Sommières land, a highly sought-after remedy

In a garden center, shelving is fast to deal with a historic shortage of Sommières earth. A kilo of this white powder costs nearly 10 euros. A retiree plans to use it to get rid of bedbugs. Used as a grandmother’s recipe since the 19th century, Sommières earth is a very effective clay for cleaning stains from textiles. But recently, in a scientific article, a researcher presented it as a bedbug killer. This is Pascal Delaunay, parasitologist and medical entomologist at the Nice University Hospital (Alpes-Maritimes). “It’s very effective because it dehydrates.”he explains.

This discovery could make everyday life easier for nearly five million French people like Émilie. A victim of bedbugs since January, she has already tried almost everything to get rid of them. Since the publication of the scientific article, she has decided to change her method by using Sommières earth. “Now, I haven’t had any injections, nothing at all, for a month.”she assures. According to an institute, 11% of homes in France are victims of bedbugs, a figure that has been increasing since 2017.