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Cedar Oil Treatment?
(4 posts)-
Has anyone heard of this? Red Cedar Oil being used to kill bedbugs?
Its supposed to be really good and I'm looking for anything that I can use safely with kids and pets in the house. I know I will have to enlist a PCO, but I would like something to be able to supplement their work. Also it says I can put Cedar Oil on my skin to keep them from biting. Anyone know about that? It's bad enough that I have to imagine these things feasting on me as I sleep, but the real menace is waking up in the night all itchy. I'd like to be able to sleep so that I can be refreshed and alert at work. I slept maybe 2 hours last night and I dont want it to keep happening.
How disturbing is it that I have to keep sleeping in that infested bed just to keep the Bb's interested in that area? I hate these things! How am I ever going to bring a girl home again?
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junior member
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 88
Posted 7 months ago
Tue Apr 21 2009 6:48:21
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For whatever reason, there is a ton of attention being paid to Cedar Oil right now. I think they are making a big marketing push and therefore coming up high on online searches or something else is going on.
Either way, the companies that manufacture these products are making some big claims about their products. Claims that I would be amazed about if they were true when tested by a 3rd person party. If I ever get time, it's high on my list to purchase some and test it out but I just don't know when I'm going to get the time. Remember that with a lot of these all natural products, they work fairly well as contact kills but typically have little other effects.
Regardless, one of the speakers at the EPA Initiative last week had mentioned to be careful about the cliams that some of these all-natural product companies are making. I don't think it's necessarily about all-natural product companies, just companies promoting a product in general. Look for university research about the product or other 3rd party analysis to substantiate their claims but unfortunately it can be tough to find. I love when the company that manufactures the products completes the research on the product. Anybody who's peformed research knows it's very easy to make the results come out just how you want them to. Also, if you're still weary but do have 3rd person party test results in front of you, complete some simple research on the company who performed them. Sometimes you can find a very simple association between the manufacturer and test agency (i.e. Bug Killer Oil Products and 3rd Party Testers Inc. are both owned by We Like to Lie Corp.).
Lastly, if the claims seem to good to be true, they usually are.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 7 months ago
Tue Apr 21 2009 10:52:22
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I can tell you that I used both mint oil and cedar oil to deal with an Argentine ant problem in southern California. When compared with conventional OTC sprays (like Raid) mint and cedar oil did kill ants on contact and did have a slight effect on discouraging ants from reappearing in that place for a few days after it was sprayed. (the Argentine ant is a non native species with no natural predators and a total nightmare here. )
However, given that bed bugs generally aren't repelled by much of anything, and given that my experience with those sprays with ants showed that they were way less effective than chemical pesticides, my guess is that they're not likely to be really effective with bed bugs.
If you're looking for a contact killer, 91% rubbing alcohol is cheaper even if it doesn't smell quite as nice.
And you don't want to supplement anything your PCO does without clearing it with the PCO first. Even non chemical methods like steaming and contact killers like Murphy's Oil Soap and 91% isopropyl alcohol can make conventional chemical treatment less effective (heck, encasements can too) if you're not working in partnership with your PCO about each thing you're doing to self-treat.
Most of us are not pest control experts. (A few people do seem to have developed that full skill set in the course of their battles, but they're the exception rather than the rule.) Without that expertise, we have to rely on the knowledge of PCOs to help us figure out what we can do that will support treatment without accidentally working against it. The best PCOs will explain what they're doing, what they're using where, and what you can do to make it more effective.
You might, in the meantime, want to look into isolating the bed to get yourself a few decent nights of sleep. There's info on the FAQs about that.
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Cedar oil will kill bed bugs & fleas on contact, but like Jeff said it is a contact killer. The trick is getting the product in direct contact with bed bugs that are hidden in inaccessible places.
I don't believe it will work to eliminate bites... a hungry bed bug will still bite you after it dries.
It might have some repellent action, but I think it is short term.
I spray it on my skin to repel mosquito's in the evening when I exercise our dogs as an alternative to a DEET based spray.
I like the product, but it does not seem to have much residual effect. I had to reapply it frequently on my dogs to controls fleas.
I think it can be useful as a flushing agent & it is the only product (I'm aware of) that is actually labeled for bed bugs that claims to be safe to apply directly to the skin of humans & pets.
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