The Benefits Of Cedar Oil For Natural Pest Control

Cedar oil, which is a natural extract from conifer trees, is a highly effective pest control ingredient, which can be found in some commercial pest control products as well as in some solutions used by professional pest control experts, like OPC Pest Control. Applying a solution containing cedar oil to your yard or other affected areas every few weeks can go a long way toward controlling bugs like mosquitos, ticks, ants, roaches and more.

There are various preparations on the market that use cedar oil. Some may contain additional natural bug repellants, too, like garlic extract and various helpful essential oils. Cedar oil and garlic “juice” can be combined, for example, for an especially effective anti-mosquito treatment.

Cedar oil is effective for controlling insect populations because it is lethal to many species, for several reasons. Here’s why cedar oil is so deadly to insects:

1.) It dries insects out.

The cedar oil causes insects to undergo a process called osmatic dehydration, which leaches the moisture from the insects’ bodies, causing death.

2.) It alters pH balances.

Another catastrophic effect that cedar oil has on insects is it causes their pH balances to shift into a unnaturally alkaline state. This shuts down insect body processes so they can no longer function.

3.) It breaks down fat.

The essential body fat insects need to survive is broken down and emulsified when the insects are exposed to cedar oil. This is another eventual cause of death.

4.) It severely impairs breathing.

Still another devastating effect of Cedar oil is it disrupts the respiration (breathing) of insects and makes breathing uncomfortable. As a result, insects stop breathing altogether, dying of suffocation.

5.) It disrupts essential pheromones.

Cedar oil is particularly effective against scent-driven bugs, which need the pheromone octopamine to maintain breathing, metabolism, reproduction, movement and other necessary functions. Cedar oil blocks these insects’ octopamine receptors, causing death. Beneficial insects like bees and butterflies are not affected.

6.) Insects literally melt away.

Still another benefit of cedar oil for pest control is its ability to dissolve pests in initial life-cycle stages like eggs and larvae. It can also disintegrate the exoskeletons of adult pests and kill them, by inducing rapid metamorphosis by raising enzymatic levels.

If your insect and pest problem is more than you can handle yourself, call a licensed pest professional such as OPC Pest Control immediately to determine the extent of the problem and begin prompt treatment. Call OPC Pest Control at 518-877-6425 or contact us online and we will get right back to you!