Skip to Content

Do Essential Oils Repel Roaches? (Read This First!)

Essential oils have so many benefits that help us to lead a healthy life. Not only does it eliminate bacteria, funguses or viruses it also increases energy as well as boosts our mood by reducing all the stress. Also, essential oils reduce anxiety or headaches and nausea which really improves our sleep. Essential oils are mainly plant-based which means they are being extracted from the plants which are why it contains multiple benefits.

As essential oils have multiple benefits, therefore, in this article we are going to discuss whether essential oils can repel roaches or not.

Essential oil to repel roaches

There are many varieties of essential oil that repel roaches and one of them which is rosemary oil is very much effective in repelling roaches. There are other oils like peppermint, catnip, oregano oil, etc. that repel roaches. You can spray the oil mixing with water in your problematic areas.

Essential oils are mainly extracted from plants in the form of scent or flavour or odour. Mostly, the oils are made from flavour through various chemical processes. The main reason why essential oils have so many health benefits is because of the aromatic compounds that you extract from the plants.

There are different types of essential oils available in the market such as Lavender, Sandalwood, Jasmine, Lemon, Tea Tree, Rosemary, Chamomile, etc. Among these essential oils, the ones that repel roaches are rosemary oil, cedar oil, catnip oil, eucalyptus oil, cypress oil, etc.

The essential oils are much more effective, cheap and safer than chemical repellers. The sweet aromatic smell of the essential oils is good if you are using them in your home for repelling roaches. Below we have discussed some of the essential oils whether they can or cannot repel roaches:

Peppermint essential oil:

It is found from the customers’ reviews that peppermint oil is very effective in repelling roaches. The eye-watering aroma of peppermint oil is actually very toxic to insects. That is why peppermint oil not only repels roaches but also repels other bugs and rodents.

Lavender essential oil:  

Well, it is very much unclear that lavender oil has the qualities to repel roaches. It certainly works on aromatherapy because of its sweet fragrance but it is unproven that the lavender essential oil repels roaches.

Lemon essential oil:

Lemon essential oil is not really roach repellent. It certainly has a fresh lemon smell but it doesn’t work on roaches.

Tea tree essential oil:

Tea tree essential oil can be effective as a repellent to roaches. Because it is used as an antiseptic in some places. The best way you can use the tea tree oil is by mixing it with other oils or in water with vinegar.

Eucalyptus essential oil:

Eucalyptus oil is very much effective as a repellent to roaches. Because the eucalyptus oil is very toxic to roaches. The fresh smell of eucalyptus oil can alert the roaches and even can eliminate them completely.

Cinnamon essential oil:

Cinnamon essential oil is not effective against roaches. Also, cinnamon oil is not toxic to roaches, therefore, it is better to use it by mixing it with other oils.

Lemongrass essential oil:

In the case of lemongrass essential oil there are mixed reactions among the customers. Some say it really works on roaches and some say it doesn’t, however, it is recommended by the experts to use mixing with other oils.

Orange essential oil:

Orange essential oil doesn’t work against any kind of insects, rodents or bugs. But the smell of orange essential oil is very intense, therefore, you can use it by mixing it with other oils.

Mint essential oil:

Oil that is extracted from mint plants is very much toxic to roaches. Therefore, you can certainly use mint essential oil by mixing it with water or with other oils to repel the roaches.

Citronella essential oil:

Citronella is an ingredient that is mostly used to repel bugs or mosquitos. Also, the smell of the citronella oil lasts for an hour, therefore, it doesn’t really work as a repellent to roaches.

Rosemary essential oil:

Rosemary essential oil is one of the most toxic oils to roaches and there is a 100% mortality rate of roaches whenever they come in contact with these oils. You can use it by spraying it with water in the problematic areas and also the smell of rosemary lasts for more than weeks.

How effective are essential oils for repelling roaches?

The effectiveness of the essential oils mainly depends on the type of oil. Because not all the oils are repellent to roaches. Some of the roach repellent essential oils are, peppermint essential oil, rosemary essential oil, oregano essential oil, eucalyptus essential oil, cypress essential oil, etc.

The smell of the essential oils is very much effective in repelling the roaches. However, some of the oils are very toxic to roaches. The most highly toxic essential oil for the roaches is rosemary oil. This oil is very much effective as a repellent to roaches as well as the oil offers a 100% mortality rate for roaches.

Also, other essential oils like peppermint oil, cypress oil, catnip oil, cedar oil, eucalyptus oil, etc. are also very much effective for repelling roaches. You can certainly increase the effectiveness of this oil for repelling the roaches if you spray it by mixing it with vinegar with water or by mixing it with other oils.

What essential oils repel roaches?

There are different types of essential oils that repel the roaches. Some of them are explained down below:

Catnip essential oil:

By combining a couple of drops of catnip oil including one portion of water and one portion of isopropyl alcohol, one may deploy it throughout their houses to deter roaches by misting it in the areas.

Peppermint essential oil:

According to customer feedback, peppermint oil is quite efficient in keeping roaches away. In reality, peppermint oil’s mouth-watering scent is very poisonous to insects. Because of this, peppermint oil deters rodents and other insects in addition to roaches.

Rosemary essential oil:

When roaches come into touch with these oils, they go through completely, making rosemary essential oil one of the most poisonous oils to roaches. It may be used by misting it with water in the troublesome regions, and the rosemary scent lasts for weeks.

Oregano essential oil:

Just like rosemary oil, oregano essential oil is very much effective for repelling roaches. In addition, the smell of the oregano oil can last more than weeks.

How to use essential oils for roaches?

Well, you can use the essential oils in different ways. However, there are four most effective ways of using the essential oils and they are described below:

By mixing it with water:

  • First, you have to take a spoon of essential oil. Then you have to mix it with a bottle of spray full of water.
  • You can certainly adjust the quantity of the oil after measuring the quantity of the water. Make sure you have mixed the oil with water properly.
  • Then spray the mixture into the areas where you suspect the roaches live. If the smell of the mixture lasts for weeks then you can also spray it on the areas where you don’t want roaches.

By mixing it with other oils:

  • One of the most effective ways of using essential oils in order to repel roaches is by mixing it with other oils. In this way, you increase the intense smell of the oils, as well as the smell, will last for weeks.
  • For mixing it with oils, you have to first take drops of all the essential oils and mix it properly. Then you can add some small drops of water and then stir them properly. Then spray the mixture in the problematic areas.

By mixing it with Vinegar:

  • Mixing the essential oils with vinegar increases the effectiveness of the oils for repelling roaches. The process of mixing vinegar with oil is very easy. You have to take a spoonful of vinegar and then you have to mix it with the drops of oil.
  • Then you have to add water to that mixture and lastly, you can spray the mixture wherever the roaches live.

By mixing it with alcohol:

  • You can use the essential oils by mixing them with alcohol. In this way, it will increase the effectiveness of the oils.
  • In order to repel roaches around their homes, they sprinkled the locations with a solution made of a few drops of the oil, one part water, and one part isopropyl alcohol.

Final Thoughts:

Essential oils are very effective for repelling roaches, however, not all of them work perfectly. Before buying the essential oil for repelling roaches, you should look for oils like rosemary, peppermint, eucalyptus, cedar, oregano, catnip, cypress oil, etc.