Will fabric softener kill bed bugs?

Fabric softeners give your laundry a pleasant smell but you may be asking if will fabric softener will repel bed bugs or even better end up killing bed bugs.

What is fabric softener?

A fabric softener is a product that you add to your laundry to lubricate the fibres in the clothes. It also helps to fight wrinkles, reduce static, and add a soft touch and fresh scent to your laundry. It usually comes in a form of liquid.

Will fabric softener kill bed bugs?

Fabric softener will repel bed bugs. However, because they do not kill the bed bugs, they will end up moving to another area in the house.

Fabric softeners repel bed bugs because they contain an ingredient called linalool. Linalool is naturally found in plants such as lavender, basil, and coriander. All of these plans repel insects that can be a pest to the plant. Bed bugs are one of the insects that are affected by the linalool and so bed bugs will avoid coming anywhere nearby. Linalool, however, will don’t kill the bed bugs.

Fabric softeners are good to use to keep your clothes soft and smelling nice. However, they are not a good way of removing bed bugs if they have been located in your house. A better solution to removing bed bugs is to vacuum the bed bugs from the source.

If you have not noticed any signs of bed bugs, this is good. Just because you have not found any evidence of bed bugs being does not mean that you should stop using fabric softener as it does repel the bed bugs.