What Smells Do Bed Bugs Hate? What the Research Says

There’s no smell proven to keep bed bugs away from your bed. In lab studies, low-strength essential oil sprays such as peppermint and cedar showed little or no repellent effect. DEET, the insect repellent, did deter bed bugs for a while, but no scent or repellent kills the eggs and bugs hiding in your bed.

Reviewed by James Rhoades, Owner, ThermoPest · Last reviewed 15 October 2026

If you’ve been bitten, it’s natural to reach for something that smells strong and hope it keeps bed bugs off you tonight. Below is what published research has actually found about lavender, peppermint, tea tree, other oils and household sprays, what to be careful of with essential oils at home, and what does work.

Is there a smell bed bugs hate?

Bed bugs find people mainly by the carbon dioxide we breathe out and our body warmth. Strong smells don’t switch that off. A bug that’s hungry will still head for the person in the bed, even through a room that smells of lavender or mint.

This has been tested. In lab tests that use carbon dioxide to lure bed bugs, as a sleeping person would, low-strength essential-oil products showed no meaningful repellency. In other words, low-strength essential oils are unlikely to be useful as bed bug repellents.

So the honest answer to “what smells do bed bugs hate the most?” is that no scent has been shown to keep them away reliably. Lists of “10 scents bed bugs hate” online are rarely backed by tests on bed bugs.

What the Studies Found: Oils and Repellents Compared

Here’s a summary of what’s known about the scents and products people ask about most.

Does lavender repel bed bugs?

There’s no good evidence that it does. Lavender is often top of online lists, but none of the bed bug studies we’ve reviewed tested lavender oil on its own as a repellent, and the wider research on low-strength oil sprays found they didn’t keep bugs away. Lavender bags in a wardrobe or a lavender pillow spray won’t protect your bed.

Lavender oil also brings its own risks at home, especially if you have a cat. See the safety section below.

Do peppermint, tea tree or eucalyptus oils keep bed bugs away?

Peppermint and Cedar

These are the oils that have been tested most directly. In lab tests, essential-oil sprays based on cedar and peppermint-type oils showed no detectable repellency against bed bugs, so they are not effective repellents.

Tea Tree and Eucalyptus

We haven’t found a published test showing tea tree or eucalyptus oil keeps bed bugs away. A strong smell doesn’t mean a bug will avoid it.

Lemongrass and Clove

In lab work where plant-oil compounds were applied directly to bed bugs, carvacrol and thymol (found in thyme and oregano), citronellic acid (lemongrass) and eugenol (clove) were among the most toxic on contact. But it took far more of even the most effective compound to kill a bed bug by contact than a standard synthetic insecticide. That’s a lab result on single bugs, not a spray you can mix at home, and it isn’t about repelling them.

Can essential oils kill bed bugs?

A few commercial essential-oil sprays have killed bed bugs in lab tests, but only when sprayed straight onto the bug, and most didn’t work well:

• only a small number of the products tested killed most young bed bugs (nymphs) when sprayed directly on them or when bugs were kept on a treated surface;
• very few had a strong effect on eggs, even when sprayed directly;
• when bugs could choose whether to walk onto a treated surface, the products killed very few.

At best, these products may be useful as a direct spray, but their effect in real homes is unproven. In practice, most bed bugs and eggs are tucked deep in seams, joints and cracks where a home spray won’t reach them.

Is there a smell that kills bed bugs instantly?

No. No scent kills bed bugs just by being in the room. The few essential-oil sprays that killed bugs in lab tests only did so when sprayed directly onto them, and none has been shown to clear bed bugs from a home. Be wary of any product or recipe that claims otherwise.

What about DEET and insect repellents?

DEET is the one repellent with decent lab evidence against bed bugs. In lab tests it kept most bed bugs away for several hours, and treated fabric stayed repellent for longer. Repellents containing picaridin or permethrin showed little repellency against bed bugs.

Even so, DEET only keeps bugs off for a while. It doesn’t kill them or their eggs, so the infestation carries on. DEET also has a strong smell and dissolves some plastics. If you use an insect repellent, use it only as its label directs and don’t spray it over mattresses, bedding or furniture.

Does Febreze or air freshener kill bed bugs?

Air fresheners and fabric refreshers are made to tackle odours. They aren’t sold or labelled as insecticides, and none of the bed bug studies above tested them. Spraying them around the bed may mask a musty smell, but it won’t deal with the bugs or eggs. The same goes for perfume and scented candles.

If you’re weighing up household products, our guides on whether Dettol kills bed bugs and whether Indorex kills bed bugs explain what each can and can’t do.

Why Repellents Won’t Clear an Infestation

Even a repellent that works only changes where bugs go for a few hours. It doesn’t reach eggs, and it doesn’t kill the bugs already living in the bed frame, headboard and skirting. In our experience, the best results come from combining approaches, such as inspection, heat and targeted spray where it’s needed, rather than relying on any single one.

The NHS says it’s very difficult to get rid of bed bugs yourself and that DIY steps are unlikely to get rid of them completely. It recommends contacting your council or a pest control service.

Are essential oils safe to use at home?

Natural doesn’t mean harmless. If you do use oils around the home, keep these points in mind.

Pets

The vet charity PDSA warns that most essential oils are toxic to cats, naming tea tree, peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, citrus oils and clove among them, and that they can cause serious organ damage. It advises keeping cats out of rooms with diffusers, ventilating well, and contacting your vet straight away if your cat has been exposed, even if it seems fine.

Skin and Breathing

Undiluted essential oils on sensitive skin or in the nostrils can irritate or burn, and some people have allergic reactions. Don’t put oils on your skin to stop bites, and don’t soak bedding in them.

Children

Essential oils are not safe to swallow, and children are particularly at risk of poisoning. Keep bottles in child-resistant containers out of reach. If a child swallows an essential oil, call NHS 111 for advice, or 999 if they’re unwell.

What actually helps while you wait for help?

Instead of scents, these steps from the NHS make a real difference to what’s living in your bedding and clothes:

• wash bedding and clothes that may have bed bugs on a hot wash (60°C);
• tumble dry on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes;
• put items that can’t be washed in a plastic bag in the freezer for 2 to 3 weeks.

We’d also suggest you leave your bed where it is, don’t move furniture or bedding to other rooms, and don’t use foggers or bug bombs, which scatter bugs rather than clear them. Our guide on how to prevent bed bugs covers keeping them out in the first place, and we also look at other popular methods, such as whether UV light kills bed bugs and whether diatomaceous earth kills bed bugs.

If you’ve found signs, a professional inspection will confirm what you’re dealing with. ThermoPest’s bed bug heat treatment is heat-led, with targeted spray where it’s needed, and reaches the seams and cracks where bugs and eggs hide. If you live in a flat, we ask to inspect neighbouring flats too, because bed bugs can move between them.

FAQs

What do bed bugs hate the most?

No smell has been shown to reliably keep bed bugs away. In lab tests, the insect repellent DEET deterred them for a limited time, but it doesn’t kill bugs or eggs. Clearing an infestation means reaching the places bugs and eggs hide, which no scent can do.

Do bed bugs hate the smell of lavender?

There’s no good evidence that they do. Lavender hasn’t been shown to repel bed bugs, and lavender oil is toxic to cats according to the PDSA, so it’s best not to rely on it.

Do bed bugs hate eucalyptus or lemongrass?

We haven’t found evidence that either keeps bed bugs away. In lab tests, a compound from lemongrass was among the more toxic to bed bugs on direct contact, but at far higher doses than a standard insecticide, so it isn’t a practical home remedy.

Will perfume kill bed bugs?

No. Perfume isn’t an insecticide and hasn’t been shown to kill or repel bed bugs. Spraying it on bedding won’t reach the bugs and eggs hidden in seams and cracks.

What scent keeps bed bugs away while you sleep?

None reliably does. Bed bugs follow the carbon dioxide and warmth you give off, and scents don’t mask those. Washing bedding hot, as the NHS advises, and getting an inspection will do more than any smell.