Thyme won't kill bedbugs. But it could make your bedroom so undesirable that they'll go somewhere else. Getting rid of bedbugs is notoriously difficult, even using pesticides. If you're particularly averse to using dangerous chemicals where you sleep, there are herbal alternatives, including the use of thyme. Be aware, though, that the solution probably won't work overnight, and it will probably be most effective when combined with other approaches.
Instructions
1. Make essential oil spray. Essential oils have a potent scent that can deter bedbugs. An effective spray consists of one cup water in a fine-misting spray bottle, to which is added 10 drops of lavender essential oil, 10 drops rosemary essential oil, 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil and three drops essential oil of thyme. Spray liberally around and under your mattress and any place you suspect infestation.
2. Make an herb satchet. Dried herbs in a small muslin bag can be useful in keeping bedbugs out of small confined spaces, like a sleeping bag or suitcase. In a single cotton bag with drawstrings, combine one cup of loose-leaf black walnut tea, a half cup each of dried eucalyptus leaves and dried lavender buds, a quarter cup of dried thyme and two bay leaves. You can place these in closets, under the corners of your bed and other places you'd like to keep free of bedbugs.
3. Get a mattress encasement. Mattresses are not the only place bedbugs live and breed, but if your mattress is infested, one alternative to throwing it out is getting a sealed, zippered mattress encasement that prevents new bugs from entering and present bugs from leaving. It takes about a year, but eventually all the bugs will die off. In the meantime, there will be no more bites if the mattress was the sole source of the infestation, and your herbal spray and satchets will help prevent new infestation.
Tags: bugs from, essential drops, mattress encasement, your mattress