Fuller’s earth is more effective than silicon dioxide or diatomaceous earth, two products often used to get rid of bedbugs. Another advantage: Fuller’s earth is safe for human health.
Jean-Michel Bérenger, an entomologist at the IHU in Marseille, is behind the discovery. “It’s a product that I’ve known for a very long time, since my mother was from the Nîmes area, and Sommières being nearby, she used it on me when I was a kid, since I was getting spots. I made the connection with silicon dioxide, I said to myself, since it has an absorbent power, why not? The first tests were conclusive, and from there the study started with Pascal Delaunay and his students from the Nice University Hospital.”he explains.
A safe remedy available in supermarkets
The team compared different commonly used methods. They came to the conclusion that it is necessary to combine several actions: washing clothes at 60 degrees, using a steam cleaner on surfaces. But with this powder alone, 3 minutes of exposure is enough to kill the insect within 24 hours.
“These products are deposited on the cuticle of insects, including that of the bedbug, and will absorb surface fats, but also a little bit of hemolymph. It’s a pocket filled with water, so to speak. And so, they will absorb this product and simply dry out the insect very quickly.”continues Jean-Michel Bérenger. An important detail is that this ochre powder is available in supermarkets everywhere and is easy to use.
