Cleaning. It has been mentioned that bed bugs can thrive in very clean rooms. Thorough cleaning and vacuuming can remove some of the animals, but not eradicate them completely, and if there are only a few remaining, the population will quickly grow again. However, it is obvious that it is easier to implement effective control in clean and tidy rooms.
Plant products. Historically, a variety of plant products have been used against bed bugs. Pepper, eucalyptus, mint, sweet gale, hemp, just to name a few. There is a widespread assumption that as long as a means derives from nature, it is harmless. In fact, some of the most dangerous poisons are “natural”, just mention drugs like nicotine and strychnine. The main plant insecticide has long been Pyrethrins, which are extracted from some tropical chrysanthemum species. They have many good features, they work fast, are relatively safe to use and quickly disappear from the environment again.
Synthetic insecticides. Over the years, some insecticides have been produced on the basis of the composition of pyrethrins, the synthetic pyrethroids that have been an important weapon against bed bugs. However, they have started to fail, and in 2008 a team of researchers from Aarhus University’s pest infestation laboratory showed that there is a widespread resistance to these repellents in bed bug populations.
When the first modern synthetic insecticides were introduced in the early 1940s – DDT was the first – optimism was great .A wide range of pests could now be effectively controlled, and it was relatively easy to control bed bugs. As is well known, the use of these repellents has been found a bit problematic. A resistance in insect populations quickly arose. For a long time, it was sort of possible to keep up; new types of repellents were constantly developed as resistance arose against the old ones. But in time it had become clear that these repellents have many adverse effects on people exposed to them, not to mention their effect in nature. Insecticides for use in the house have one by one been removed from the market, so that today, there are no really powerful repellents
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)