If you thought only you and your family members inhabit your house, think again. There are numerous pests that share your space, unsolicited and undesirably so. Ants, termites, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents, earwigs, bees, fleas, bugs, moths, wasps, and silverfish are some of the most common household pests in the country.

But no need to worry. Here are some DIY homemade pest control ideas using essential oils that can help keep you and your property safe from pests.

Repel bugs with citronella candles
Not just you, but everyone in the same room can benefit from these bug-repellent candles that keep mosquitoes and flies away. Follow these steps:

• Add a few sprigs of fresh rosemary stalks into a 20oz mason jar.
• Cut lemons into 1/4-inch thick slices and add three to four pieces to the jar.
• Now fill 3/4th of the mason jar with water, and add ten drops of citronella essential oil and ten drops of lemongrass essential oil to it.
• Top this with a tea light candle and light it.

Now you can allow the oils to work their magic on the bugs while you enjoy your evening uninterrupted. Remember that you can re-use the water-filled mason jar by simply adding a few drops of essential oil every day to keep it potent and replace the lemon slices every couple of days.

Cockroach-proof your home with eucalyptus balls
Cockroaches come inside homes in search of food. And with the pace at which they multiply, these scavengers can infest your home in no time. So try this DIY pest control method as soon as you lay your eyes on the first cockroach. Or, better still, prevent them from entering your kitchens and bathrooms by using these essential oil balls.

Eucalyptus and tea tree essential oils are the best combatants for cockroaches. So let us use them in our recipe:

• In a plastic or ceramic 20oz bowl, add 40 drops of essential oil (20 drops of each oil), and fill the bowl with water.
• Now dip cotton balls in this solution and squeeze them gently.
• Place the balls liberally in the infested areas.

You can place the balls in the sink drains, inside cupboards, on top of cabinets, in the corners of fully stocked shelves, behind the refrigerator, and just about anywhere you see the disgusting pests wandering. You will witness cockroaches magically disappearing from your home in no time. Repeat this every few weeks when the cotton balls dry up completely.

Keep away ants with cinnamon spray
Ants are tenacious and hardworking, and gathering and storing food is their sole aim. So they will find their way through any tiny crack in wood or cement, build their nests, and establish their colonies. They can assemble in hundreds very quickly, contaminate food, bite, sting, and even damage wooden structures.

This method is even simpler than the ones we have already discussed. There are the simple steps:

• Fill a one-liter spray bottle with water and add 30 drops of cinnamon essential to it.
• Close the bottle and shake well. The spray is ready!

You can spray the liquid on kitchen counters, under cabinets, wall cracks, entranceways, concrete flooring, near pet food and water bowls, wet or moist bathrooms, and near trash cans. These are all some of the places ants are likely to build their colonies in your home. You can also sprinkle fine cinnamon powder to disrupt ant trails. Simply make a line with cinnamon powder, and ants will not cross it.

And the others
The other essential oils that you can use around your house as pest control include the following:

• Lavender essential oil to repel fleas and ticks on pet cats and dogs.
• Spearmint or peppermint essential oil to keep spiders and moths away.
• Clove oil to keep bed bugs away.
• White vinegar to repel midge flies and aphids in your home.