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Essential oil sprays kill cockroaches on contact, study finds

The University of Kentucky researchers tested sprays on German cockroaches, and the contact kills were real; the colony hiding behind the fridge stayed fine.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on The Five O'Clock
Published 4:48 PM ET, Friday, October 16, 2026

Photo: German cockroach — Photo: Bagous · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

First reported by Phys.org: “Essential oil sprays kill cockroaches on contact but offer little lasting control”.
Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 4:48 PM ET on The Five O'Clock, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Phys.orgEssential oil sprays kill cockroaches on contact but offer little lasting control

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentA University of Kentucky study found that essential oil sprays kill German cockroaches on contact, but they do very little against a whole infestation.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the lavender spray works, it just doesn't work on the cockroach's whole family?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentRight.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentYou soak one roach and feel like a hero, while the rest of the colony is hiding behind your fridge and hasn't heard a thing.