Instead of using a chemical killer to destroy pesky cockroaches, use vinegar or coconut oil. Both kill the insects and prevent
A study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, said that coconut oil is a better and more effective insect repellent than DEET, which is an active ingredient in a number of commercially available insect repellents.
The best essential oils to repel roaches are peppermint oil, oregano oil and catnip oil. Essential Oils for Killing Roaches. The best essential oils to get rid of roaches are rosemary oil, cedar oil and eucalyptus oil.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) evaluated five popular oil compounds — eucalyptus, mint, yarrow, oregano and rosemary — and found oregano oil the most effective and longest-lasting. Its strong, spicy, sharp odor is shown to dispel cockroaches.
Cayenne, Garlic, and Onion Powder
Walk around your home and sprinkle all cockroach-prone areas with this spice mixture. Cockroaches can't stand the smell of these spices and will avoid all areas sprinkled with them.
Sugar is by far the most attractive substance to a cockroach. They love sugar and can smell it from anywhere. This means you'll want to keep your sugar containers, fruits, and other sweeteners sealed in air-tight containers that are up off the floor.
You can mix a few drops of rosemary oil with water and place the mixture in a shallow dish or on a piece of paper. Roaches will be attracted to the scent and may crawl into the trap, where they will come into contact with the rosemary oil and die.
Vinegar is a natural household ingredient that can repel and kill cockroaches. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts vinegar and water, and then spray it directly onto the roaches when spotted. The strong odour and acidity of vinegar can be effective in eliminating them instantly.
Tea tree oil, one of the more popular essential oils, has been said to kill roaches; however, it's completely ineffective. For starters, cockroaches are fast (so nearly impossible to hit with an essential oil spray) and they repopulate quickly (for every cockroach you kill, there are ten more in the walls).
In addition to repellency against stable flies, the coconut fatty acids also repelled other blood-sucking insects including horn flies, bed bugs, brown dog ticks and lone star ticks. Ticks and horn flies are known to transmit many diseases in human and animals26.
In recent research published in Scientific Reports, USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists identified specific coconut oil fatty acids that have strong repellency and long-lasting effectiveness against multiple insects—mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies and bed bugs—that can transmit diseases to humans and ...
Simply add 1 teaspoon of the lemon eucalyptus essential oil and ¼ cup of coconut oil to a spray bottle. Put the cap on the bottle and shake it up to mix. There you go - all-natural homemade mosquito repellent! Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.
Using natural scents works best to deter roaches. Plants such as eucalyptus, lavender, and mint are smells roaches hate.
Spray Essential Oils
Research has found that some essential oils—especially rosemary oil—are effective at repelling roaches. Rosemary oil was found to offer a 100% roach mortality rate at the concentration range of 2.5% to 30%. So mix it with water and spray away at your problem areas!
Many bugs hate citrus smells and cockroaches are no different. You can use lemon juice and put it in dishes to ward off those pests. You can also take lemon peels and place them around your home where you might think the cockroaches are hiding.
Lemon and lemongrass essential oils specifically will drive any cockroach away due to their strong scent of limonene, which smells like nothing else on earth! Add a couple of drops of citrus or peppermint essential oil to a few cotton balls, and lay them around where the roaches in your home congregate.
Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth around areas where roaches travel and frequent. The sharp particles of diatomaceous earth damage the waxy, protective exoskeleton of the roach, causing it to dehydrate and die, typically within 48 hours of contact.
Bleach's Effect on Roaches
Taking a deep drink of household bleach would kill anything, roaches included. But the same strong odor that keeps people from taking a swig of bleach repels roaches as well. So though it could work, in reality, it will not. It is very difficult to kill an entire roach infestation yourself.
The short answer is yes; the scent of vinegar can help to keep cockroaches away. However, it is helpful to note that this is not a guaranteed solution, and you may still see cockroaches in your home even if you use vinegar. Therefore, we believe it's a great repellent but not an effective roach killer.
Baking Soda and Sugar Mixture
Mix a pinch of sugar with some baking soda in a bowl and leave it for the cockroaches. Attracted to the food source (the sugar), the roaches will ingest the poison (the baking soda) and die. It's safe and efficient, but make sure you clean up any dead roaches as soon as possible.
Pine-Sol and Fabuloso are strong, all-purpose household cleaners. Similar to bleach, these products kill roaches on contact. Some homeowners suggest spraying Pine-Sol around the outside of your house to keep cockroaches away.
You will have to reapply pretty frequently so the fragrance doesn't wear off. Since cockroaches are nocturnal, your best bet is to reapply each night before you go to bed. That way, when the roaches are most active, your peppermint oil repellent is at its strongest.