Deter Roaches With This All-Natural Item You May Have In Your Kitchen

Cockroaches are one of the grossest bugs you can find your house, with their appearance being positively revolting and the smell they leave behind being equally unappealing. In addition to their foul appearance and smell, the insects do actually pose health risks to those in your home. Cockroach antigens are damaging to those with asthma, often triggering attacks, and the insects can carry disease-causing germs that can harm humans. In addition to their natural dangers, the more traditional methods of removing cockroaches can be hazardous due to the chemicals used to repel the insects. For a more natural cockroach repellent, you can use lemon as an insect repellent to get rid of cockroaches.

In research for the Journal of Pesticide Science, lemon essential oils, specifically limonene, were found to be 92.9% repellent against cockroaches. What deters the cockroaches is the smell and the concentration of lemon essential oils. While the smell of lemons is appealing to humans, it is highly repellent to cockroaches and, as such, can work as an effective means to keep cockroaches away and out of your home. To help repel cockroaches, leave lemon peels at entry points cockroaches might use in your home, and use lemon juice to clean. 

You can clean your home with lemons to get rid of cockroaches by using a solution of equal parts lemon and water to spray and wipe down dirty surfaces in your home. Lemon is an effective cleaner due to its acidity, so you won't have to sacrifice the cleanliness of your home to get rid of the unwanted guests. What attracts cockroaches is easily accessible food, moisture, and shelter, so areas such as your kitchen and bathroom might be perfect places to start by using your new cleaner. This method is effective because cockroaches hate the smell you're spreading as you thoroughly clean your home. To make the repellent stronger, you can dilute lemon essential oils into the cleaning mixture (you may be tempted to use straight essential oils; however, they will evaporate too quickly). For further citrus deterrent, leave lemon peels in possible entry points for cockroaches to repel them with the smell, and replace the peels when they no longer smell.

The most effective thing you can do in addition to your lemon cleaning is clean more often. Since cockroaches are attracted to food and mess, always put away food, clean spills, and never leave dirty dishes around. By keeping a clean home smelling of fresh lemon, you can keep roaches from setting up shop in your home.