A pantry staple costing just a few dollars at the supermarket could be the answer to your summer pest woes.

A Brisbane-based cleaning expert recently shared a budget-friendly ‘hack’ that can help banish annoying cockroaches – without the need for expensive insect sprays.

Her tip? Use the humble baking ingredient, bicarb soda.

‘Repel cockroaches with bicarb soda and lavender oil,’ home expert Leanne revealed in an Instagram

.

‘Bicarb disrupts their digestion, while lavender deters them.’

Sprinkling bicarb soda in cockroach-prone areas acts as a deterrent because it disrupts the scent trails that crawling creatures use to find their way.

The presence of the fine powder encourages existing invaders to move on, and keeps new critters from settling in.

The best part? Bicarb is dirt cheap – at Woolworths, a 500g pack of Essentials Bicarbonate Soda costs just $2.45..

This affordable pest-repelling trick is sure to be welcome news for Sydneysiders, with multiple suburbs across the Harbour City recently named among the most pest-infested in Australia

According to a recent research report published by Airtasker, Sydney’s city/inner south region took top spot as Australia’s most pest-infested area, followed by the eastern suburbs in second place and the inner west in third.

Within the top 10 pest-infested Australian locations, Sydney dominated eight spots on the list, with Brisbane’s inner city ranking fourth and Melbourne’s inner region in sixth place.

Leanne’s recent

also included other other simple tips for keeping pesky bugs at around the house.

To ward off spiders, the cleaning expert suggested rubbing a bar of soap along window frames.

‘Adding soap to window sills repels spiders, due to its strong scent and slippery surface,’ she explained.

To keep bugs from settling on indoor walls, Leanne recommends mixing peppermint oil with water and wiping it along surfaces using a sponge or mop.

Similar to the way bicarb soda discourages cockroaches, Leanne explained that peppermint’s scent ‘repels bugs by disrupting their trails and irritating their senses’.

Returning to the star ingredient, bicarb soda has long been heralded for its multi-purpose uses well beyond baking.

Other handy uses for the cooking ingredient around the home include unblocking drains, cleaning couches, and freshening ovens.

To unblock a drain, simply flush with boiling water, then add half a cup of baking soda, followed by a cup of vinegar and one cup of hot water.

Once the bubbles subside, run hot tap water down the drain for 30 seconds to a minute, and your drains will be clear.

For couch stains, whether it’s spilled drinks or muddy paws, cleaning experts recommend sprinkling baking soda on the mark before rinsing it off to better lift the stain.

When it comes to oven cleaning, just mix half a cup of baking soda with a few tablespoons of water to make a paste. Coat this mixture over the oven and let it sit overnight.

The next day, spray a small amount of vinegar onto the baking soda residue and use a cloth to wipe it clean.