Distilled vinegar does not kill or repel roaches, making it completely ineffective. Distilled vinegar will help keep your kitchen clean, giving cockroaches less to snack on. However, roaches can live for months at a time without any food at all, and they will eat almost anything to survive.
White vinegar is a known cockroach repellent. To use it, mix equal amounts of water and vinegar and sprinkle on the area where the cockroaches come out. This works just as well as boric acid. Hot water is probably the easiest solution on this list.
Roach Repellents
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Vinegar has a strong scent that roaches are not fond of. However, it's not the best cockroach deterrent. If used alone, roaches may ignore the smell of vinegar. If you mix vinegar with essential oils, you can boost the strength of your repellent spray.
Citrus. You may love the smell of fresh citrus, but cockroaches hate the scent. That means you can use citrus scented cleaners in your kitchen and bathroom to chase any lingering roaches away. You can also keep a few citrus peels around your home in strategic places.
Raid Ant & Roach Killer Insecticide Spray is great to have on hand for pretty much any bug infestation.
Household bleach is commonly used as a cleaning agent and gives off a strong smell that cockroaches hate.
Fruit flies and aphids find the smell of vinegar irresistible. If fruit flies or aphids are a nuisance in your home, yard or outdoor buildings, half fill a small bowl with apple cider vinegar and cover it over tightly with plastic wrap.
It is effective in repelling ants, mosquitoes, fruit flies, and many others. Creating a mix is quite simple and is considered safe for humans and pets. Acidity of the vinegar is potent enough to kill many pests.
The smell of lemons repels cockroaches to a great extent, keeping them away from areas that reek of the fruit. Hence, it is advisable to mop floors with water that has a few lemon drops in it.
Raid Ant & Roach Killer Insecticide Spray was found to be one of the most effective at killing cockroaches. A can is helpful for the times when you spot a roach in your home and you don't want to get too close. A roach spray should kill the bug almost instantly.
It's a fact that cockroaches are afraid of humans and other mammals or animals that are bigger than them. They see us as predators and that fear triggers their instinct to scatter away. However, they dislike strong and distinctive scents such as citrus, peppermint, lavender and vinegar.
The vinegar itself does not repel or kill roaches.
Does Cinnamon repel cockroaches? No, cinnamon doesn't repel cockroaches. But there're are other essential oils or spices that can work against cockroaches. You can use bay leaves, garlic, and catnip to reduce some amount of cockroach activity in your home.
What can't vinegar do? In addition to being a great cleaning agent, vinegar is effective in deterring many types of pests. Ants despise the smell of vinegar, and vinegar will wipe out the scent trails they leave around the house to navigate.
Do all bugs hate vinegar? While aphids and fruit flies are exceptions, many insects and bugs can't stand the scent of vinegar.
A 50-50 white vinegar and water solution repels insects such as midge flies. You can use it on plants and surfaces, such as patio tables and outdoor bar counters. Because of its acidity, always dilute white vinegar before spraying it on plants. Straight vinegar may damage or kill plants.
One of the most effective DIY solutions for killing bed bugs instantly is diluted rubbing alcohol. Alcohol kills bed bugs as soon as it makes contact with them. It also evaporates quickly, which makes it safer to use than other forms of alcohol.
A combination of half apple cider vinegar (although normal vinegar works just as well) and half water in a spray bottle works perfectly to repel those pests. This concoction can be sprayed around the perimeter of your home, on the legs of tables that have food served on them or even around a screen house or tent.
Do Cockroaches Like the Cold? Generally, cockroaches don't like the cold one bit. They are cold-blooded arthropods that don't survive very well in either extremely cold or hot circumstances. They're always at whatever temperature their environment is and generally slow down with cooler temperatures.
While lavender oil is a natural repellent against insects, including flies and fleas, it is not usually effective against roaches. Citrus oil, peppermint oil and bay leaves repel roaches naturally. You can combine lavender oil with them to create an all-around insect repellent for your home.
Roaches are repelled by ground coffee. In fact, putting some ground coffee down in the corners or windowsills of your kitchen can actually help keep them insects away.
Moisture. Roaches need moisture to survive and this search for water will bring them into even the cleanest of homes. Leaky pipes and faucets are one of the most common attractants for cockroaches and is one of the main reasons you often see them in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.