It can be found in supermarkets.
Finally some hope? Bedbugs are a real scourge. In 2024, ANSES showed that more than 11% of French people had experienced an infestation in their home over the last 5 years. It is necessary to combine several chemical and physical methods to get rid of these little beasts, without ever being sure that they are really gone. The study of French researchers could revolutionize their extermination. They would have found a cure “natural and very low risk to human health” of an efficiency “formidable” against bedbugs.
Bedbugs have been a nuisance to humans for thousands of years, point out the authors from the Nice University Hospital. They feed exclusively on blood, with a very clear preference for human blood, which is essential for their reproduction. Bedbugs are difficult to eliminate because they like dark and narrow places and are very small (between 1 and 7 mm depending on their age), which does not help their search.
In recent years, a bedbug control strategy using so-called “natural” dusts has gained popularity. These dusts have powerful absorption properties, such as those observed in silicon dioxide or diatomaceous earth. The problem is that in Europe, the use of silicon dioxide is reserved for professionals, and diatomaceous earth can be harmful to the lungs. The Parasitology-Mycology team at the Nice University Hospital, specializing in medical entomology, then decided to analyze the effectiveness of other types of dusts or “powders” on bedbugs. In their study, they evaluated the effectiveness of Sommières earth, green clay, baking soda and talc, known for their significant adsorption.
The experiments were carried out in Petri dishes with the bottom covered with a cotton cloth, covered or not with dust. Bedbugs, deprived of food for a week before each experiment, were introduced into these dishes. Mortality was assessed daily for 10 days. Three powders demonstrated “high efficiency” against bedbugs: silicon dioxide, diatomaceous earth (from a company) and Fuller’s earth. “Sommières earth has demonstrated an effectiveness ranging from 75% to 100% in permanent and short exposure (1 to 2 days), similar to the effectiveness of diatomaceous earth from a company” note the authors. Before emphasizing that “This short delay (of action, editor’s note) allows the bedbugs to transport this Terre de Sommières to their fellow creatures who will also die in a few days”.
It is thanks to its absorbent powers that Sommières earth exerts its deadly effects on bedbugs. It adheres to the body of the bedbug and causes its dehydration (the body of the bedbug loses its water). It then has an abrasive action responsible for microfissures on the skeleton, leading to the death of the insect. Conversely, supermarket diatomaceous earth, green clay, talc and sodium bicarbonate have proven ineffective in tests.
Sommières earth is a natural clay powder, used mainly as a dry stain remover and sold in supermarkets in the household products section. It takes its name from the village of Sommières, in the south of France, where it was discovered. It is particularly appreciated for its absorbent and degreasing properties. It is an ecological product, with no added chemicals.
