Cat Eating Door 😔

My cat looooves the basement and has started chewing on the wood door to try to get down there. He’s allowed to explore the basement when i’m down there doing laundry but it’s unfinished and there’s a bunch of critters/cobwebs I don’t want him to get into so I limit his time down there.

Recently he’s been trying to eat the door in order to get into the basement. The door has no paint on it it’s just a cheap wooden door that my landlord has installed. Could I use lemon juice as a deterrent or is that harmful to my cat/door in the long run?