so, i have issues with insects penetrating the leaky gaps in this run down old villa in croatia. the three bugs that get inside the most, and irritate me, are, by order of most irritation, stink bugs, flies and those tiny little black beetles with the red spots on their back. stinkbugs are by far the most irritating.
turns out that i can probably diminish their incursions a lot just with essential oil vaporiser, with spearmint, cloves and lemongrass. but this turns out to be generically useful for a lot more that probably some of which will turn up as the weather warms and they breed up:
● Your blend is going to repel quite a lot more than just stink bugs. Here's the combined
coverage:
Spearmint repels
- Ants, aphids, boxelder bugs, flies, gnats, head lice, mosquitoes, moths, spiders
Clove repels (the heavy hitter)
- Mosquitoes (one of the most effective natural oils — 2-4 hours of 100% repellency in
studies)
- Ants, flies, moths, fleas, earwigs, silverfish, cockroaches
- Ticks, mites, spiders
- Bed bugs (>90% mortality in some formulations)
- Wasps
- Termites (100% mortality in lab studies)
- Stink bugs (>95% repellency at tested doses)
Lemongrass repels
- Mosquitoes (very strong — comparable to citronella, which is a close relative)
- House flies, stable flies, fruit flies
- Ticks (including blacklegged/deer ticks, the Lyme disease vectors)
- Gnats
- Mealybugs, black cutworms
Combined, your room will be hostile to
Mosquitoes, flies (all types), ants, spiders, ticks, moths, fleas, cockroaches, silverfish,
earwigs, gnats, wasps, mites, bed bugs, and of course stink bugs.
Basically the only common indoor pests this blend won't meaningfully deter are rodents
(mice/rats — though mint does have some anecdotal rodent-repellent reputation) and larger
pests like centipedes or carpet beetles, which aren't well-studied with these oils.
So you're getting a pretty comprehensive pest shield as a side benefit of dealing with the
stink bugs.
Sources:
-
https://www.naturepest.com/clove-oil-eugenol-a-pesticide-against-insects-mites-and-fungus/
- https://www.hunker.com/12592396/clove-oil-for-pest-control/
- https://oneessentialcommunity.com/essential-oils-repel-bugs-diy-recipes/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3718533/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266651582400026X
- https://www.housedigest.com/1570548/pests-repelled-lemongrass-plant/
- https://drkilligans.com/blogs/products/how-beneficial-is-clove-oil
- https://blog.entomologist.net/what-insects-does-peppermint-oil-repel.html
turns out that i can probably diminish their incursions a lot just with essential oil vaporiser, with spearmint, cloves and lemongrass. but this turns out to be generically useful for a lot more that probably some of which will turn up as the weather warms and they breed up:
● Your blend is going to repel quite a lot more than just stink bugs. Here's the combined
coverage:
Spearmint repels
- Ants, aphids, boxelder bugs, flies, gnats, head lice, mosquitoes, moths, spiders
Clove repels (the heavy hitter)
- Mosquitoes (one of the most effective natural oils — 2-4 hours of 100% repellency in
studies)
- Ants, flies, moths, fleas, earwigs, silverfish, cockroaches
- Ticks, mites, spiders
- Bed bugs (>90% mortality in some formulations)
- Wasps
- Termites (100% mortality in lab studies)
- Stink bugs (>95% repellency at tested doses)
Lemongrass repels
- Mosquitoes (very strong — comparable to citronella, which is a close relative)
- House flies, stable flies, fruit flies
- Ticks (including blacklegged/deer ticks, the Lyme disease vectors)
- Gnats
- Mealybugs, black cutworms
Combined, your room will be hostile to
Mosquitoes, flies (all types), ants, spiders, ticks, moths, fleas, cockroaches, silverfish,
earwigs, gnats, wasps, mites, bed bugs, and of course stink bugs.
Basically the only common indoor pests this blend won't meaningfully deter are rodents
(mice/rats — though mint does have some anecdotal rodent-repellent reputation) and larger
pests like centipedes or carpet beetles, which aren't well-studied with these oils.
So you're getting a pretty comprehensive pest shield as a side benefit of dealing with the
stink bugs.
Sources:
-
https://www.naturepest.com/clove-oil-eugenol-a-pesticide-against-insects-mites-and-fungus/
- https://www.hunker.com/12592396/clove-oil-for-pest-control/
- https://oneessentialcommunity.com/essential-oils-repel-bugs-diy-recipes/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3718533/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266651582400026X
- https://www.housedigest.com/1570548/pests-repelled-lemongrass-plant/
- https://drkilligans.com/blogs/products/how-beneficial-is-clove-oil
- https://blog.entomologist.net/what-insects-does-peppermint-oil-repel.html
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