How to Get Rid of Cockroaches in Your Home
As much as we all hate cockroaches, every once in a while they manage to find their way in our homes. These crawlies have been roaming the Earth for 200 million years, and during that time they’ve become experts at infesting houses, commercial properties and even whole apartment blocks!
Cockroaches can cause damage to your home, electronics, and books. Not to mention the cross-contamination and other health problems that they can also be responsible for. While dealing with a roach infestation isn’t the cheapest and easiest thing, it’s definitely a lot cheaper than living with them and letting them infest your property.
It would be best to find a way to stop the intruders from permanently infesting your property as early as possible.
Keep reading to get some tips on how to safely get rid of the cockroaches in your home.
What attracts roaches to your property
Different cockroaches can be drawn to your home by various factors. First come the things that they need to survive, of course. This refers to an easily accessible food and water source, as well as a warm environment to live in. Once they take shelter, they can breed undisturbed.
If you provide the above, then chances are the roaches will try to get inside your home. They usually use nooks and crannies, holes, pipes or crawl into bags and different containers, which are then brought inside.
How to get rid of cockroaches on your own
Place baits around the house
You can get a store-bought bait in a childproof container or in gel form. They’re a blend of food (attractive to roaches) and poison. If this is the approach you want to take, you need to place the baits near places where you know roaches gather. Also, if you suspect where the nest is, place the baits as close to it as possible.
The only problem with this cockroach infestation treatment is that it takes a very long time to work and only works on the adults.
Once they are dead, usually the roaches' eggs hatch so the game has to begin anew. Still, this can be an effective cockroach infestation solution that can give some positive results.
Use traps
Traps are less effective than baits. They work on a population of adult roaches, but they don’t affect the nest in any way.
- You can get store-bought cockroach traps, which use an adhesive to trap the insects.
- Place traps where you know the insects gather.
- You can also make your own trap using a jar and some water. Place it near a wall. This gives the roaches a way in but no way out.
Once more, this is effective for getting rid of adult cockroaches, but the nest and the eggs are far beyond the effects of a trap.
Spray with pesticides
Pesticides are effective but can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s possible that using the spray can make the problem worse by forcing the roaches to hide deeper and change their “tactics”.
They’re very adaptable creatures. Also, it might be dangerous for children and pets, so always read the safety labels before you use them. Better restrict yourself from using pesticides if you don’t know where the nest is. A pest control professional can locate the nest and provide advice and a faster cockroach treatment.
Use natural remedies
Boric acid with honey or flour
One of the most effective home remedies you can try is this one. The boric acid can be mixed with something sweet like sugar or honey, as well as with flour to attract the insects. Place the blend where you’ve seen the cockroaches most.
Baking soda with honey or sugar
Another natural cockroach killing recipe you can test includes baking soda. You need equal parts of both the sweet substance and the bicarb soda for this to work. Since all ingredients are harmless, you can safely place the mixture in containers in your kitchen and bathroom.
Essential oils
Essential oil and water concoctions can help, not for killing the cockroaches exactly, but for keeping them away from certain areas. Peppermint and eucalyptus oil are effective natural repellents and they are completely harmless for the environment. Just pour water into a spray bottle and add the essential oil. The more drops you add, the stronger the blend.
Prevention tips against cockroach infestation
- Fix all leaks
Roaches love water. They can survive for months without food, but they can live only a few days without water. Depriving them of water is a great first step to deal with them.
- Cover your food
Cockroaches can live a long time without food, but they are also gluttonous so you can be sure that if you let food lying around, they will be soon to follow.
- Keep your home clean
Remove spills and crumbs right away is essential for the prevention of these pesky intruders. Do the dishes immediately. Put food in sealed containers, even when you’re putting it in the fridge.
- Scrub the floors regularly
This should get rid of sticky spots and breadcrumbs, thus preventing cockroaches from creeping inside in search of readily available food.
- Throw out the rubbish regularly
This is the place where all the food scraps, leftover dinners, rotten tomatoes, and putrid fruit lies. This is Treasure island for roaches, so take it out regularly.
- What attracts roaches to a property
Different cockroaches can be drawn to your home by various factors. First come the things that they need to survive, of course. This refers to an easily accessible food and water source, as well as a warm environment to live in. Once they take shelter, they can breed undisturbed.
If you provide the above, then chances are the roaches will try to get inside your home. They usually use nooks and crannies, holes, pipes or crawl into bags and different containers, which are then brought inside.