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Today I’m sharing the best essential oils to kill dust mites! Essential oils are amazing at killing dust mites for a number of reasons.
First, they are natural. Second, they smell great. Third, they soothe the respiratory system, and fourth, they deter some common pests.
Before we jump in, I’ll share a little background regarding how I came to use essential oils for dust mite control.
Several years ago I was diagnosed with dust mite allergy. I was discouraged to learn that my immune system had failed me. After a brief reflection of what went wrong, I took action and began searching for ways to protect myself.
I had never heard of dust mites. I had no idea where they lived, what they ate, or how to kill them.
I quickly learned that dust mites exist all around us. They live in our homes, within carpets, and yes, in our beds! I found various methods to protect myself, such as dust mite covers and special HEPA vacuums, and I’ve used these strategies ever since.
After thoroughly researching dust mites, I decided it was necessary to use a high-quality HVAC filter and HEPA air purifier to catch the smallest dust particulates. I made gradual changes to my lifestyle that helped reduce my dust mite allergy symptoms like watery eyes.
I searched for eco-friendly sprays that I could use on my bed and carpets, however, I found that many sprays used toxic ingredients that could be harmful to humans and pets.
As a result, I learned that essential oils are useful for dust mite control and I learned how they could help improve my allergies naturally. The following shares what I have learned about dust mites and essential oils.
Best Essential Oils To Kill Dust Mites
| Rank | Essential Oil Type | Uses | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eucalyptus | Spray, aromatherapy, laundry | $ |
| 2 | Clove | Spray, aromatherapy, laundry | $ |
| 3 | Tea Tree | Cleaning and washing spray, laundry | $ |
| 4 | Lavender | Spray, aromatherapy, laundry | $ |
| 5 | Peppermint | Spray, aromatherapy, laundry | $ |
What Are Essential Oils
Essential oils come from plants. There are approximately 700 species of plants known to scientists that contain useful essential oils and they are prized for their fragrances and medicinal value.
Essential oils can be found as ingredients for perfumes, cosmetics, soaps, flavoring, incense, and cleaning products.
Humans have been using essential oils for a millennia. The earliest known uses were in Spain around the year 1200.
Recent interest from scientists is not in the essential oils themselves, but in the chemical compounds they contain and how they can be beneficial for health issues.
How to Extract Essential Oil
Essential oils can be extracted from the plant in a variety of ways but the most common method is through distillation. Most essential oils are in the plant’s oil glands, veins, and hairs.
Any disturbance during harvest could reduce the amount of oil extracted so plant harvesting is a delicate time where quality and quantity of oil can vary.
The timing of plant harvest is important to maximize the essential oil in the plant, which is largely related to its life cycle. Some plants like rosemary should be harvested when plants are blooming, while a plant-like lavender should wait until it has started to wither.
It’s possible for you to make your own essential oil from the plants you grow, however, it can be a tricky process. We recommend purchasing essential oils first, then, if you are a return buyer you can consider making your own. To learn to DIY essential oil, visit wiki How – here.
Various Benefits of Essential Oil To Kill Dust Mites
As mentioned above, scientists are spending more time focusing on the individual chemicals within essential oils. The potential use for essential oil is vast, and who knows, one plant might even contain a chemical that fights cancer.
Currently, the following compounds in essential oils have been found to help in medicine as:
- Carvacrol, found in Oregano oil, reduces the growth of several bacteria
- Thymol, found in Thyme, can act as a biocide with strong antimicrobial characteristics and possibly have anti-tumor properties
- Juniper and Agathosma have diuretic effects that might be useful for some medical patients
- Tea Tree oil is useful as antiseptic and liniment, though may cause contact dermatitis
Other essential oils are used in aromatherapy to assist with relaxation, meditation, and for use in household DIY air fresheners, however, skin contact or ingestion of many essential oils can cause harmful skin, breathing, and internal reactions.
Related: Best Indoor Plants for Asthma and Allergies
Essential Oils For Dust Mites
Most aeroallergens can easily be removed with frequent washing. These include irritants such as pollen and animal dander.
Dust mites, however, are resilient creatures and studies have shown they (and their larvae) can survive in temperatures up to 54 degrees C (that’s 130 F!). If not washed at extremely high temperatures, dust mite populations can bounce back quickly.
In one particular study, blankets were washed in 30 degrees C (86 F) water. In the eucalyptus treatment, there was a .6% dust mite survival rate. In the control treatment, there was a 97.6% survival rate.
Given these differences, we have clear evidence that eucalyptus essential oil reduces dust mite population. Therefore, our recommendation for the best essential oil for dust mites is eucalyptus.
Similar studies on dust mites have shown that clove oil, chenopodium, rosemary, tea tree, and eucalyptus essential oils showed a significant effect in reducing dust mite populations.
Don’t worry, many other essential oils like lavender and peppermint also work well so you can choose to your liking or mix things up so your bedding and clothes smell fresh!
Related: Best Mattress Covers For Allergies
How To Wash Bedding With Essential Oils For Dust Mites
Now you understand how essential oil can reduce dust mite populations; let’s learn how to use it. The process is quite simple. The steps are:
- Purchase essential oil of your choice
- Add 5-10 drops to the laundry washer or detergent
- Let clothes pre-soak for 10-15 minutes
Essential oils will kill the dust mites whether you use hot or cold water, however, we still recommend hot water above 55/130 degrees C/F.
Just add 10 drops of essential oil in the soapy liquid or wait to add when the washer is filled with water. A pre-soak for 10-15 minutes works best as the oil has time to penetrate all of the bedding and clothes.
And don’t worry, essential “oils” won’t stain your clothes. Make sure you don’t apply it directly to clothes and bedding, rather dilute it in the water or washing liquid.
Choose one of our mentioned essential oils that you like, and the aroma is an added benefit! After washing, put it outside to dry naturally or put it in the dryer.
Related: Best Anti-Allergen Laundry Detergent for Dust Mites
How to Use Essential Oils for Natural Allergy Therapy
Using essential oils to help your soothe your allergies can be a wise therapeutic move. They can help relax your mind and body, reduce inflammation, and also help with cleansing the body.
Please, don’t think that essential oils will cure your allergies (the closest thing to a cure will be allergy shots or drops).
Some of our favorite therapeutic essential oils are lavender, peppermint, lemon grass. Over the course of my working career, I’ve worked in some very stressful situations, specifically conflict areas internationally.
I’ve always packed essential oils on my travels that help open my airways while relaxing me.
Sometimes I have a chronic cough from my allergies but not when I use essential oils. The three below are my favorite.
#1 Lavender – I’ll spray this essential oil in from a mist bottle and I’ll spray it on my bed. Dust mites hate it, but I love it. Lavender calms the body and the mind. If your body is relaxed it will help reduce stress and have beneficial effects on body health (this indirectly helps you with allergies).
#2 Peppermint (or eucalyptus) – I’ll use this to open my eyes and sinuses. The essential oil is strong, but it’s completely natural and can wake up the body. I prefer eucalyptus because it also helps with dust mites.
#3 Lemongrass – lemongrass tea can help cleanse the body (partly because it’s a diuretic). It’s a natural detoxifier and can help you treat high cholesterol too. A healthier body will help you better manage allergies.
Some essential oils can be ingested, while others should be diffused into the air. I usually use a spray bottle (below) for dust mite protection.
But when I want the other benefits for my allergies (relaxation and aroma) I also use a diffuser, pictured right (check price and selection).
Make DIY Essential Oil Spray for Dust Mite Control (Homemade)
People with dust mite allergy might also want an aromatic spray that can also help with their allergy. Since I’m allergic to many things and react to chemicals, using a non-chemical spray allows me to breathe much better.
Sprays can easily be made and applied to carpets and beds. Essential oil spray can help kill dust mites on the surface of your bedding as well as carpet, however, they won’t be as effective as washing.
The ingredients are minimal and one bottle will last a long time. Here are the ingredients for an easy homemade dust mite spray:
- Spray bottle (amber glass bottles help preserve essential oils and are reusable)
- Water
- Essential oil
- Cheap Vodka
Remember, these purchases will last multiple batches of spray. I recommend mixing the essential oil with water and a touch of vodka.
I use a larger spray bottle and add the ingredients by eye, approximately 1/4 vodka, 3/4 water, and 10-20 drops of essential oil. Although the vodka seems like a strange addition, it will help preserve the essential oil and the alcohol evaporates quickly once it’s sprayed.
Other recipes use baking soda, but baking soda can clog the spray bottle – trust me I’ve made a few and after a while, it stopped working. Here’s a nice video showing the process:
Essential Oil Application
Essential oils are an important addition to your dust mite protection arsenal. Not only can they help kill dust mites in your bed and laundry, but they can help your home smell fresh.
We recommend the following products:
NOW Foods Essential Oils
NOW Foods is the biggest and best supplier of essential oils in the U.S.A. They offer a 10-product sampler pack and individual oils.
The bottles in the sampler pack are each 1 oz. and includes Jasmine, Citronella, Tangerine, Lavender, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Orange, Rosemary, Clove (check price on amazon).
Don’t be fooled by the 1 oz. Though it is small, you only use a few drops at a time. It will last a while and you can mix and match the oils. Some people even use multiple oils in a single spray
For anyone wanting to try out essential oils, this is a great way to start.
Sally’s Organics – Amber Glass Spray Bottle
Sally has stylish glass spray bottles perfect for homemade sprays. Notice the dark color? The bottles are specifically designed for essential oils because the darker color helps preserve the oil (check price on Amazon).
If you use clear bottles the essential oil tends to deteriorate faster. These are what I use, and re-use. I make my own labels and change them accordingly.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed essential oils and their use to help allergies. Essential oils are 100% natural and are attained by pressing trace amounts of oil from harvested plants.
There are over 700 types of essential oils, although most of use will only choose from a few of the most popular varieties.
Essential oils work great to bring fresh aromas to the home. Besides smelling great, they have powerful anti-bacterial characteristics and can fight pests like dust mites, can help clean, and some can be ingested to help our bodies.
As someone who suffers from dust mite allergy, I use essential oils on a weekly basis. I spray an essential oil solution on my bedding to keep it fresh and kill dust mites.
I also wash my clothes and bedding with a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Eucalyptus oil helps to kill dust mites and larvae in their tracks.
In addition to my uses with allergy, essential oils can help cleanse the body as well as relax the body. Whether you use essential oils in a diffuser or make your own DIY spray, we know you’ll enjoy the many uses of essential oil. It’s natural, inexpensive, and effective – what more could you want!
We hope you enjoyed our latest blog post on the best essential oils to kill dust mites! Dust Mite Solutions has a lot of useful information on our blog and a selection of the best dust mite covers, HVAC filters, and HEPA vacuums.
WAIT, my math is wrong haha. Since this is 0.05% (and mathematically you divide by 0.0005), you’d need 1/2 teaspoon for every gallon. So say if we soak it in 4 gallons of water, that’s 2 teaspoons of eucalyptus oil. This is MUCH more conceivable to me… but still a lot of oil!
Yeah, a cup of eucalyptus oil is way too much – it would overwhelm your home with a strong smell and I imagine it might stain your clothes/sheets. My math came up with approximately 1/3 teaspoon per gallon. I’ve been using eucalyptus essential oil for a long time and ten drops work well for me but I usually eye-ball it (you’ll still smell it). Plus, if you’re using it every time you wash you won’t need the concentration to be strong because the dust mites will decrease over time. Also if you’re washing with high-temperature water, or using a drier, the heat will further kill dust mites and larvae. Thanks for the comment and for double checking my math. Hope you get the results you’re looking for!
Can you just pick a bunch a fresh rosemary, blend it up with a little bit hot steaming water, and add this to body lotions, shampoos, in a sachet in the washing machine, bed sprays, etc. ? It grows everywhere, it has a menthol like effect, ??? I’m going to try it, but in moderation because a lot might irritate the skin. We have dustmites bad !!!! It’s embarrassing and it’s extremely hard to get rid of. I think it takes A LOT of daily maintenance….ps thanks for the homemade remedies because A LOT of websites are just trying to push their products.
I’ve never tried it, but it sounds like a good experiment. Let us know how it works. Glad the homemade remedies were helpful – sometimes it’s cheaper, easier, and healthier to make it yourself!
Since I plan on just spraying my bed could I use rubbing alcohol instead of vodka? I’ve already got it. Thanks
I bet rubbing alcohol would work well but I’ve never tried it!
Thanks for the information on essential oils. All natural and better for us. Not like these chemical-induced cleaners out there that we don’t have a clue to the hazards in our health. I’m a stickler when it comes to the natural way of defense. Thanks again. You’ve educated me.