Not gonna lie: it’s a little bit embarrassing to be writing a blog post about the great natural roach repellent you’ve been using, on account of how it let’s everyone who reads this know that you had roaches in your house. So embarrassing…

In my defense, I live in the South (where roaches are common) and I have little ones at home, which means that crumbs on the floor and spots of water here and there are easy to find inside my home. Also, I am not the world’s best housekeeper (which I guess is not exactly helping my whole “defense” thing). These factors make my home pretty much a roaches dream abode.

I, however, do not feel similarly excited about these pests who decided to become our roomies. They needed to GO, and NOW.

But with those two little ones around, as well as two cats, I was SUPER leery about putting out poisonous bait on the floor. I wanted to have a more natural roach repellent option, and I’m happy to report that I found one!

Here’s what you need:

• Cypress essential oil
• Peppermint essential oil
• a glass spray bottle
• salt

To make your natural roach repellent, simply add 1 tsp salt to 2 cups of warm water, and then add 12 drops of cypress and 12 drops of peppermint. Give it a good swirl in the glass container, and you are good to go! I suggest spraying the areas where you most often find the roaches showing up (so for us that was the cracks in between our backsplash and our kitchen walls (EWWWW! I KNOW!!!). Spray liberally, twice a day, until your roaches stop showing up! And then I would spray the area about once a week just to keep that smell (which you will actually LOVE but that the roaches HATE) around to discourage any new roaches from attempting to move in.

I do not believe that this spray actually kills the roaches. I think it is simply a repellent, meant to discourage them from sticking around. It helps make the places where they go to find their food and water so unappealing that they’d rather go elsewhere. This may not be the right solution for everyone, especially if you seem to have a very bad infestation, but if you simply want the bugs to take a hike, I noticed a difference right away when using this blend.

If you are new to essential oils, you may be wondering how they work. In this case, these are simply two smells that roaches don’t tolerate. They are perfectly safe, however, for humans to smell and even to taste (not that you would lick the wall after applying roach spray, but don’t put it past your kids or your pets!).

The other reason I love using these oils is because, rather than a nasty, toxic conventional roach spray that you might pick up and use for just that one purpose, essential oils have MANY amazing uses. Peppermint is our go-to when we want to stop our hiccups, or when we want a really invigorating, energizing scent throughout the house, or even when doing some baking (1 drop in your brownie mix = OMGoodness!). Cypress promotes liver health and discourages fluid retention, and it also supports respiratory health. So from my perspective, why put a poison in your house when you could use something that can actually be great for your entire family while still giving bugs their marching orders.

I’ve linked to the particular glass bottle and the particular salt I use above, but if you’d like to get the essential oils, you’ll want to connect with a representative for Young Living, which is the company with the highest quality essential oils on the market (by leaps and bounds, friends). You may already know someone who uses and loves their oils, and if so, please reach out to them!

If you aren’t connected with anyone who loves Young Living, I am a huge fan and a wholesale member, and I’d be happy to add these oils to my once-a-month group order for you. Simply reach out to me at (stuffparentsneed) at (gmail) dot com and let me know how I can help. I share my wholesale member discount with newbies to essential oils so that you can get the best possible price.

Your roaches can be gone soon, and without poisoning your family in the process! #WINNING!