Natural Repellant?

[Gia]

Hi all!
A week or so ago I posted a thread (A Threat to Health?) about how some cockroaches were in my piggies' run. It has gotten a bit colder now so I thought they'd go away but they're still there. I was reading an article about natural roach repellents (A brief overview of natural cockroach repellents) and It mentions these things:

Tea tree oil
Tea tree oil is very effective against cockroaches. Mix quarter cup tea tree oil and quarter cup vinegar with two cups of water. Spray the mixture in and around the infested locations.
Lemon
Lemon is used for many culinary and non culinary purposes. Cut lemon into wedges. Place them in a small container. Place the container in the infested location. Cockroaches are repelled by the aroma of lemon.

Another article mentioned this:
Food-grade diatomaceous earth
Contains no toxic poisons and works on contact. Lightly coat a thin layer over insect hiding places. Repeat treatment as necessary.

Are these repellents safe to try out? I'd assume the lemon but what about the other ones? These seem like the most natural ones as other recommendations include borax, soap, and even ice cream?

Thank you! xoxo

 

[Gia]

bump

 

[Piggies&buns]

I thought I’d seen that tea tree oil was bad for them....
Not sure on everything else though

 

[Claire W]

Out of those I would try the lemon as the others could be harmful to your piggies

 

[Bill & Ted]

Can your local Council Pest Control officer look into why and where they are coming from? Or are they indigenous to California? (Rather like slugs here I suspect)

 

[Gia]

Can your local Council Pest Control officer look into why and where they are coming from? Or are they indigenous to California? (Rather like slugs here I suspect)

They come out of the drains. The city will bomb the drains every once and a while.