I will never forget the time I got up close and far too personal … with a cockroach.

There I was lying on my bed, trying to sleep on a hot and sticky summer night, when all of a sudden something landed on my arm. It was a great big ugly cockroach – and despite my best efforts, the tiny little hooks on its legs kept it clinging stubbornly to my nightie.

It could easily have been a scene from a horror movie!

Are You Sharing Your Home with Cockroaches?

Having only recently left home, I was living in an old run-down block of flats with a bit of a cockroach problem. (Massive understatement right there.)

It was the last straw. First thing next morning found me hammering on my landlord’s door, demanding a professional pest control treatment as soon as possible – and with good reason.

Cockroaches aren’t just enough to make your skin crawl. They harbour germs and bacteria, and can cause allergies and asthma in some people.

Cockroaches love dark, warm and humid conditions like pipes and drains in laundries, kitchens and bathrooms, and sure enough, my resident roaches were coming and going as they pleased through a tiny hole in my bathroom wall.

Being young and pretty clueless back then, I’d stuffed it with toilet paper. I can only imagine my resident cockroaches rolling around in laughter, at my sad attempt to keep them out.

Essential Oils to Keep Roaches Away

In hindsight I would have been better off filling the hole with cotton wool balls soaked in an essential oil like peppermint or citrus.

Yes, you read that right – you can use essential oils to keep roaches away!

According to research, the following plant essential oils are deterrents or even toxic to some breeds of cockroach:

• citrus;
• rosemary;
• mint / peppermint;
• eucalyptus / tea tree;
• clove;
• vetiver; and
• oregano.

What a lovely way to deal with an ugly problem: cockroaches. I’ve always liked burning essential oils in a diffuser to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere in my home. Now I will be even more relaxed, knowing that it’s helping to prevent any more nocturnal encounters of the creepy kind!