What can I eat to keep bed bugs from biting me?

Author: Prof. Lucy Yost  |  Last update: Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Beans and Legumes. Beans and lentils are rich in vitamin B1, commonly known as thiamine. Thiamine has a distinctive yeast-like smell that insects supposedly hate, so eating dishes consisting of lentils, beans and other thiamine-rich foods is believed to turn your skin into a no-biting zone for bugs.

What can I put on my body to prevent bed bug bites?

Essential oils. While essential oils like tea tree, lavender, and peppermint are popularly recommended for DIY bed bug treatments due to their strong scents and supposed insect-repellent properties, there is not much scientific evidence to support their effectiveness in eradicating bed bug infestations.

Is there a way to make bed bugs not bite you?

But, fortunately, there are steps you can take to keep bedbugs from ruining your rest. Vacuuming, steam cleaning your furniture and belongings, and wearing long-sleeved pajamas can help prevent more bites. Calling in a pest control specialist is a good idea to get rid of severe infestations.

What keeps bed bugs from biting you?

Repellents Containing DEET.

DEET treated fabric is repellent to bed bugs (Wang et al. 2013). Commercial insect repellents containing DEET for repelling ticks and biting insects are also helpful for preventing bed bugs when applied to outer surface of clothing (Figure 8).

What smell do bed bugs hate?

Bed bugs are sensitive to strong smells and certain scents can help keep them away. Essential oils like lavender, tea tree and peppermint are popular choices. These oils not only smell good but also act as natural repellents.

How to Treat Bed Bug Bites at Home – The Secret Doctors Don’t Tell You!

What scent kills bed bugs instantly?

Blood Orange Oil

This essential oil is proven to be one of the most effective solutions when bed bugs are the matter as it can kill the pest successfully.

What is bed bug weakness?

If bed bugs have one weakness, it's that they're intolerant of extremely high or low temperatures. Washing clothes and bedding at the highest possible setting followed by drying for at least 30 minutes at high heat should do the trick. You can also freeze clothing or other objects you suspect of being infested.

How can I stop getting bitten by bed bugs?

Don't
  1. do not keep clutter around your bed.
  2. do not bring secondhand furniture indoors without carefully checking it first.
  3. do not take luggage or clothing indoors without checking it carefully if you have come from somewhere where you know there were bedbugs.

What can I wear to repel bed bugs?

Clothing to wear at work

Choose pants without cuffs and shoes that are smooth with no trim that bed bugs can hide under. Hang your coat or jacket on a wire hanger and hang it from a shower curtain rod. Make sure it doesn't touch anything else.

Does Vicks VapoRub keep bed bugs away?

While some people believe that the strong smell of VapoRub might repel bed bugs, there is no reliable data to support this claim.

What can I eat so bed bugs don't bite me?

Beans and Legumes. Beans and lentils are rich in vitamin B1, commonly known as thiamine. Thiamine has a distinctive yeast-like smell that insects supposedly hate, so eating dishes consisting of lentils, beans and other thiamine-rich foods is believed to turn your skin into a no-biting zone for bugs.

What kills bed bugs instantly on skin?

There's no treatment that will instantly get rid of bedbugs or bedbug bites. Your body will react to the bite with inflammation (redness, swelling, itching), and then this reaction will go away over time.

How to stop getting bitten at night in bed?

Here are 5 recommendations on how to avoid bed bug bites while sleeping:
  1. Wash bed linen and bedding at high temperatures.
  2. Vacuum the mattress and bed frame.
  3. Avoid storing items under the bed.
  4. Wash and dry clothes after returning from travel.
  5. Contact a bed bug removal service near you.

What can I spray on my bed to prevent bed bugs?

Permethrin is an effective tool for helping control bed bugs. By implementing this approach, permethrin discourages bed bugs from infesting the bed and reducing the likelihood of an infestation. The scent of peppermint and chrysanthemums also repels bed bugs.

What can I put on my body to prevent bug bites?

Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. EPA's helpful search tool can help you find the product that best suits your needs. Always follow product instructions.

What home remedy stops bed bug bites from itching?

DIY Bed Bug Bite Remedies
  1. Lemon juice or witch hazel are natural astringents. Soak a cotton ball in the liquid and apply to the bites.
  2. Use 100% pure aloe vera gel for relief. ...
  3. Create a thick paste with baking soda and water. ...
  4. The menthol contained in toothpaste works well as an anti-itch remedy.

What do bed bugs hate the most?

Tea tree oil, renowned for its antibacterial properties, is like a natural bug repellent that bed bugs can't stand. Peppermint oil, with its invigorating minty freshness, overwhelms their acute senses. And eucalyptus oil, known for its refreshing aroma, is a formidable deterrent against these tiny intruders.

How do you protect yourself from bed bugs while sleeping?

How can I prevent bed bug bites?
  1. Encase mattresses and box springs in protective plastic covers.
  2. Vacuum frequently, especially in areas near where you sleep.
  3. Cut down on clutter in your home, which will eliminate some hiding places for bed bugs.

How do you prevent bed bugs from bringing you?

Use hard-cased luggage if possible. It is more difficult for bed bugs to attach to rigid materials than to fabric. Pack your clothing in re-sealable plastic bags. Plastic bags are available in up to 22-gallon sizes in hardware and other stores.

Is there bed bug repellent for skin?

Therefore, it is very important to always read and follow the label directions. Insect repellents are intended for the specific pests listed on the product label, and have not been shown to repel bed bugs. Currently there are no insect repellents registered for use against bed bugs that can be applied to human skin.

How to get bed bugs off your body?

Showering using soap and water is sufficient to remove bed bugs from your person. Wash your work clothes and dry them completely in a clothes dryer. Once dry, run the clothes on high heat for an additional 30 minutes to make certain that any bed bugs transferred from the washing machine are dead.

Does Vaseline prevent bed bug bites?

Vaseline. If someone tells you that smearing Vaseline all over the frame of your bed will stop bed bugs from crawling up, you need to know that this is not a real solution. While it is true that bed bugs will stick to Vaseline as they crawl up the bed to bite you, they can get at you in other ways.

Does Irish Spring Soap repel bed bugs?

While it hasn't been scientifically proven, Irish Spring soap could be an effective DIY pest-repellent hack." The most recommended and popular way of using soap for insect repellent is by grating a bar and scattering the shavings in any area where the bugs tend to swarm.

What are bed bugs resistant to?

Some bed bug populations have become resistant to pyrethrins and pyrethroids. Sometimes using a combination product (either multiple pyrethroid or pyrethrin active ingredients, or one that combines different chemical classes into the same product) can improve bed bug control.

Do bed bugs ever go away?

"If you think you're ever going to get rid of them the answer is no," says Booth. "Unfortunately, bed bugs are with us until we disappear from this planet."

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