Orange oil can be deadly to many insects, including cockroaches, ants, dust mites, flies, wasps, spiders, crickets, and, perhaps most importantly, termites.
Orange oil destroys the wax coating of the respiratory system of insects causing suffocation. The citrus fragrance also repels insects, especially if the surface is absorbent and saturated with an orange oil mixture. D-limonene is GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) by the FDA.
Many insects such as roaches, ants and silverfish do not care for the scent of orange oil and will avoid it. Placing bits of orange peel or zest around the garden repels flies and mosquitoes.
Sweet orange oil for a natural insect repellent
Did you know sweet orange essential oil can help to repel insects such as mosquitoes, ants, and flies? Simply dilute a few drops of sweet orange oil with water and spray it around the areas you want to keep insects away from!
Those most closely associated with repellency are citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, and catnip oil, but others include clove oil, patchouli, peppermint, and geranium.
Peppermint essential oil might just be the holy grail of natural pest repellents to leave around your home's entry points, as it can help keep away ticks, spiders, roaches, moths, flies, fleas, beetles, and ants. Use sachets of this oil near your doors and windows or try making a diffuser or 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.
Ants use pheromone trails for navigation, communication, and to find food. Essential oils can be used to disrupt these trails, which ultimately disorients and deters ants. Lemongrass, peppermint, clove, cedarwood, tea tree, orange and lemon oil are all effective.
The odor of the orange oil is unpleasant to the ants and may cause them to avoid the treated areas.
Peppermint is the most effective oil to repel spiders. Besides peppermint and spearmint, essential oils for spiders include citrus elements like orange, lemon and lime. Citronella, cedar wood, tea tree oil and lavender also can be effective.
Many insects are averse to citrus smells, but drawn to sugar. That's why you want to stick to only using the peels — the juice of the orange could attract more insects than the citrus can repel! Simply rub the peel on spaces you think insects might be invading, such as a windowsill or cabinet.
Citrus. Many commercial fly repellents contain orange or lemon extracts, not just for the scent, but because citrus oil is a natural fly repellent.
The best essential oils to repel roaches are peppermint oil, oregano oil and catnip oil. Essential Oils for Killing Roaches. The best essential oils to get rid of roaches are rosemary oil, cedar oil and eucalyptus oil.
Orange oil from peels contains a chemical known as D-limonene. When applied to ants and other insects, it removes the waxy coating on their respiratory system, suffocating them. Pouring the mixture while still hot may not have made a difference, but it sure made the person in the video happy.
Peppermint essential oil is a powerful ant repellent and I have found that ants will not cross a line of peppermint oil wiped on a surface. It also makes your home smell great! To treat a surface with peppermint oil, place a few drops of undiluted peppermint oil on a cotton ball or the corner of a rag.
Sprinkle boric acid in areas the roaches frequent; when they walk through it, it sticks to them. They later ingest the boric acid, which then kills them. When using boric acid, be sure to limit your exposure; don't place it anywhere that children or pets might find it, as it's toxic when ingested.
Smells that roaches hate: a quickfire summary
Oregano, rosemary, mint, eucalyptus, lemongrass and catnip are great herby options. Citrus oils work brilliantly too. And surprisingly, lower concentrations – 2.5 parts per hundred – seem to work best as deterrents. Just don't bother with lavender.
Rosemary, thyme, basil, and mint have scents that bugs dislike. Mosquitoes, cockroaches, and stinging insects try to avoid these herbs.
Mosquitoes hate the smell of lavender, citronella, clove, peppermint, basil, cedarwood, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary. They also hate smells such as smoke, for further insight, see our exploration on, does smoke keep mosquitoes away?