Instead of using chemical products that may be harmful to your health, you can use natural household ingredients to repel cockroaches.

After eating a banana, don’t rush to throw away the peel — you can actually use it to make a cockroach trap.

First, cut the banana peel into small pieces and put them into a container. Then, add a bit of salt and detergent, and mix well.

The banana peel will attract cockroaches to eat, while the salt and detergent will dehydrate them and make it hard for them to breathe.

Place the container with banana peels in areas where cockroaches often come to forage at night. After just one night, you’ll see how effective this method is.

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Other natural ways to keep cockroaches away

1. Use soap

Mix 20 ml of liquid soap with 500 ml of water, stir well, then place the mixture near the base of cabinets, kitchen counters, or spray it directly in areas cockroaches frequently pass by.

2. Orange or lemon peels

Dry the peels of oranges, lemons, or pomelos, and place them where cockroaches often appear. The fragrance from these citrus peels helps repel cockroaches naturally and effectively.

3. Onion and garlic

Garlic’s pungent smell is an excellent cockroach repellent. You can sprinkle some garlic powder in corners where cockroaches usually roam — they’ll stay far away. Note: since garlic powder can easily scatter in the wind, it’s best to use this method in enclosed corners.

Alternatively, you can extract juice from onions and garlic, then mix in a spoonful of garlic powder. Add a little water, stir well, and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray it in areas where cockroaches appear frequently.

If you can’t make the juice, finely mince onions and garlic, then mix them with ground pepper. Divide the mixture into small dishes and place them where cockroaches gather.

Onions themselves have a strong smell that cockroaches can’t stand. Simply slice an onion into thin pieces and place them around the areas where cockroaches usually look for food — the sharp scent will drive them away.

4. Baking soda and sugar

Mix baking soda and sugar in a 1:1 ratio and place the mixture in corners of the house. The sugar attracts cockroaches, while the baking soda causes them to bloat and dehydrate, eventually killing them. You can also leave a small dish of water nearby so that cockroaches drink after eating — and you’ll soon see the results.

To prevent cockroaches from entering through drain pipes, you can also use baking soda. Dissolve one spoonful of baking soda in a cup of hot water, stir well, and pour the solution down the drain.

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Wipe or wash after using the toilet? A big lesson from America — the country that never uses bidets

Americans never use bidet hoses after going to the toilet — and many people around the world don’t either.

Let’s be honest: when it comes to human “bathroom habits,” things get complicated. People are divided into camps — whether to squat or sit, to wipe or wash afterward, or both.

But Americans are surprisingly united on this issue: they wipe, not wash. If you travel to the U.S., you’ll rarely see a bidet hose attached to a toilet. While countries like Italy, Greece, and especially Japan consider bidets essential, Americans remain loyal to toilet paper.

However, this loyalty isn’t necessarily a good thing. According to recent studies, using only toilet paper is actually quite unhygienic — it can even lead to health problems like infections or anal fissures.

Hygiene expert Rose George explained:

“It’s hard to accept that millions of people walk around every day with that area still dirty. Toilet paper can wipe, but it doesn’t truly clean.”

Many Americans try to solve this by using wet wipes (baby wipes). While they seem more hygienic, George disagrees.

“Try spilling chocolate on a wooden floor, wiping it with a wet tissue, then wiping again with dry paper. You’ll still see chocolate residue in the cracks. The human anus has folds — now you get the idea.”

In addition, wiping too hard with paper or wet wipes can cause anal fissures — small tears in the lining of the anus that cause pain and bleeding.

Some people may even develop hemorrhoids, where the rectal and anal veins swell — a more serious and difficult-to-treat condition.

Furthermore, wiping from back to front can transfer bacteria into the urinary tract, leading to urinary infections.

The key takeaway?
These issues can largely be avoided by washing with water using a bidet or sprayer.

So, wipe or wash — you know the answer now.