Can Pandan Leaves REALLY Repel Cockroaches?

Felix Lin

Oh, those dark cockroaches infesting everything! The floors, the carpeting, even the car isn’t safe from their damn dirty antennae! And somehow, even with thousand sprays of bug repellent, nothing seems to be keeping these creatures out. It might be time to rake out the pandan leaves… but wait, you ask, how is this going to be effective in keeping the cockroaches out? Well, here in this article, we will explain.

Living in Singapore, you should be able to find them at your local market. this herb contains volatile oil which consist of compounds made from terpenes and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons which produces a smell that repels cockroaches.

But are pandan leaves really an effective solution against the vermin?

Since pandan leaves are a natural product, their levels of useful aroma chemicals vary significantly from one plant to the next. Pandan essences and extracts tend to produce a more reliable repellent effect, as long as the concentration of essential oils have been tested and normalized. In general, stronger-smelling leaves offer greater repellent ability.

They are actually much more potent and effective only when their essence are extracted; it required a much greater concentration of their pandan to have an effect. A study conducted in 2003, done by the School of Biological Sciences at the National University of Singapore showed that though pandan leaves work as a natural cockroach repellent, the concentration required to keep the critters away amount to you needing to be a pandan leaves trader.

In Singapore, drivers still believe in the myth of using pandan leaves to repel cockroaches in their vehicles. But given that there are limited benefits to using pandan leaves, it might just be worth a shot to try other contemporary methods. But then if you are a fan of Pandan Cake, sure; why not get some pandan leaves for your car. It’ll do you and your car some good, and sure beats air fresheners that some use anyway.