Bay Leaves for Roaches: Do They Work, and How to Use Them Safely

Bay leaves for roaches do very little: the dried leaves may nudge a few cockroaches away from one cupboard for a while, but they kill none and cannot end an infestation. The appeal is easy to understand, since the remedy is cheap, smells pleasant and already sits in the spice rack.

The weak point lies in the leaf's own chemistry. The compound that gives bay leaves their sharp smell is the one researchers have actually tested on cockroaches, and the results behind the popular claim are thinner than the popularity of the tip suggests.

Do Bay Leaves Repel Roaches?

Bay leaves may repel roaches slightly, but the evidence comes only from a few small lab studies. Nobody has shown that leaves tucked into a cupboard keep cockroaches out of a real home. Here is what is behind the idea, and why it does not hold up as a treatment.

What Gives Bay Leaves Their Smell?

Bay leaves get their strong smell from essential oils, mainly a compound called 1,8-cineole (also known as eucalyptol). It makes up about 45% of the essential oil of bay laurel, and one 2017 analysis of Italian bay leaves measured it at 31.9%. Bay leaves also contain eugenol and other aromatic oils.

The bay leaves sold in Canadian grocery stores normally come from bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), a Mediterranean tree. Be aware that other plants are also sold as "bay leaf", such as Indian bay leaf and Indonesian bay leaf. They are different species with a different chemistry, which matters when you read claims online.

What the Research Shows

Research on bay leaves and cockroaches is thin and mostly decades old:

• 1984, Ohio Journal of Science: Kansas State University chemists described cineole, the main compound in bay leaves, as a natural repellent to the American cockroach. The study looked at which part of the molecule causes the effect, not at bay leaves in a home.
• Iowa State University: researchers tested dried bay leaves on German cockroaches in a two-chamber choice box (tests run in 1989, published in 1992). The published summary does not report a result.
• 2014, Universitas Lampung (Indonesia): 5 grams of bay leaves repelled adult American cockroaches for up to 72 hours in a lab test, with repellency above 70%. However, the leaves tested were Indonesian bay leaves (Syzygium polyanthum), not the bay laurel in your spice rack.
• 2009, Auburn University: in a study of essential oil compounds against German cockroaches, 1,8-cineole had the lowest repellency of the compounds reported, 43%.

That last point matters in Canada, because the German cockroach is the indoor roach Health Canada describes, found in buildings as far north as Nunavut. The compound that gives bay leaves their smell was the weakest repellent in the Auburn tests.

Why Lab Results Do Not Carry Over to Your Kitchen

Bay leaf lab results do not carry over well to a home for three reasons. First, the scent fades: a 2025 study in the journal Insects notes that many essential oil compounds evaporate soon after application, which cuts their lasting effect, and that lab conditions contrast significantly with real-world use. Second, a smell in one cupboard does nothing about the food, water and hiding spots elsewhere in your home. Third, no authority backs the remedy: the cockroach pages of Health Canada, the Government of Manitoba, UC IPM and Penn State Extension do not mention bay leaves at all.

As far back as 1999, an Iowa State University cockroach researcher put it bluntly: "There are really no commercial cockroach repellents." If dedicated products struggle to repel roaches, a few dried leaves in a cupboard will not do better.

Do Bay Leaves Kill Roaches?

Bay leaves do not kill roaches. In the Auburn research, 1,8-cineole was toxic to German cockroaches only as a concentrated vapour in a closed test container, which is nothing like a leaf sitting in an open cupboard. Even pest control companies that mention bay leaves describe them as a repellent only. And repelling has a downside: UC IPM warns that products that repel cockroaches can disperse them to other areas of the building, from which they may come back later.

How Do You Use Bay Leaves for Roaches?

Bay leaves for roaches are best used as a small extra in clean, sealed food cupboards, never as the main treatment. If you want to try them, it costs little, and these steps keep it safe.

Fresh Versus Dried Leaves

Dried bay leaves from the spice aisle are the practical choice: they are cheap, easy to find, and dried leaves are what the Iowa State researchers tested. Fresh or dried, the scent fades as the oils evaporate. Buy culinary bay laurel (the label may say Laurus nobilis or bay laurel) rather than picking leaves from a garden shrub, since other plants also go by "bay" or "laurel" names.

Where to Place Bay Leaves

Bay leaves should go where roaches would look for food, not in random corners. German cockroaches hide during the day in dark, warm, humid cracks, mostly in kitchens and bathrooms, according to Penn State Extension. Good spots are:

1. At the back of food cupboards and pantry shelves
2. In the cabinet under the kitchen sink
3. Behind or beside the fridge and stove, if pets cannot reach the spot
4. Inside bathroom vanities

Put the leaves in a small open container or a cloth sachet so they do not crumble into food. For more ways to keep this room roach-free, read our guide to preventing roaches in the kitchen.

When to Replace Bay Leaves

Bay leaves should be replaced once you can no longer smell them when you open the cupboard. There is no tested replacement schedule, because no study has measured how long dried leaves stay effective in a home. Swapping them out costs little, but if you keep seeing roaches with fresh leaves in place, take that as your sign to switch methods.

Are Bay Leaves Safe Around Pets and Children?

Bay leaves are a normal cooking herb for people, but bay laurel is toxic to dogs, cats and horses, according to the ASPCA. "Natural" does not mean harmless, so place them with the same care as any other product.

Pets

Bay leaves can make pets sick if they chew or swallow them. The ASPCA lists eugenol and other essential oils as the toxic principles, with vomiting and diarrhea as the signs, and warns that eating a large amount of whole leaves can cause an obstruction. Keep leaves inside closed cupboards your pet cannot open, never on the floor or under appliances where a dog or cat can reach. If you think your pet ate bay leaves, call your veterinarian.

Children

Bay leaves used as a roach remedy are not food once they have sat in a cupboard, and whole leaves are not something small children should put in their mouths. Keep them in closed upper cupboards or in sachets out of reach, the same way you would store any household product.

Homemade Bay Leaf Sprays

Homemade bay leaf sprays and oil mixes are not a good idea. Health Canada warns that homemade pesticide recipes are not tested for effectiveness or for their effects on health and the environment, and that making them can release harmful fumes, irritate skin and eyes and cause accidental poisoning. If you want a spray, choose a registered product and look for a PCP number ("Reg. No. ... P.C.P. Act") on the label, which shows Health Canada has approved it.

How Do Bay Leaves Compare With Other Roach Remedies?

Bay leaves are one of the mildest roach remedies: they cost little and are easy to try, but every option below has more evidence behind it. Here is how bay leaves and cockroaches stack up against the alternatives.

Bay Leaves vs Peppermint Oil

Bay leaves and peppermint oil share the same weakness: both rely on a scent that fades. Peppermint oil killed German cockroaches in a 2025 lab study, but only when applied undiluted directly on the insect, and the same study warns that these oils evaporate quickly. See our guides to peppermint oil for roaches and essential oils for cockroaches before you try either.

Bay Leaves vs Citrus

Citrus has stronger lab evidence than bay leaves. A 2009 study in the Journal of Pesticide Science found that citrus oils such as lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange repelled German cockroaches in the lab, with limonene doing most of the work. It is still a lab result, not proof that peels keep roaches away at home. Read why roaches hate citrus for more.

Bay Leaves vs Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth does something bay leaves cannot: it dries out the insects that crawl through it. UC IPM lists desiccant dusts such as diatomaceous earth as effective when applied into wall voids. Health Canada notes it stays active as long as it is kept dry, and advises you to avoid breathing the dust when you apply it.

Bay Leaves vs Boric Acid

Boric acid kills roaches and, unlike bay leaves, it is not a repellent, so roaches do not avoid it. UC IPM says that if boric acid stays dry and undisturbed, it provides control for a very long time. Use a registered product, follow the label, and keep it away from children and pets.

Bay Leaves vs Roach Baits

Roach baits are the clear winner. UC IPM calls bait products the primary pesticides used to treat cockroach infestations, and Penn State Extension says baiting is an effective way to control or eliminate German cockroaches. Roaches eat the bait and die, while bay leaves at most send them somewhere else. For tested options, see our picks for the best cockroach killer.

What Works Better Than Bay Leaves for a Roach Infestation?

Baits, sanitation and sealing work better than bay leaves for a roach infestation, because they remove roaches and what they need instead of just pushing them away. Use them together for the best results.

When Bay Leaves Are Not Enough

Bay leaves are not enough once you see roaches in daylight, in several rooms, or night after night. German cockroaches multiply fast: each egg case holds about 30 young, and one female and her offspring can produce over 30,000 roaches in a year, according to UC IPM. Our guide on how many cockroaches make an infestation helps you judge where you stand.

Roach Baits

Roach baits work best placed where roaches travel and hide. UC IPM recommends placing baits under appliances, along walls and in cabinets. Health Canada notes that tamper-proof bait stations kill roaches about 48 to 96 hours after they eat the active ingredient. Choose products with a PCP number, read the label, and do not spray near baits, since sprays can scatter roaches away from them.

Sanitation

Sanitation removes the food and water that keep roaches coming back. UC IPM points out that even tiny amounts of crumbs or liquids caught between cracks are enough to feed them. Health Canada recommends:

• Keeping food in tightly sealed plastic or glass containers
• Putting garbage in sealed containers and taking it out daily
• Never leaving dirty dishes overnight
• Fixing leaky taps and pipes

Vacuum cracks and crevices regularly to remove food and debris, as UC IPM advises.

Sealing Entry Points

Sealing cracks, crevices and pipe openings cuts off the hiding places and paths roaches use, as Health Canada recommends. UC IPM adds that false-bottom cupboards, hollow walls and similar spaces are common cockroach refuges that should be properly sealed.

Sticky Traps

Sticky traps show you whether you have a problem and where it is. UC IPM calls sticky traps the best way to detect and monitor cockroach populations. Health Canada also describes a homemade jar trap: coat the inside of a small jar with petroleum jelly, put a bit of bread in it, and kill caught roaches in soapy water or by freezing the sealed jar for at least 24 hours.

When to Call a Pest Control Professional

A pest control professional makes sense when roaches keep showing up despite baits and cleaning, or when you live in an apartment or condo. The Government of Manitoba notes that licensed pest control technicians are needed to deal with infestations effectively, and that store-bought chemicals may spread cockroaches to other units. If you rent, tell your landlord right away: in Manitoba, once landlords have been told, they are responsible for making sure their units are pest-free. To learn what a treatment involves, read about cockroach pest control, or get a quote from a recommended local exterminator through Pest Agent's referral form. For everything else about these pests, visit the cockroach hub or our full guide to cockroach repellents.