Stop Tossing Orange Peels—Try These Genius Hacks This Spring

(KNUE-FM) Wait, don't throw those orange peels away just yet.

Also, kudos for eating a bit of citrus! Heaven knows we all could probably use more Vitamin C.

Ironically, I ran across this right after eating my first orange in over a year. I'm not sure why exactly.

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If I'm being frank, it's likely because I have an unfortunate tendency to buy a bag of oranges only to throw them away in a couple of weeks. After all, the contents inside had started turning gray-orange and festering.

Hey, that's a lot of oranges.

Essential Oils, Porch Hacks, and Pest Control

But, here's the thing: Even when I eat an orange that is sweet and not at all mealy and bitter like some have been, throwing away the thick, citrusy-smelling peels just seems a waste.

After all, I've heard since I was a kid that orange peels were used for various purposes around our houses and East Texas gardens.

House Digest shared an article that gives some advice I'd heard from family and friends for years. For example, did you know 'You can use orange peels to make candied orange or create fragrant essential oil?'

Don't throw away those orange peels!
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Orange You Glad You Didn’t Throw That Out?

I wish I could say I was the type of person who makes candied oranges, but I'm not—at least not yet. Given how many of us find citrusy oils beautifully intoxicating, I have always thought it would be neat to make essential oils. Maybe I'll try that.

I'd also heard that we can scatter orange peels in our plants to keep pests away, but I'd never heard about this.

This Bug Repellent Might Already Be in Your Kitchen

Research done by Bioresource Technology confirms that extracts from the peels of the Citrus sinensis (sweet orange) species of orange and the Citrus aurantifolia (lime) species were effective repellents against mosquitoes and other insects, including cockroaches and houseflies.

To be clear, they used orange oil in their study.

However, it's also interesting that Orkin states that orange peels may also be used to repel cockroaches. If you don't mind seeing orange peels scattered about your porch areas, it may be worth a shot as we get closer to summer.

Plus, maybe it'll encourage us to eat more oranges, which (probably) can't hurt.