Why You Should Look Into Placing A Bit Of Lemon Juice Next To Your Door

Spring is a time of year when many insects begin to reemerge and you may start finding ants or roaches popping up in your home. Surprisingly, reaching into your fridge for a few lemons could help keep insects out of your house. It may seem strange, but scientific studies have shown that certain components of lemons, such as juice or oils, have repellent effects on both ants and some species of cockroaches. By leaving a bit of this citrus juice or other lemon byproducts — such as essential oils or a spray made from the peel — near your home's front door or other entryways, you can help prevent ants and roaches from finding their way inside.

Lemon juice can be an effective, inexpensive, and natural way to deter these pests from your home. In some cases, lemon oils may also be capable of killing ants, which could help those that are already struggling with an infestation. For serious issues with ants or roaches invading your space, it's probably best to contact a professional pest control expert.

You may be wondering if lemons can really help prevent a cockroach infestation in your house, and it seems that research says they can. In a 2009 study from the Journal of Pesticide Science, it was found that lemon essential oils, as well as some other citrus oils, were effective for repelling three cockroach species to different degrees. While lemon essential oils were shown to be best for repelling B. germanica roaches, they also affected P. fuliginosa and P. americana, but not as greatly.

Lemon juice could also help to keep pests at bay. A 2019 study in the Journal of Emerging Investigators showed that lemon juice was a potent, non-toxic ant deterrent. Additionally, oils extracted from lemon peels are able to repel carpenter ants and the oil can prove toxic for these insects, according to a 2014 study published in the International Journal of Novel Research in Interdisciplinary Studies. This scientific research shows that lemons, specifically lemon juice or essential oils, can be a great and easy solution for ant and roach problems.

If your primary goal is to keep ants out of your house, straight-up lemon juice is the easiest and most budget-friendly solution. You could squeeze some fresh lemons and pour the juice into shallow bowls or containers. Alternatively, you could purchase a bottle of lemon juice rather than using fresh. Then, leave the juice near your front door, other entrances and windows, or other places where you've seen ants. You might also consider dripping lemon juice into any small openings outside the doors of your home. You'll probably need to replace the lemon juice often to ensure it has a strong citrus scent and doesn't spoil.

To ward off roaches, you'll likely want to use a lemon essential oil. Try placing 20 drops of the citrus oil into a spray bottle and fill it almost all the way with water. This diluted spray can now be spritzed around your doors to deter cockroaches and perhaps ants as well. If you'd prefer to DIY a lemon-repellent spray, heat citrus peels with white vinegar until it's almost boiling and leave the mixture for several hours. Strain out the peels and fill a spray bottle with your lemon vinegar. This can be applied wherever you'd like to deter roaches or repel and kill ants.