coexist with humans, like cockroaches, feeding on leftover food. In the case of bedbugs, humans themselves are a source of food for them. These insects can infect people with dangerous diseases.

Or a person can vigorously scratch the bite sites, thereby promoting secondary infection and suppuration.

If you feel discomfort or bites, you need to carefully inspect your sleeping place.

If bed bloodsuckers are discovered, the fight against them should begin as soon as possible.

Getting rid of bedbugs using tincture

In addition to the plant itself, in winter, infusions and decoctions of wormwood are used to combat blood-sucking parasites. The tincture is prepared on an alcohol basis, maintaining a 1:1 ratio. Then it is infused for one month. It is not advisable to use wormwood tincture for the entire apartment, since it is only enough to treat one piece of furniture. It is recommended to spray the nests of parasites with the tincture, or those places where bedbugs prefer to lay eggs. The aroma emitted by the tincture will dissipate in about a week, after which the treatment will need to be repeated.

Despite the fact that wormwood infusion belongs to the category of effective remedies, it is not used very often. This is due to several reasons:

1. Preparing the tincture takes a long time. You need to insist on it for a month;
2. The tincture is an expensive product, because even to treat one sofa you will have to use approximately a liter of the finished composition. And to prepare it, you will have to use about one liter of alcohol;
3. The tincture not only smells like wormwood, but also has a distinct alcoholic aroma. Therefore, its constant use leads to the formation of a persistent specific smell in the apartment.

Are bedbugs afraid of wormwood?

It has been experimentally established that bed bugs cannot tolerate the smell of wormwood. If you place a fresh sprig of grass (after crushing the leaves to enhance the effect) near the place where insects accumulate, the parasites will begin to scatter in different directions, trying to move as far as possible from the source of the smell that is so unpleasant to them. However, the thirst for blood takes its toll, and very hungry parasites are able to ignore the hated aroma and again begin to attack their prey. It is for this reason that wormwood cannot be considered as a panacea for bedbugs. The grass cannot affect the number of insects in the apartment, since it does not have insecticidal properties, but it can be used quite successfully as a preventative agent to protect housing.

Bedbugs are afraid of wormwood solely because of its specific smell.

Getting rid of bedbugs using a decoction

There is another way to use wormwood to remove bedbugs - this is a decoction prepared from it. A decoction of wormwood is a more budget-friendly remedy, especially if the herb was harvested on your own. The smell from it comes from a slightly less intense one than from a fresh plant, which allows the decoction to be used with the same degree of effectiveness for treating surfaces. It is very convenient to use a spray bottle to spray the product.

Although wormwood against bedbugs cannot be used as a means to completely destroy them, it is guaranteed to repel insects for a while. Based on the reviews of people who have already resorted to the help of wormwood, it is clear that it is used in the following situations:

1. when it is necessary to protect the premises from possible infection by bloodsucking insects;
2. to reduce the activity of parasites and to reliably protect humans during periods when it is not possible to carry out disinfestation measures. Wormwood against bed bugs has only a temporary effect, so disinfestation should be carried out as soon as possible.

Preparing wormwood-based products

To successfully use wormwood against bedbugs, you need to prepare a decoction or tincture from freshly cut grass. They are easy to prepare and have varying effectiveness.

The tincture is prepared on an alcohol basis, take equal parts of alcohol and wormwood and leave for at least a month in a dark place. The resulting tincture is sprayed on the sleeping area, which allows you to protect yourself from bedbugs for several days. Then the processing is repeated. As practice shows, such tinctures are used extremely rarely due to the high cost and duration of preparation, and the smell of alcohol after processing negatively affects the comfort of residents.

To prepare a decoction, just boil the wormwood; both freshly picked and dry herbs will do. The use of such a decoction is advisable as a preventive measure in the event that your neighbors have bedbugs, and even more so if they decide to poison them. We process at intervals of 3-4 days: window frames (only if the temperature outside the window is not minus), ventilation grilles, entrance doors, as well as sockets and we sleep peacefully.

List of disadvantages

When using wormwood against bedbugs, it is necessary to take into account that this method also has its own list of disadvantages:

1. the plant has an unstable aroma, so frequent replacement of wormwood bunches is required;
2. feeling unbearable hunger, bedbugs can overcome their hostility to the aroma of the plant and return to the apartment to find food for themselves;
3. wormwood does not affect the population of bedbugs indoors, but can repel them for a while;
4. the plant has no effect on insect eggs: if the aroma weakens, nothing will prevent the offspring from being born;
5. Not only parasites - bloodsuckers, but also people living in the apartment suffer from an unpleasant aroma;
6. wormwood is a product with a limited period of action. When you stop using it, the insects return to their previously inhabited places.

Preventive actions

Let’s assume that you were able to remove the entire colony of parasites from your home, and now you’ve been sleeping peacefully at night for some time. However, this is not yet a reason for premature joy! Bed bugs may appear again in the apartment. This is especially likely if they enter the home from the basement or in the fur of pets after a walk.

In addition, parasite larvae could be inside upholstered furniture sets. In this regard, it is worth thinking about preventive measures even after the complete destruction of bloodsuckers.

You need to follow the same principle as when removing parasites from your home. It is necessary to systematically treat the surfaces of beds and sofas with wormwood infusion, place plants collected in bunches in all rooms, treat pet collars with wormwood tincture, and regularly change bedding and linen.

Where is weed sold?

Today you can find wormwood on sale in two forms - dried herb and crushed plant, packaged in packs. It is better to buy the drug in pharmacies, as this eliminates the risk of purchasing a low-quality product. But we must not forget that wormwood for bedbugs should only be used in combination with insecticidal preparations.

This means that you will need to spread the grass into all the nooks and crannies of the apartment. And in no case should we forget about the closets where the linen is stored!

We fight bedbugs using the folk method

Does it kill wormwood or drive it away?

We may immediately disappoint you a little - although the herb is very effective, it does not kill insect colonies. They simply cannot tolerate spicy aroma and try to avoid the source. But at the same time, if you simply place a bunch of wormwood in one place, then parasites will soon appear again. Firstly, if they are hungry, then they will overcome their hostility to grass, and secondly, wormwood does not kill and cannot drive away laid eggs, this is obvious. Therefore, if you just put one bunch and think that all the parasites are gone forever, then this is wrong.

Comprehensive measures

So, before you spread the grass, and one bunch will not be enough for you, find the hot spots and treat them with disinfectants, throw away or dry-clean mattresses, carpets, all fabric parts in the crib, and wash your entire bed at high temperatures and iron it thoroughly with steam. Next, you need to carry out a good cleaning everywhere under all cabinets, beds, tables with special disinfectants that every housewife has in her arsenal.

Remember we talked about reasons. Eliminate them, if possible, find out more information about your neighbors, because if they are the cause, then there is a high risk that bedbugs may return from time to time. And even one female can breed a huge colony. Throw away or treat items that could be the source. Yes, you have to work hard, and we won’t tell you that wormwood for bedbugs is a wonderful panacea that will instantly get rid of insects.

Laying out the grass

The most fragrant wormwood is the one that blooms at the beginning of summer, that is, the young one. Always have a couple of bunches of grass on hand just in case, it’s that easy. When you have done everything we recommended above, it’s time to lay out the aromatic herbs. You should put it under the bed, under the cabinets, under the mattress, under the tables. You can also put wormwood in a bag and in a closet with clothes, which will also ward off moths. Spicy herbs clean the air, fill it with a special aroma, which will be very tart at first, but later will become less noticeable. But believe me, insects have an excellent sense of smell, and they will still feel it.

Important! For prevention and greater efficiency, change the bunches to fresh ones more often during the warm period, as well as every new season, of course, carrying out wet cleaning. This will also save you from dust allergies.

So, we hope we have answered the question of whether wormwood helps against bedbugs. Yes, if everything is done correctly and quickly. In this case, your home will be clean, fresh, and no insects will be afraid of it.

All materials on the Priroda-Znaet.ru website are presented for informational purposes only. Before using any product, consultation with a doctor is MANDATORY!

What time does the collection take place?

Wormwood is harvested during the period when it blooms, since it is during this period of time that it is most saturated with essential oils. You cannot collect grass that grew near landfills, plants, factories and highways.

Please note that the plant does not need to be washed before the drying procedure! Otherwise, it may lose the beneficial substances contained in it. Therefore, it is necessary to collect wormwood exclusively in places with good environmental conditions.

It is better to harvest on a dry and sunny day so that there is no dew on the plant.

Wormwood essential oil for bedbugs

This is perhaps the only option in which you will have to spend money. A bottle of wormwood essential oil will cost about 120-150 rubles, but it will save you from unnecessary movements. You won’t need to go looking for a plant, cut it and prepare decoctions and infusions. We take any small container (a plastic lid for a jar is perfect), pour 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda into a slide and drop 10-15 drops of oil into the center of the slide, after which we place the container under the bed. You are guaranteed several days of restful sleep, provided that the parasites are already living in the apartment.