Almost a year ago, I wrote about the resurgence of bed bugs due to the boom in travel after the pandemic together with their resistance to the traditional insecticides used to eradicate them. The outlook was gloomy, with the advice to stringently check any bed before lying on it and get in a professional if bed bugs are found.
It now looks like a natural, dry stain remover called Terre de Sommières might be just the thing we need in our ongoing battle against the bedbug.
What is Terre de Sommières?
It is an extra fine, natural clay originally found in the village of Sommières, a village in the South of France, near Montpellier at the start of the 19th Century when it was used to degrease wool by absorbing fats. It is also called Fez Soap, when extracted in Morocco, or “fuller’s earth” or Fullersearth.
How does it work?
The clay particles have a microscopic fibre structure which makes it highly absorbent. It has traditionally been used to remove grease stains on anything from silks to clothing to porous tiled or marbled floors. Just sprinkle it on, give it at least 30 minutes to work and blow the powder off or vacuum the remainder up.
What about the bed bugs?
Terre de Sommières can also absorb up to 80% of its weight in water. So it works by dehydrating the bed bugs and hence killing them. It may also work by “horizontal transfer” where bed bugs that have come into contact with the product then pass it on to other bed bugs, a crucial means of getting rid of bed bugs as it means the product may be distributed to difficult-to-reach areas such as cracks and crevices.
I have heard of other dusts being used to manage bed bug infestations.
Yes, in Europe, silicon dioxide and diatomaceous earth are used. However, silicon dioxide is only used by professionals and diatomaceous earth can be harmful to the lungs.
A recent paper written by the Parasitology Unit at the University Hospital of Nice compared silicon dioxide, diatomaceous earth, Terre de Sommières, talc, green clay and sodium bicarbonate.
[Oumarou HA, Hima HT, Berenger JM et al. Bed bug control with various dusts: Efficacy comparison between silicon dioxide, diatomaceous earth, and Sommières earth. Parasite 2024;31:41.]
What did this paper show?
It showed that silicon dioxide, professional grade diatomaceous earth and Terre de Sommières were the best and fastest at bed bug control with 90% bed bug mortality by Day 3 in bed bugs exposed to the dusts for 10 days.
Silicon dioxide and professional grade diatomaceous earth were far better than Terre de Sommières when the bed bugs were exposed to the dusts for 10mins, however.
100% mortality with horizontal transfer was only achieved with silicon dioxide, with professional grade diatomaceous earth achieving 95% and Terre de Sommières 70% at Day 10.
In conclusion?
The advice remains that other methods such as boil washing your laundry and bedsheets or putting them in the deep freeze or on a hot cycle in the tumble dryer for at least 30 minutes should still be employed.
However, these dusts look likely to be another useful weapon in the battle with the bed bug with Terre de Sommières being an easily available product that can be used without employing gas masks and professional help.
Kind regards,
Sandy
Dr Sandy Flann, Consultant Dermatologist.
