Are there any problems with insects getting into a hull mattress or pillow?

Hulls do not offer any nutritional value, so pests will not generally seek them out for food. Dust mites do not like buckwheat hulls as they provide too much air flow which makes an undesirable nesting site. Any mattress ticking can house bed bugs / dust mites but the open weave of our cotton ticking is also not a desirable nesting site for these tiny pests. You must maintain the underside of your hull mattress often so this makes it easier to catch any unwanted visitors.

The New Twist tubular fabric has tiny openings in the knit which would keep out larger insects. Just like a wool mattress company could not guarantee a moth may get to your mattress, we cannot absolutely guarantee an insect may find their way in somehow or a rodent may nibble at a pod to investigate the hulls for use in their own nests!

We have been working with hulls for many years now and we have heard of only one insect populating in a hull mattress. This was a case of a home with an unfortunate book lice infestation where the book lice were found all over the home, not just in the bedding. Book lice are attracted to glue in old books and some glues in wood furniture. They did though find their way into their hull mattress. We have had no incidence of book lice at OYEB. We open every 10th bag of hulls for pillow filling so our hull inventory is monitored and we have never found anything undesirable in them. Research into common mattress pests report that simply freezing the mattress can easily eradicate them. Try fitting a traditional mattress in a chest freezer : )

If you have pets you will find it hard to keep them off your hull mattress or pillow. Our dog enjoys and seeks out hull filled surfaces over foam filled! We have heard many stories of cats preferring millet hulls.