What is the name of the grass that smells like bedbugs?

Why does chili pepper make your mouth feel hot, but mint makes your mouth feel cold?

Cilantro, mint and chili pepper are perhaps the main summer seasonings; without them it is difficult to imagine Georgian cuisine, Mexican cuisine, drinks and desserts. But many people find cilantro soapy and chili peppers too spicy. How to neutralize the spiciness of pepper if you overdo it with the sauce, and is it harmful to burn your tongue? Why does menthol make your mouth feel cold and what transformations do these familiar seasonings undergo in our mouth?

Why does cilantro smell like bedbugs to some and not to others?

There are many people in the world who find cilantro to have an unpleasantly soapy or even metallic taste. The reason is the chemical composition of cilantro leaves, but other factors may also determine how you feel about cilantro.

The chemical composition of the essential oils of cilantro leaves shows that they contain about 40 different organic compounds, with 82% being aldehydes and 17% being alcohols. Aldehydes are predominantly made up of 9-10 carbon atoms and are largely responsible for the aroma of cilantro leaves, but also for the soapy taste that some people experience.

The aldehydes present in cilantro, as well as similar ones, are commonly found in soaps and lotions. Interestingly, the same substances are released by stink bugs when disturbed. So when some people say “cilantro smells like bedbugs,” they hit the nail on the head. It is not surprising that such people find the taste and smell of cilantro unpleasant.

But it’s not just the chemicals in cilantro leaves that cause a person to taste soapy, smell like bugs—and, as a result, dislike cilantro. It is believed that genetic predisposition is to blame, so it is understandable why not everyone experiences such antipathy. Scientists point to certain genes that determine sensitivity to aldehydes. Moreover, not one gene, but several, is clearly responsible for this effect.

It is also likely that those people who like cilantro were raised to like the taste of cilantro. With constant use of the product, the brain can form new, positive associations. The aldehyde flavor of cilantro will be reduced if the leaves are finely chopped before eating: research has shown that this speeds up the breakdown of aldehydes in the leaves by enzymes.

How to remove the heat from chili peppers?

There are many varieties of chili peppers: cayenne pepper, habanero, jalapeno, serrano. All of them are sharp and burning due to specific substances present in them to varying degrees.

The hot character of chili peppers comes from substances called capsaicinoids; Different types of these chemical compounds are found in different types of peppers, but the main one among them is capsaicin. Dihydrocapsaicin is another similar substance that is found in significant levels in peppers. The proportions of these two substances can vary, determining differences in varieties of chili peppers, but together they make up 80-90% of the total concentration of capsaicinoids in it.

When chili peppers enter your mouth, capsaicinoids attach to receptors in the lining of your mouth, which respond to the friction with an intense burning sensation in your mouth. However, these substances do not damage tissue. If you taste chili regularly, the receptors will exhaust their safety margin, and you will gradually adapt to the hot pepper. Pain stimulates the production of endorphins, which act as a natural pain reliever in the body and even create a “feel good” feeling.

To this day, people argue about how to soften the heat of chili. The long hydrocarbon tail of the capsaicin molecule makes the substance insoluble in water, but it readily dissolves in alcohol and oil. It turns out that the percentage of alcohol in beer is unfortunately too low to affect the chili. Milk is the best way to extinguish a fire from chili: it contains the protein casein, it is lipophilic, and therefore can envelop fatty capsaicin molecules and successfully remove them, preventing them from further irritating the receptors of the oral mucosa.

Why does mint make my mouth feel cold?

The familiar sensation from mint or mint-flavored products such as chewing gum or toothpaste is that it feels cool in your mouth. It's not just what you think: it's the result of exposure to one of the chemicals contained in mint. Its name is most likely familiar to you: menthol.

Above we discussed capsaicin, the main “hot” substance in chili peppers, and how it causes a burning sensation by binding to receptors in the lining of the mouth. Menthol acts in a similar way by binding to receptors that are responsible for detecting cold. It doesn't actually lower the temperature, but rather tricks the nerve cells into feeling like your mouth is colder than it actually is. And this message is transmitted to the brain.

However, the cooling effect of menthol is not the only one - it also has other effects on our body. It has been found to have an analgesic effect and for this reason it is included in various creams, gels and even patches that relieve muscle, headache and various other types of pain. There are a huge number of menthol products available, which means you most likely use it on a daily basis. There's aftershave cream and mints.

Since menthol is used so widely, you will not be surprised to learn that natural menthol cannot cover all of our needs, which is 35,000 tons per year. So, since 1973, synthetic menthol has been produced, and the volumes have been steadily growing.

What do garden bugs look like?

Almost all bugs living in the garden belong to the stink bug family. This name is explained by the fact that when viewed from above, their body looks like a shield and has a flattened shape. At the same time, the type of garden bugs is diverse. They can be of different sizes - from 0.3 mm to 18 mm. They come in different colors - brown, green, red, etc. There are very bright types, with signal, warning colors. They may have stripes and other patterns on their shell.

The most common types of bugs found in gardens are:

The green stink bug is the most common pest bug; it has a bright green color and is quite large in size - up to 1.5 cm; feeds on the juice of cultivated plants, prefers raspberry and currant leaves, can also infect herbaceous plants;
Berry stink bug - this insect has a bright red-brown color, which is due to the fact that this pest sucks juices not only from the leaves of berry bushes, but also from berries; also known as the stink bug because when crushed it emits a pungent and unpleasant odor;
Cruciferous bug - northern eurydema, a bug that causes great damage to garden plants - cabbage, lettuce, radish, radish; has a bright black and red color;
The cucumber bug is a pest that destroys the leaves of cucumbers, as well as eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers; It is small in size and brown-green in color;
The bug is a harmful turtle - outwardly the insect's shell is similar to the shell of a turtle, which explains the name, and the harmfulness lies in the fact that this garden pest destroys cereal crops, and if they are not nearby, it can suck the juices from garden plants; has developed wings, so it can fly long distances;
Pear laceweed is a very small insect pest that feeds on the sap of fruit plants - apple trees, pears, quince, plums, etc.; This is a brown bug with an openwork pattern on its shell;
The horse fly bug is a very small gray insect, some subspecies look like ants.

What plants does parsley resemble?

The most common herbs similar to parsley are cilantro, celery, and lovage. But this list can be continued.

Cilantro

Most often, cilantro is confused with the described spice. They say about it that this herb is almost like parsley with the smell that a bug emits. Cilantro is often used in Caucasian cuisine, but not everyone likes it. Most often, confusion between herbs is discovered when the herb has already been added to a dish, and it has a specific, unpleasant aftertaste for some people.

Celery

In appearance, celery is very similar to the universal and well-known spice. True, the similarity is limited solely to the foliage. If you look at the root of the plant, it will not be thin and long, like parsley, but thick and round, large and beet-like. And the taste of celery is a little bitter (especially if there is insufficient watering during the growing season).

Creeping buttercup

The appearance of creeping buttercup resembles parsley in many ways. But it cannot be called a complete external double of culture. This weed flower is found in many areas in many regions of our country. Unlike parsley, buttercup has tendrils, and pulling it out of the ground will require a lot of effort. This herb should be handled with great care. Replacing parsley with it in a salad can be fraught with health problems - this weed is poisonous in large quantities. This plant is not used in food in principle - it is more often used in folk medicine as an external remedy.

Common chervil

Common chervil is an annual plant, with a height of 30 to 60 cm. It has triangular, pinnately dissected leaves and a rhizome similar to a carrot (only white). Externally, the herb is not very similar to parsley, but it is quite possible to call the plant similar to this crop, because their taste is almost identical, and it will be unrealistic to notice the difference in the finished dish.

Veh poisonous

A rather dangerous weed, similar in appearance to parsley, is a poisonous weed. It grows not only in Europe, but also in Asia and America. The plant may also be popularly called cat parsley or water hemlock. The plant has a rather pleasant smell, but 100 grams of grass will be enough to kill a cow using this wild crop. Fortunately, poisonous weed is not very common in Russia, and gardeners have virtually no risk of confusing it with common garden greens.

Kokorysh

Another dangerous double of parsley is called corysh. Essentially, these are flowers with leaves like parsley. The color of the inflorescence is white. Grass grows in gardens, on roadsides and in fields. It can also be called dog parsley.

Coriander

Coriander is very similar to the popular herb. It can turn green in the same way as parsley, but its leaves are much softer and more delicate. It is by touch that the plant is easiest to distinguish from its botanical twin.

Signs of parsley

The easiest way to identify parsley is by knowing its exact biological description. Experienced gardeners won’t even begin to figure out what a crop should smell like, but will have no problem identifying it by its appearance alone. It is a perennial herb with a spicy taste and a thick, fleshy taproot that can reach 30 cm in length.

In the first year of life, the plant produces a rosette of long-petiolate, pinnately dissected leaves with wedge-ovate, very small leaves of a rich green color. In the second year, the plant forms one or more flowering stems. They are erect, round and have a height of 30 to 150 cm.

Parsley flowers are small and have yellow, yellow-green or whitish-green shades, depending on the particular variety. They are collected at the ends of the branches into a small inflorescence in the shape of a complex umbrella (central and several lateral).

The fruit of the crop can be gray-green or grayish-brown. It is small, its length varies from 2 to 5 mm, it is not used for food.

Flowering usually occurs between June and August. Confusion about plants often occurs also because there are quite a few varieties of plants. Parsley can be leaf (with a fairly large rosette of smooth leaves), root (with a thickened root) or curly.

Important! Like other greens, parsley reacts poorly to herbicides - it is better to use more gentle fertilizers when growing.

People's Councils

To prevent the wrong greens from ending up on your home table, you just need to be careful. Popular wisdom does not give specific recommendations on how to accurately identify the right herb. But if you try, the likelihood of error will be minimized.

On a note! If parsley, cilantro, and celery are planted in the garden plot, it will not be superfluous to mark the beds with each of the plants. It is best to place them in different parts of the garden or vegetable garden.

If the herbs are purchased rather than grown yourself, the likelihood of buying the wrong thing is slightly higher. Before the eyes of the buyer is grass that has undergone pre-sale preparation: cut to the same length and tied into bunches. In such a situation, if the seller cannot guarantee that he has a good understanding of greens, it is not advisable to focus only on the appearance of the crop. But even in this case, there is a solution - you can simply taste the grass. There is no need to be afraid to do this. It is unlikely that the poisonous twin of culture will be on the counter.

Stink bugs

Stink bug - this not very pretty name is earned by fairly large insects, representatives of the family Pentatomidae. They are widespread throughout Russia and have become famous for their very unpleasant specific smell. For stink bugs, as well as for other individuals from the order of bugs, it is a kind of language of communication, a system of signals that allows insects to navigate the surrounding space, defend themselves and even survive. Stink bugs, unlike other species, have the strongest aroma.

general characteristics

The tree shield has a flat, oval body resembling an irregular pentagon with characteristic protrusions on the sides. It reaches 10-12 mm in length. Under the hard shell there is a pair of wings, which stand out on the surface of the body as a brown spot. Scent glands can be located both on the cephalothorax and on the posterior end of the abdomen, depending on the specific subspecies of the insect.

The color of the stink bug varies from bright green to brown. The change in the shade of the chitinous cover is determined by the time of year and the habitat of the pest. In the photo you can see that representatives of this species are distinguished by a very noticeable bright color, a stocky body covered with a dense shell.

stink bug

The stink bug has a piercing-sucking mouthpart. With its sharp proboscis it pierces the outer covers of leaves and plants and feeds on their juices. With the onset of cold weather, the insect falls into a state of suspended animation, in which it remains until the onset of spring. When the first tender greenery appears, the stink bug goes in search of a comfortable habitat, where it begins the active mating process.

Raspberry and gooseberry bushes are the most preferred by insects, which is why they are called berry bugs; they quite often settle on birch, alder, elm, larch and other trees.

The female outdoor pest lays eggs on the inside of the leaf in an even circle of 40 pieces. They are round barrels with closed lids. The larvae appear after about two weeks and begin to actively feed, causing irreparable damage to the plants. Small stink bugs resemble adults in appearance. To reach puberty, they must change their chitinous shell 5 times.

Types of bedbugs

There are currently 4 known types of bedbugs:

Horse flies. These insects do not have eyes;
Predators - feed on the blood of both humans and various animals;
Shield insects - have a protective shell;
Lace makers have transparent elytra on their bodies that look like thin lace.

More often, people encounter the following types of stink bugs in their gardens:

stink bug;
pear lace maker;
rapeseed stink, etc.

Almost all such bugs are oval in shape. The length of such an insect sometimes reaches 12 mm.

Such representatives of hemipterans are either bright green or pale brown, and also have other colors.

Each stink bug has a small proboscis, when used, it drinks fruit or other juices. These insects also have small wings that are located under the shell.

Stinky

The stink bug has a special sucking apparatus. With the help of a sharp small proboscis, it makes a puncture in the outer covers of the leaves of the stems of trees or various plants, and then drinks their juices.

This insect is called a stink bug, because garden bugs stink. The fact is that their glands secrete fetid substances that cover various garden crops.

With the onset of winter, this small pest goes into hibernation, where it remains until spring. When the first green plants appear, the stink bug looks for an acceptable habitat, where it then begins to actively mate with similar representatives of hemipterans.

More often, these small pests damage raspberry or gooseberry bushes, which is why they are also called berry beetles. They also often live on birch, elm, alder, larch or other trees.

Green bug

Several varieties of representatives of hemipterans - stinkers - settle in the house. Most often, such insects are green individuals that turn brown at the end of summer or in autumn. This is the same species of green representative of hemipterans, but at different stages of its development.

What does a green bug look like? At the moment, there are several other types of similar parasites, which differ in appearance, as well as in size.

The large bug has an elongated oval shape and a bright green color. It produces a strong, foul odor.

Thus, such a shield insect as the green palomena is distinguished by the fact that it has a different color at each time of the year. He often settles both in private households and in apartments, in front of the windows of which various trees grow.

The green stink bug lives on a variety of trees. Sometimes this insect accidentally flies into a private home or apartment through an open window.

forest stink

Forest bugs are considered grass, “garden” insects. They often live both on bushes with raspberries and on gooseberries.

If there are no berry bushes nearby, then the forest stinkhorn drinks the leaf sap of various fruit trees. Also, such a small pest lives in grass or in specific cereal crops.

The green shield has virtually no enemies. It has a thick chitinous shell.

Despite the presence of short wings, the green bug crawls more often than it flies.

In spring and summer, this insect has a bright emerald color, and in the fall, a similar bug has both brown and yellow colors.

Scutellum

Shield bugs severely damage various garden and garden plants. They are also called “stinkers” because they emit a strong unpleasant “aroma”.

At the moment there are more than 10 species of shield insects.

However, the most common are:

Rapeseed stink. This parasite has yellow spots on small elytra and also on scutes. The adult specimen of such a small pest can be either white or red. Its length is 5–8 mm;
Cabbage bug. This small pest has a red back and also has 6 colored spots on its body. Its length is 1 cm;
Lined stink bug - has a length of 11 mm. The scutellum reaches the apex of the abdomen. This type of shield insect is black and red in color.

When spring comes, hungry stink bugs eat all the weeds. As soon as seedlings of various cultivated plants appear in the beds, these small pests immediately flock to them.

Shield insects more often destroy cabbage and mustard plantings, as well as turnips and radishes. As a result, such insects are also called cruciferous representatives of hemiptera.

These small pests feed in this way: they pierce the leaves of a certain plant with their proboscis and actively suck out their juice. Thus, stink bugs destroy most of the cabbage heads (up to 40%).

If white or yellow spots appear on young cabbage or other shoots, and the leaves begin to curl inward or wither, then in such a situation the gardener begins to actively fight the harmful bedbug insect.

Tree stink bug

The woody green bug (scutellum) is considered another species of parasite from the hemipteran family “True stink bugs”. Its dimensions reach 11-16 mm.

This insect has a uniform, bright green color. The side edges of the front back appear slightly notched or straight.

Wood stink bugs feed on sap from a variety of deciduous trees, as well as from bushes with berries (for example, raspberries) or specific herbaceous plants.

Garden parasite

The garden parasite is also considered a stink bug because it emits a strong, foul odor that immediately settles on various plants damaged by this small pest.

If in the spring the garden bug has a bright green color, then throughout the summer it gradually darkens. As a result, this small pest turns yellow-brown in the fall.

Thus, by destroying various plants both in the garden and in the country, representatives of hemipterans camouflage themselves well and also additionally protect themselves from specific predators.

Such bugs greatly spoil various berries in the country. These parasites do not eat them, but make them unfit for consumption - an unpleasant odor appears on the berry plants.

Also, when sucking out the juice, the garden stink bug releases poison inside a particular plant, which is why the foliage then begins to fade. As a result, the affected parts of the berry bush dry out and then fall off.

Cucumber stink

Among such insects there is also a parasite such as the cucumber bug. It is the smallest pest in the garden.

Cucumber representatives of hemipterans damage not only cucumbers, but also the surfaces of such vegetable crops as tomatoes, various sweet peppers or eggplants. Moreover, they do not harm the fruits themselves, but destroy the leaves of these garden crops.

With a severe bedbug infestation, for example, cucumber leaves curl strongly inward, darken, and then fall off.

Garden bugs like these hide from direct sunlight and live on the back side of leaves. Such parasites blend in with vegetable crops in color, so they are practically invisible. They also jump quickly.

Pear lacemaker

Among the stink bugs there are also insects such as, for example, the pear laceweed.

These small pests inhabit various trees and are brown in color with an openwork pattern on the body.

The pear lacewing feeds on both apricot, pear and apple juices, as well as plum or quince nectars. If, for example, young pears are damaged by a large number of such parasites, then with a persistent foul odor from the bug, such trees quickly wither.

At the same time, with a small number of parasites, only individual leaves are destroyed.

Video

Garden bugs

Smell

The main reason for the repulsive unpleasant odor emanating from the stink bug is a special secretion produced by the odorous glands. They secrete substances that contribute to the spread of an unbearable stench for humans. In forest bugs it is cymic acid. The glands that produce secretions with an unpleasant odor are multifunctional. Depending on the concentration of the secreted substance, stink bugs can use it as the following tools:

stink bug

signal with your scent the approach of danger and scare away enemies;
attract a partner for mating;
scare away competing males;
help to navigate in space by smell, find fellow tribesmen and make long transitions;
promote efficient foraging.

Stink bugs do not suffer from their own stench, but these secretions are dangerous for surrounding insects. They can cause paralysis, spasms, and in the worst case scenario, death of the enemy.

A bug stinks the most when you crush it. The odorous secretions of street parasites create an unbearable stench due to the processing of the juices of the plants on which they feed. For forest bugs, their scent is a reliable weapon against a large number of enemies. At the moment of immediate threat or approaching danger, the stink glands intensively produce a special secretion. Physical damage to the insect only intensifies the smell, as the odorous substance is squeezed out of the ducts in which it is formed and stored. This contributes to the fact that “light pheromones” are replaced by an intense poisonous aroma, absolutely safe for humans.

Many people are interested in the question of what insects smell like bedbugs. All representatives of this type of insect, to a greater or lesser extent, have a specific odor. Pungent odors are emitted by almost all types of agricultural pests, as well as other herbivores and carnivores:

shield bugs - two-toothed, berry, red-legged, green and striped;
northern cruciferous bug;
harmful turtle;

bug turtle
water strider;
belostoma;
American stink.

To this list of insects with intense secretion of secretory fluid, you can add the well-known soldier bug, and the birch bug also belongs to them. A large number of different insects that fly and crawl into apartments and houses emit odors similar to stink bugs. These can be completely harmless insects - weevils, mucoeds, betilids - relatives of ants and others.

How do we attract bed bugs?

Bedbug Cimex lectularius

. Image from medicinenet.com

It is known that the bedbug prefers human blood and, to a lesser extent, the blood of other warm-blooded animals. Swedish biologists have studied which components of human odor attract bedbugs. It turned out that these insects selectively react to only five organic substances, and in weak concentrations. Strong concentrations, on the contrary, scare them away.

Nowadays, there is a widespread prevalence of bed bugs in residential areas. What causes this is not very clear, although addiction to insecticides, which is observed for other blood-sucking insects, certainly plays a negative role. Back in the first half of the 20th century, it was shown that bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide and heat. At the same time, bedbugs prefer to follow the human smell rather than the smell of other warm-blooded animals, although in the absence of a choice they do not disdain pets, birds and rodents.

The odor of our skin includes about 400 volatile chemicals. It is known that some of these substances are used by blood-sucking insects in the process of searching for food. For example, various carboxylic acids, which include, in particular, lactic acid, attract mosquitoes, midges and some other blood-sucking insects. But bed bugs, it turns out, are not attracted to these substances. Swedish biologists from Lund University and the Swedish Agricultural University in Alnarp conducted a comprehensive study in which they tried to identify the biologically active components of human odor that trigger physiological and behavioral responses in bed bugs.

The study began with the collection of individual human odors. 24 hours before this procedure, volunteers were asked not to consume alcohol or spicy foods, and not to use perfume or scented detergents. The volunteer was placed in a plastic bag with a hole for the head and then the air was pumped out of the bag. The pumped air was passed through two chromatographic columns containing different types of sorbents. In chromatographic columns, no separation into fractions was carried out, but simply washed off the adsorbed substances with a solution of pentane hydrocarbon. The odors of eight volunteers were used in the study. For control, air was pumped out of an empty bag and passed through the columns using the same methods. Odor extracts were analyzed using a gas chromatograph.

Rice. 1.

Receptors at the antenna end of the bedbug
C. lectularius
.
On the left
is an image obtained on a scanning electron microscope;
on the right
is a diagram of the location of receptors on the inner (
O1
) and outer (
O2
) surfaces of the antenna tip.
Olfactory receptors are divided into three categories: grooved spines ( C sensilla
), smooth spines (
D sensilla
) and hairs (
E sensilla
).
The length of the scale bar ( white bar on the left
) is 200 µm.
The longest bristles do not belong to olfactory receptors. Image from article: Harraca et al. Characterization of the antennal olfactory system of the bed bug ( Cimex lectularius
) //
Chem.
Senses , 2010

The authors studied the responses of bedbug olfactory (odor-perceiving) receptors to stimulation by total odor and individual fractions. Previously, almost the same team of authors showed that the receptors, which are located on the antennae and perceive odors, can be divided into three categories in bed bugs: grooved spines (C sensilla), smooth spines (D sensilla) and hairs (E sensilla) (Fig. . 1). These categories of receptors differ not only in the external structure of the cuticular outgrowth, but also in the number of receptor cells lying at its base. Only smooth spines, or D-receptors, responded well to stimulation with sulfides, esters, aldehydes, ketones and other substances (Fig. 2).

Rice.
2. Examples of responses of single receptor cells underlying different types of olfactory receptors (
D sensilla
,
C sensilla
and E
sensilla
) on the antennae of the bedbug
C. lectularius
.
The beginning and end of stimulation with ammonia, dimethyl trisulfide and (E)-2-octenal are indicated by horizontal lines below
.
Image from Harraca et al. Characterization of the antennal olfactory system of the bed bug ( Cimex lectularius
),
Chem.
Senses , 2010

After testing the responses of D receptors to 31 substances, the scientists identified three subtypes (Dα, Dβ and Dγ) based on their responses to certain substances. Single receptor cells responded differently to the overall human odor. Cells at the base of hairs and grooved spines did not respond to the stimulus at all, while cells at the base of smooth spines responded to it, but in different ways (Fig. 3). Cells of the Dγ type responded best.

Rice. 3.

Average response (number of pulses per second) of olfactory receptors of the bedbug
C. lectularius
to the total human odor.
Hairy receptors ( E sensilla
) and grooved spines (
C sensilla
) did not respond at all to stimulation, whereas smooth spines (
D sensilla
) responded, but differently depending on the receptor subtype.
Image from the discussed article in the Journal of Experimental Biology
The authors further found that only four aldehydes (heptanal, octanal, nonanal and decanal) and the ketone methylheptenone (6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one), or sulcatone, are included in in the composition of the total odor, cause a good response in cells of the Dβ and Dγ types (Fig. 4). Volunteers differed from each other in the presence of the above five substances. Four individuals (A, B, F, H) had all five substances present, three individuals (D, E, G) did not have heptanal, and one individual (C) did not have heptanal and octanal. Therefore, the authors decided to study the behavioral responses of bedbugs to the odors of volunteers A, B, C and D, as well as to the total odor of all volunteers.

Rice. 4. A
- organic compounds in the total human odor detected by a flame ionization detector.
B
is the response of bedbug olfactory receptors to these compounds.
The responses of Dα receptors ( light gray lines
), Dβ (
dark gray lines
), and Dγ (
black lines
) are shown.
Image from the discussed article in the Journal of Experimental Biology
To study the behavior of C. lectularius

The authors used a homemade olfactometer made from a regular plastic Petri dish. The cup was divided by a partition into two equal parts, into which filter papers soaked in the test solution and a solvent as a control were placed. The cup was covered with a metal mesh, which served as an arena for bedbugs, and the top was covered with a lid with a central hole. The hole prevented the mixing of odors, and, in addition, through it the bugs were lowered into the arena. In the subsequent analysis of the movement of the bug in the arena, control and test areas were identified, and for each of them, an open zone and the edges of the zone (where there was less smell) were distinguished. The behavior was filmed with a video camera and then the trajectories of the bedbugs were analyzed (Fig. 5).

Rice.
5. A
- top and side view of an olfactometer for conducting behavioral experiments on the bedbug
C. lectularius
.
B
—examples of bedbug trajectories.
Stimulus
- test smell,
solvent
- solvent (control).
The letters correspond to the zones of the control ( c
and
CC
) and test (
t
and
TT
) chambers of the Petri dish.
Double capital letters
represent half of the cup,
small letters
represent only the open area.
Image from the discussed article in the Journal of Experimental Biology
To test the bedbugs, not only the original odors were used, but also diluted 10 and 100 times. A total of 15 odor samples were tested and the results were analyzed using principal component analysis. The results are presented in Fig. 6, where you can see fairly clear differences in the behavior of bedbugs depending on the tested mixture of substances. The values on the X axis (factor 1 of principal component analysis) are the so-called index of repulsion, which correlates with the time the bug spent in the control zone. Y-axis values (factor 2) are an index of movement in the open area, correlating with the time the bug spent closest to the test odor. The authors also used a statistical test to group similar behavioral responses into clusters. As a result, it turned out that the undiluted odor extracts of volunteers A and C, as well as the total odor, caused a similar repulsive effect. In contrast, undiluted extracts of the odors of volunteers B and D and 10-fold diluted odors A and C caused almost the same effect as the control odor, that is, a neutral response. The bugs showed a weak preference mainly for those extracts that were diluted 100 times.

Rice. 6.

Principal component analysis of the results of the behavior of
C. lectularius
when presented with various extracts of human odors: volunteers A, B, C and D, total odor M (
bold letters
), diluted 10 times (
capital letters
) and diluted 100 times (
small letters
) .
O
indicates the behavior of bedbugs when the control solution is present in both chambers.
Dashed lines
combine similar results from Bray-Curtis similarity index calculations.
The X axis
denotes the presence of bedbugs in the control zone, that is, avoidance of the smell,
the Y axis
indicates the presence of bedbugs in the open zone, that is, attraction by the smell.
Image from the discussed article in the Journal of Experimental Biology
What conclusion follows from this study? First, bed bugs respond to a much narrower range of organic substances present in human odor than other blood-sucking insects. Mosquitoes, midges, the kissing bug from the subfamily Triatominae, and the tsetse fly react to the same substances as bedbugs, but in addition, they are also attracted to at least five organic substances in the composition of human odor. In this case, bed bugs are less adapted human parasites than other blood-sucking insects. This fact seems surprising, given that humans are the favorite host for this parasite. It turns out that the bedbug's sensory system has not been optimized in the process of evolution to the extent that it is observed in other human parasites.

Another interesting conclusion that follows from this work concerns the concentration of odors that attract bedbugs. Strong concentrations of human odor repel bedbugs, while weak concentrations attract them. But this result turns out to be consistent with data on other insects, for example, on different species of mosquitoes, which also prefer weak concentrations of specific odors. Maybe our distant ancestors were right, who did not indulge in washing themselves very often...

Source:

V. Harraca, C. Ryne, G. Birgersson, R. Ignell.
Smelling your way to food: can bed bugs use our odour? // Journal of Experimental Biology.
2012. V. 215. Pp. 623–629.

See also:

A new mosquito repellent prevents females from finding their victims, Elements, 06/22/2011.

Varvara Vedenina

Pest Control

Forest bugs always live in conditions that are as comfortable as possible for their existence. If the situation changes, they often find shelter in a person’s home. The stink bug's bite does not pose any danger, especially since it is not capable of biting a person at all. If bedbugs from the street crawl into your house, then don’t panic. Apart from being an aesthetic inconvenience, they are not capable of causing harm to people and pets living in the apartment. Stink bugs do not spin webs and do not carry diseases.

Since they feed on plant foods, once in a home environment, window bugs can settle in indoor plants and gradually destroy them. In this case, it is necessary to clear the apartment of uninvited guests. The easiest way is to throw them out an open window.

It is not advisable to get rid of stinkers with a vacuum cleaner, since then you will have to remember the incident for a very long time.

A frequent visitor to apartments in cities such as Moscow and other localities is the elm bug. The most effective remedy in the warm season is a mosquito net, which will not allow any insect, including the stink bug, into the house. If parasites have infested the garden plot, then more effective measures will have to be taken, because they can destroy or spoil almost the entire harvest of fruit and berry crops.

There are several methods to combat forest bugs:

collect manually when the area is slightly contaminated;
use infusions, which must be made on the basis of mustard and onion peels; they will have to be used to treat the plants several times;
spray the plantings with karbofos, chlorophos or phosphamide.

Tarragon and Tarragon

Tarragon is not only tarragon, but also wormwood! Confused? Tarragon wormwood is the most famous culinary type of wormwood and is renowned for its spicy, tongue-tickling aftertaste. In Latin, the plant is called Artemísia dracúnculus from artemes - healthy, there is also an assumption that the traditional French name for the herb tarragon comes from the Latin draco - snake or dragon. Well, the word tarragon has ancient Greek roots. Since ancient times, the first leaves of this perennial plant have been used as a spice in different parts of the world - from North America to India. We know tarragon as a Caucasian herb, from which, among other things, Tarragon lemonade is made. Due to the high content of bitter glycosides, which stimulate the gastrointestinal tract and the production of bile, fresh tarragon helps digest heavy foods, so it is an excellent addition to fatty meat dishes.

Tarragon, aka tarragon, aka wormwood

Features of bedbug physiology

The bloodsucker has a smell - it's true. Moreover, it is quite persistent and not particularly pleasant. Trying to remember what bedbugs smell like, many compare the “aroma” of the pest with the smell of fresh raspberries, cognac, cilantro, sour jam or fermented rotten fruit. But the characteristic peculiar amber can be felt in the apartment if the population of parasites is extensive and has been living in this area for a long time. One or more specimens cannot release enough pheromones for the human sense of smell to sense their presence.

The structure of the insect includes special glands in which a special secretion of an unpleasant, sickly-sweet and tart odor is formed and released. In adults, odorous sacs are located in the metathoracic part of the peritoneum, and larvae have them on the abdominal segments.

In terms of the chemical composition, the bedbug's secretions are a biological mixture of toxic substances that are destructive to other insects - this is the bloodsucker's natural weapon. Specifically, in the bed (domestic) variety of the bug, the secretion includes unsaturated aldehydes in combination with elements of the alkanes class - para-tridecane. This substance belongs to the category of hydrocarbons and, when mixed with oxygen in a free state, a certain aroma is formed. The insect releases stinking “clouds” especially actively in some cases:

During reproduction. The more individuals that have reached sexual maturity in the colony, the more often they copulate and emit pheromones.
When danger occurs. A disturbed nest of pests in this way gives an alarm if a person discovers it.

In addition, insects use secretory secretions for intraspecific interaction. That's why a bedbug smells - it's its communication style and signaling method to satisfy the most powerful instinct of all living on Earth - the survival instinct.

What do bedbugs smell like?

The smell comes from almost all varieties of bedbugs, except water bugs. The intensity depends on the type. The tree stink bug is considered very smelly; it is even called the stink bug. Garden bugs smell very strongly because their pheromones combine with the breakdown products of essential substances contained in the plants that the insects feed on. Together they give a very intense scent.

Do house bugs smell? Certainly! They have a very strong smell that reminds different people of different scents:

cognac;
rotten, spoiled nuts in general or specifically almonds;
raspberries, fermented berries, sour jam;
cilantro or coriander.

Regardless of what exactly bed bugs smell like to humans, in large concentrations the stench becomes suffocating.

Often people cannot identify that their home smells like bedbugs. They simply smell something unpleasant, sweetish or rotten. They may simply chalk it up to the smell of an old house and damaged furniture.

If there are not very many bedbugs in the house, then the concentration may be weak. A person may not feel anything. But domestic animals – cats and dogs – notice the smell of pests well. In some countries, dogs are even used to search for bedbug nests in apartments to effectively combat them.

Will there be a smell if you crush a bug?

If we talk about the bedbug family as a whole, then the forest dweller will have the most pungent odor. When the pest’s life is threatened, the secretory glands begin to work intensively, and the concentration of the pheromone increases sharply (similar to a surge of adrenaline in humans), the so-called “symptom of fear” occurs. When an insect is mechanically damaged, the odorous liquid splashes out in large quantities, which leads to a particularly pungent odor.

House bugs smell like almonds when crushed. In any case, these are the associations that those who are “lucky enough” to inhale the disgusting stench talk about. It is worth considering another feature that affects the “perfume composition” of the pest – its food preferences. The bedbug feeds on human blood, and this product, when processed in the bloodsucker’s body, does not give the most exquisite aroma.

Plants harmful to bedbugs

Bedbugs are naturally endowed with a strong sense of smell, which is important for capturing the scent of the victim. After all, insects feed on human blood and go hunting at night, when visibility is zero. Therefore, they clearly capture other aromas, including herbs. Some types of grass have a repellent effect on them.

Herbs that bedbugs fear:

chamomile;
wild rosemary;
tansy;
sagebrush;
valerian;
celandine.

Each is described in more detail below.

Ledum

This evergreen plant grows in marshy areas. The biochemical composition contains essential oils, which have a depressing effect on parasites. Under their influence they fall asleep and die. Young shoots are used as an insecticidal agent.

To treat the room, the grass is first dried and ground into powder. Scatter it over contaminated areas or fumigate the surrounding area with it by burning it. A decoction of wild rosemary helps relieve itching caused by bedbug bites. It is also used to spray surfaces against parasites.

The plant is poisonous, so when collecting it is recommended to wear protective gloves and a respirator over your nose.

Chamomile

There are several varieties of chamomile, but only Dalmatian chamomile has an intoxicating effect on bedbugs. This is due to the presence of pyrethrins in it - substances that negatively affect the sense of smell of insects. While grass is absolutely harmless to humans.

As a last resort, you can use pharmaceutical chamomile. It is also poisonous, but to a lesser extent.

Mode of application:

Only blossoming flower baskets are collected and dried. Then grind it to a powder using a coffee grinder.
The resulting powder is scattered in places where bedbugs accumulate: under the sofa and mattress, behind baseboards, in cracks, pillowcases.
Leave the product for 5-7 days.

Having smelled the chamomile aroma, the parasites immediately leave their shelter. Some die on the spot, as the grass has a nerve-paralytic effect. All that remains is to sweep them away and throw them away.

The only disadvantage of chamomile is the rapid disintegration of the insecticidal components in the composition under direct exposure to sunlight.

Sagebrush

The tart wormwood aroma in the apartment quickly eliminates the presence of blood-sucking parasites. Place bunches of fresh grass in the corners. But this is until the insects go hungry. Then nothing will stop them, not even the bitter smell of wormwood.

This product will not be able to kill bedbugs, especially their eggs. It is used more as prevention and temporary protection. It is recommended to place the grass directly under the mattress or sofa, in close proximity to the sleeping person. Then the bugs will not bite at night. You need to change the grass to fresh one every 3 days.

Disadvantages of using wormwood:

The bitter aroma stays in the air for no longer than 2-3 days, then the raw materials need to be replaced.
Severely hungry, bedbugs ignore the pungent aroma and return.
Does not affect the volume of bedbug populations and their reproduction.
The intoxicating smell may not be to the liking of the owners, causing dizziness.

To extend the period of the repellent effect, make a decoction or infusion, which is used at any time of the year. Another effective option is alcohol tincture. One liter is enough for the full treatment of one large object, with a detrimental effect on parasites of a week.

A similar product is made based on pure alcohol, which is taken 1:1 in relation to the grass. Leave in a dark and cool place for about a month. The paradox is that during this time the population of bedbugs in the house will increase significantly. Therefore, this option has little prospects.

In this regard, the decoction is more productive and cheaper, since the raw materials can be prepared independently in the summer season. Surfaces can be treated with it repeatedly using a sprayer. Therefore the consumption is small.

Valerian

Bedbugs cannot stand the pungent odor of another herb – valerian. The plant is rich in essential oils, it contains up to 5%. Smelling an irritating aroma, they crawl outside, where they are collected with a vacuum cleaner or washed off with a wet cloth.

Decoctions, water or alcohol infusions are prepared from fresh herbal raw materials, or they are laid out around the room in a fresh state. You can buy a ready-made alcohol tincture at the pharmacy. Apply liquid compounds to possible insect nesting areas. Use with caution if there is a cat in the house.

Celandine

An herb similar to valerian in its action principle, it dispels bloodsuckers with a pungent odor. The tincture shows the greatest effectiveness.

Prepare as follows:

Chop freshly picked celandine leaves with a sharp knife.
Measure out 190-200 grams and fill with water (10 liters).
Leave for 2-3 days.
After the allotted time, add 60 g of laundry soap shavings. Stir well until dissolved.

The resulting liquid is used to treat the parasites' locations and possible routes of movement.

Tansy

Tansy, which has a very pungent odor, helps get rid of bedbugs. It has a terrifying effect on blood-sucking insects, expelling them from their homes. However, it will not be possible to completely destroy them in this way.

If bedbugs have been living for a long time and have acquired large nests, then it is recommended to make a herbal, highly concentrated decoction. Pour it directly onto parasitic clusters. Bed bugs die only when the infusion gets ingested directly.

When spraying the herbal composition indoors and on surfaces, the protection lasts 4-5 days. After which the smell disappears, allowing pests free access to their previous locations. Tansy has no effect on laid bedbug eggs.

To prevent harmful invasions, put the grass in the room and leave it until it dries. Tansy is one of the toxic plants, so children and pets should not come into contact with it.

Grass that smells like bedbugs

It’s a surprising thing, but this seasoning, so beloved by many, especially in Caucasian cuisine, actually smells like bedbugs. Moreover, one of its names – “bedbug plant” – already speaks for itself. We are talking about a spicy vegetable crop - cilantro or coriander. This annual plant gets its name from the Greek "koris", which means "bug".

If you lightly mash young greens or unripe cilantro fruits in your hands, your palms will retain the specific (bedbug) aroma of the seasoning for a long time. And yet this herb occupies a very honorable place among culinary specialists all over the world. There is no secret here - in combination with other spices, especially garlic, this plant acquires an excellent taste.

But why cilantro smells like bedbugs is easy to explain. Its juice contains the same aldehyde substance (trans-tricedenol-2), which is also found in insect secretions. When coriander is dried, its seed is filled with a pleasant cool pungency and subtle aroma, as the chemical component completely evaporates. With the help of decyl aldehyde, the green seasoning is protected from insect pests; when dried, this need disappears along with the odorous weapon.

Some more scents suitable for fighting bedbugs

The sensitivity of insects to pungent aromas extends not only to natural herbal remedies, but also to chemicals. In every home there are drugs that can serve in the fight against bedbugs: acetone-containing liquids, denatured alcohol, ammonia and ethyl alcohol, vinegar essence, kerosene.

An aqueous solution of ammonia is suitable for wet cleaning. The pungent odor lingers for some time and repels parasites. It is recommended to spray ethyl alcohol in places where bedbugs may live - under beds, behind the backs of sofas, near baseboards.

Vinegar is added to water, and then the surface of furniture and household items is wiped with the solution. An unpleasant odor combined with an acidic environment has a negative effect on adults and larvae of harmful insects.

Kerosene should be used with great caution to repel bedbugs. Its odor can harm the health of people and pets. In addition, the substance is highly flammable and therefore a fire hazard.

Turpentine, obtained by distilling parts of coniferous plants, has a repellent effect. The pungent smell will force bloodsuckers to keep their distance. However, the liquid has significant disadvantages that limit the possibilities of its use in everyday life: toxicity, flammability, and oiliness.

Short-term protection against night attacks of bloodsuckers can be created using any cologne. It is enough to apply a few drops of fragrant liquid to the bed linen. Essential oils of plants are substitutes for cologne. Rosemary, lavender, and eucalyptus have proven themselves well in the fight against insects.

Bedbugs and cognac: what should a noble drink smell like?

Even those who are not connoisseurs of the “nectar of the Gods” will foam at the mouth and argue that cognac smells like bedbugs. True gourmets of the amber fiery liquid will condescendingly correct that it is “the bugs that smell” of cognac. Each of them will be right, but only partly.

Real cognac drinks were originally infused for 15-20 years in special oak barrels. The material for oak containers was carefully selected; it could not be found everywhere in French provinces, but only in places where it was grown on special plantations. They took exclusively centuries-old trees and the giants generously shared tannins, which is why the cognac acquired an astringent astringency, and the flavors enveloped the mouth and larynx with an amazing aftertaste reminiscent of chocolate.

The longer the drink was kept in oak barrels, the deeper its aroma and bug-like smell. In fact, it was just the oak giving off the fragrance of its wood. This is why cognac smells like bedbugs, as many believe. Gradually, the product became so in demand that the inevitable happened: new recipes for the beloved alcohol began to appear, characterized by speed of production and an abundance of additives - taste enhancers. This alcohol had little to do with a real divine drink, but was more about satisfying the complacency of people who wanted to taste cognac.

The modern recipe for the production of cognac products is mainly French (it is their method that is most recognized in the world) and it is very difficult to sniff out the smell of a bug in those drinks that are offered in the wine departments of supermarkets. But if you are lucky enough to become the owner of a bottle of real cognac, aged according to all the rules of the art of winemaking, then you will personally be able to see that the cognac smells of bedbugs. Or bedbugs with cognac - it's up to you.

{SOURCE}

Bugs and cognac

Do bedbugs smell like cognac or does cognac smell like bedbugs? Eternal confrontation. The answer to this question depends on how much you love and appreciate the noble drink.

However, there is some justice in this question (and answer!). The similarity of aromas is explained by the content of the same substances in the secretion produced by the scent glands of the bug and in the perfume composition of cognac infused in an oak barrel. Real barrels for aging cognac are made of oak. They keep the drink for several years, during which tannins are released into the liquid. Of course, the bouquet of cognac is much richer than the stink of a bug, but they have something in common.