Cockroaches are highly annoying creatures, and getting rid of them is a fundamental task. Numerous sprays and chemicals are available to kill roaches, but they could be dangerous for your health. Natural repellents like lavender can solve your problem. You may think now; does lavender repel cockroaches?
Yes, lavender is a powerful repellent to deter cockroaches. You can use lavender by planting it in your house to keep cockroaches away from your house. Moreover, you can also put some flowers or oil of lavender plants on your home entrance to repel cockroaches.
Are you interested in using lavender to drive cockroaches out of your home and yard? If so, read the below guidelines to use lavender effectively.
Why Do Cockroaches Dislike Lavender?
Cockroaches detest the smell of lavender because it contains linalool, which gives it a potent scent that repels them. Because cockroaches have an acute sense of smell, several varieties of lavender are effective at keeping them away.
The smell is so repulsive to cockroaches that they will do anything to escape it. Whether you use dried lavender, lavender flowers, fresh lavender, or lavender essential oil, the roaches will remain away from your home or property due to the powerful aroma of the lavender.
Moreover, the lavender smell is calming and non-harmful for yourself and your pets. So, you can use it without worries to keep cockroaches at bay.
How Do You Use Lavender Oil to Repel Roaches?
If you have a cockroach infestation in your home, you should take measures to repel them. According to the journal Sustainable Technologies for the Management of Agricultural Wastes, cockroaches are the source of transmission of various bacteria and parasites to humans which could be fatal for them.
You can use lavender oil in many ways to repel rats. However, the best method is to dilute the lavender oil with water and add it to a bottle. You can then spray this solution in your home entrance and kitchen to keep roaches away. Here are the essentials steps to make lavender spray:
- First, fill the 3rd half of the spray bottle with water.
- Add 16-19 drops of lavender oil in it.
- Now spray it on areas where you suspect the presence of cockroaches.
Different Forms of Lavender to Repel Cockroaches
Cockroaches have a keen sense of smell, which they utilize to locate food and follow roach pathways. You can use lavender in different forms to repel cockroaches. Below are some effective forms of lavender that may help throw roaches away from your desired areas.
Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil is one of the effective ways to repel rats. However, before buying lavender, you must ensure that it’s 100% pure oil, not a scented one. To use lavender oil, you first make its dilute solution with water by adding a few drops of oil to ¾ of a water bottle. After that, spray it in your kitchen, walls, windows, and home entrance to keep roaches away.
Another way to use lavender oil is to soak some cotton balls or pieces of cloth in a mixture of 10 drops of oil and 3 ounces of white vinegar. Now place them where you have seen cockroaches. Make sure to replace these cotton balls frequently to maintain their potency.
Fresh Lavender
Fresh lavender is the easiest way to repel cockroaches. It has a terrifying smell, so using fresh lavender in your home is the best option for keeping cockroaches away. The best way to use fresh lavender is to place fresh lavender flowers in a vase.
Consider putting these lavender vases in your kitchen, bedroom, and front entryway. The kitchen is the best area to place them because roaches are typically attracted to the food there. Besides repelling rats, lavender is beautiful and gains the attention of anyone who visits your home.
Dried Lavender
You can similarly use dried lavender as a fresh one, but you don’t need to add water to make it dilute. Put lavender in bowls—either dried or crushed—and scatter them around your house, especially in spots where you know roaches are likely to be present.
Although dried lavender is pricey, keep in mind that it is very potent, so you may need a small amount to repel cockroaches. To find the appropriate amount of dried lavender to deter roaches, you first need to check it, but this shouldn’t take too long.
Lavender Sachets
Lavender sachets are small packets of pest repellents. While you can use lavender sprays in various settings, sachets work better for focusing on particular areas. You can place lavender sachets in hiding places of your home, like wall cracks, beneath the washroom and kitchen sink, and other large appliances.
If you see cockroaches from your wall holes and below your appliances or utensils, place some lavender sachets there. In this way, cockroaches don’t dare to wander again. Moreover, you can buy lavender sachets from your nearby market to kick roaches out of your house.
Lavender Plants
Lavender plants are ornamental and fragrant herbs that grow each year. You can grow them in your yards, but planting them in pots or containers will be best for keeping cockroaches away. The benefit of using pots is that you can move them from one place to other where you think the presence of cockroaches.
Additionally, lavender plants in your flower pots, gardens, and yards help to prevent cockroaches from entering your house. After growing lavender, place lavender pots near the opening that leads inside your home. In this way, cockroaches will stay away from your home.
How Do You Make Strong Cockroach Repellent Using Lavender?
Lavender is one of the most effective repellents to deter cockroaches. You can make a strong cockroach repellent by using lavender.
- Mix the lavender oil with other deterrents to get a strong cockroach repellent. For example, add one tbs of lavender and citrus oil in one gallon of water.
- Then spray this mixture around the exterior of your home to keep cockroaches and other pests away.
Remember that adding water to oil can lessen its efficacy; however, if you use pure lavender oil, its effectiveness won’t change. Moreover, If there is enough lavender in the vicinity for cockroaches to smell it, they will stay away from it.
How Do You Make DIY Cockroach Repellent Using Lavender?
Although lavender is best to repel cockroaches, if you make a DIY cockroach deterrent, that would be best to keep them away from your home and property. Below are some ways to make DIY cockroach repellent:
- Combine a few drops of lavender and peppermint essential oils. Soak a sponge in it, then wipe the counters and cabinets of your kitchen with it.
- Make a spray by adding one tablespoon of lavender and citrus oil to one gallon of water. Now, sprinkle this mixture in your home entrance to deter cockroaches.
- You can also make a dilute solution of 2 tbs of mint oil and a cup of water to keep roaches away.
- Furthermore, you can make a constant solution by combining a half cup of vinegar, vegetable oil, and a light shampoo to throw away roaches from your property.
How Do You Make Lavender Roach Spray?
One of the best ways to keep cockroaches away is to use a lavender-based spray. The lavender spray is superior to using a lavender sachet or a lavender plant since it enables you to target a larger area.
Levander contains linalool which makes it a strong cockroach-repellent. You can buy a lavender spray from your nearby store, or you can make your own. To formulate a lavender spray, add 10-15 drops of lavender oil to a gallon of water. Then spray this solution around the exterior of your home and property to deter roaches.
Benefits of Using Lavender to Repel Cockroaches
There are numerous benefits of using lavender oil to keep roaches away. Some of the pros are listed below:
- You can easily find lavender oil from your nearby local market at less price.
- Lavender oil is safe for you and your pets. If you accidentally inhale it, you will not get any toxicity.
- It is easy to use. You can apply lavender oil in your desired areas without wearing a mask and gloves.
- Lastly, lavender oil won’t leave your house smelling like a chemical, unlike other cockroach poisons.
Other Animals That Lavender Repel
Aside from repelling cockroaches, lavender works well to deter other animals and pests from your home. Here are some animals that you can repel using lavender:
Ants
Lavender is a safer alternative to powerful, hazardous ant-control agents. It can help keep ants away from your home because they are constantly looking for food there. Therefore, you can use lavender in the form of oil or dried leaves to kick ants out of your kitchen and home.
Bed Bugs
Lavender is preferable beg bugs repellent because of its soothing aroma. One of the best ways to use lavender to kill bed bugs is to add a few drops of lavender oil to your iron while steam ironing your clothes. It will add a light scent to your clothes and keep bugs away.
Rats
As rats have a keen sense of smell, lavender is the best choice to throw them away from your home. You can make a lavender spray to repel rats. To do this, put ten to fifteen drops of lavender oil in a water bottle. Then sprinkle this mixture along the way of rats.
Lice
According to the Journal BMC Dermatol, lavender oil is highly effective against lice. By utilizing lavender oil, you can get rid of your head lice in a matter of days. For a thorough lice removal, just massage lavender oil onto your head and let it sit for two to three hours.
Mosquitoes
Lavender’s essential oil is the most efficient mosquito repellent. That is because it contains linalool, which affects their sense of smell and deters them from visiting your home. To keep mosquitoes away, either slather yourself in lavender oil or spray oil mixed with water around your house.
Fleas
Fleas are the pests of dogs and pets. To keep fleas away from your dogs, you can use lavender oil. Add a few drops of lavender oil to a spray bottle of water to make a natural flea spray, and then mist your dog coat with it. It will not only repel fleas but also make your dog cool.
Wasps
Lavender oil is the most widely used insect repellent. Thus, you can use it to kick wasps out of your home and garden. The powerful scent of lavender oil not only keeps wasps away from your trees, but if they directly come in contact with it, they will eventually die.
What Are the Other Strongest Scents to Deter Cockroaches?
Besides using lavender oil, you can use other essential oils to keep cockroaches away from your home and property. Following are a few other deterrents to deter cockroaches.
Peppermint Oil
According to the Journal of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, peppermint oil is highly effective in controlling German cockroaches. You can make a peppermint oil spray with water by adding a few drops to water, then sprinkle it on your home exterior. It will not only repel roaches but also kill them.
Wintergreen
Wintergreen oil is another powerful roach repellent. It contains elements having a strong fragrance that helps in deterring cockroaches away. The simplest way to use wintergreen oil to get rid of cockroaches is to dilute it with water in a spray bottle. Then spray it in suspected areas of roaches.
Spearmint
Spearmint oil is an essential oil of the mint plant. It is highly toxic to cockroaches, and they can’t withstand its smell. You can use spearmint oil to deter cockroaches by soaking cotton balls in it or mixing it with water to make a diluted solution.
Tea Tree
Tea tree oil is the best natural method for roach prevention in your home. The best way to utilize tea tree oil for cockroach prevention is to dilute the essential oil by adding water to an aerosol canister that you can spray on the desired locations to deter cockroaches.
Cypress
Cypress is another beneficial cockroach repellent. You can use cypress mulch and oil to deter roaches. Cypress mulch is effective in repelling cockroaches outside your home, while you can use its oil to keep them away inside your home and property.
Eucalyptus
It is one of the best remedies to deter cockroaches because they hate the smell of eucalyptus. You can use eucalyptus in numerous ways, from growing it in your front garden as a barrier around your home to diffusing its essential oils with water.
Rosemary
Rosemary oil is one of the most productive oils to repel cockroaches. At concentrations between 2.5% to 30%, rosemary oil has a 100% success rate in killing roaches. The best way to use rosemary oils to repel cockroaches is to dilute them with water. Then spray it all over the outside of your house.
Final Thoughts
Getting rid of cockroaches is a difficult task. As they have a strong sense of smell, you can use lavender to repel them from your home and property. Moreover, you can also use scents like peppermint and eucalyptus to kick them off.
Try increasing the amount of essential oil if you use lavender oil to repel rats, but cockroaches still appear. Hopefully, after reading the above instructions, you’ll be able to utilize lavender to ward off cockroaches in the most effective manner imaginable.
As a final word of advice, don’t stick to a single method, try using all possible ways to get rid of roaches as soon as possible.
References
Abdullah, S.S.S., Othman, M.K.I. (2018). Potential of Kaffir Lime (Citrus hystrix) Peel Essential Oil as a Cockroach Repellent. In: Zakaria, Z. (eds) Sustainable Technologies for the Management of Agricultural Wastes. Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future. Springer, Singapore.
Barker SC, Altman PM. An ex vivo, assessor blind, randomised, parallel group, comparative efficacy trial of the ovicidal activity of three pediculicides after a single application–melaleuca oil and lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil, and a “suffocation” pediculicide. BMC Dermatol. 2011 Aug 24;11:14.
C. Yeguerman, E. Jesser, M. Massiris, C. Delrieux, A.P. Murray, J.O. Werdin González,
Insecticidal application of essential oils loaded polymeric nanoparticles to control German cockroach: Design, characterization, and lethal/sublethal effects, Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Volume 189, 2020, 110047, ISSN 0147-6513.
