Lavender bags a lot of benefits for your skin as well as for your sleep. But do lavender repel roaches? Find out a quick remedy to repel roaches in this article.
The struggle is real when it comes to cockroaches dwelling at your place, and you can’t get rid of them despite all the chemical treatments. They just increase in number every time. Roaches in your home can be extremely annoying and even hazardous to your health. The chemicals and sprays available in the market for pest control consist of highly poisonous ingredients, which increase the risk of illness.
Cockroaches or roaches are nothing but insects that belong to the order Blattodea and are considered as vermin. They are known to contaminate food, leave unpleasant odors in residences, and are thought to transmit diseases. Roaches may also damage household stored goods and could act as disease vectors, besides being unappealing to humans. These ubiquitous and indomitable cockroaches continue to multiply despite many control measures.
Do Lavender Repel Roaches?
Lavender has been used for centuries to add a pleasantly sweet fragrance to homes and clothes drawers. It also helps people sleep and reduce stress. But while it’s calming and comforting to us, it may not work for cockroaches.
Lavender works as a repellent for cockroaches and insects. You can always plant them near the doorway to keep that area roach free. Having lavender flowers in your flower vase can help in keeping the bugs at bay. Apart from the flowers, you can always use lavender oil mixed with water and other essential oil as your base to prepare a pleasant smelling repellent.
It is a safer, gentler, and more organic way to get rid of cockroaches. The pleasant aroma of lavender is offensive to such pests. It might not kill the roaches but stops them to linger around that area.
Preventing Breeding Ground For Cockroaches:
Cockroaches are nocturnal animals and have got 150 olfactory receptors, that is, for the smell, 500 gustatory receptors for taste, which also indicates that they can eat just about anything like cheese, meat, hair, cardboard, and even other cockroaches. It also has genes that code for detoxification enzymes to help it withstand toxic chemicals, like pesticides.
- These roaches live and eat in damp unsanitary areas like sewers, bathrooms, kitchens, basements, and dumpsters.
- They transfer filth from these areas to countertops, dishes, or food that you eventually go on to eat.
- Cockroaches’ feces contains a chemical that attracts other cockroaches to a given area, so making sure cockroaches-prone areas like your kitchen and bathroom are clean can help prevent an infestation.
- Removal of food and water sources is another way to prevent infestations.
- Make sure you repair leaking pipes, keeping your kitchen free of food debris, and properly storing your food and garbage can go a long way.
- Caulking and sealing any cracks or holes leading into your home will also deter roaches.
- Storing food in airtight containers and cleaning up food messes and dirty dishes immediately may help.
 DIY Roach Repellants:
- Add a few drops of peppermint and lavender oil to a sponge and wipe down counters and the inside of cabinets.
- You can add a teaspoon of citrus oil and a teaspoon of lavender oil to a gallon of water and spray the exterior of your home to deter roaches and other insects.
- Add 2 tsp of mint oil into 1 cup of water and make a dilute solution. Spray this solution on kitchen countertops and corners to prevent cockroaches from invading the food.
- Create a uniform solution by mixing 1/2 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and mild shampoo to it. Now pour this solution in a spray bottle and spray it in the areas where you find cockroaches.
Conclusion:
After reading this article, you might have got an idea of whether lavender could help repel roaches or not. Since chemical treatments are expensive, these DIYs might help you get rid of the pests bothering you in your kitchen, or bathroom. After all, the best way of prevention is cleanliness.