Safe and natural ways to get rid of annoying cockroaches at home
With the warm, moist environment that comes with living in the tropics, also comes an army of bugs – cockroaches included. So we zap those pesky bugs with anything we can find, usually insecticides
But at the same time, do we really want to expose our kids to the poison of insecticides? Here are some clever ways to repel cockroaches naturally.
REPEL COCKROACHES NATURALLY WITH INGREDIENTS FOUND IN YOUR KITCHEN!
There are some ingredients in your kitchen that can be used to trap, repel, and kill those pesky critters at your home.
ESSENTIAL OILS
Did you know that cockroaches hate the smell of peppermint, lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree oils? That is because it disrupts and masks the scent trails which cockroaches use to hunt for their food.
BORAX
Borax is an effective natural cleaner and a safer alternative to many conventional cleaners. It contains boric acid that when ingested by cockroaches, destroys the cellular lining of their guts.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Besides just being repulsive, cockroaches may contribute to allergies, and they can deposit microbes on your food and utensils that could make you sick.
DIY Solutions
The best way to avoid and get rid of cucarachas is good sanitation. You can also eliminate access to your kitchen and other likely infestation sites by applying caulk to seal cracks and other entry points.
Boric acid is another effective roach killer. You slowly blow it into cracks and crevices, or lightly spread it in areas where humans won’t come into contact with it—behind window and door frames, on closet and bookcase shelves, on and behind baseboards and molding strips, and in basements, behind and under washing machines or in wall cracks. Keep the dust dry and undisturbed; if it gets wet, the area will have to be re-treated.
If your tidiness and entry-level pesticides don’t kill the horde, or you need immediate relief from a severe infestation, you (or a pro) can try a chemical insecticide spray or dust. Most contain pyrethroids, which agitate, repel, and quickly kill roaches. Although pyrethroids usually work quickly, some cockroaches are resistant or learn to avoid them. And because the effectiveness of these poisons is fairly short-term, your infestation may return when eggs hatch (egg cases are often resistant to pyrethroids).
Safety First
From an environmental and human safety standpoint, traps and baits pose few if any risks. And boric acid powder has very low toxicity to humans. Pyrethroid sprays decompose fairly rapidly—usually within a few weeks—and the concentrations found in aerosol cans are not very dangerous to humans. But pyrethroid sprays can have powerful, immediate effects on humans who inhale, ingest, or touch them in concentrated form. Effects range from mild (dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision) to severe (unconsciousness, muscle twitches, difficulty breathing, death).
Cockroach control
If you have ever lived in a city, you have probably run across roaches. They are the most common pest around the world and they are everywhere. It is estimated that there are 4,600 species of roach, 25-30 of which are associated with human habitations.
Roaches can be disturbing to find in your home, which is bad enough, but they are also known to contribute to carry a number of diseases, which is why getting a professional roach control and removal specialist is so important. Cockroaches are filthy insects with bad habits you do not want around your home or food prep areas. Controlling roaches is important because they can help spread disease and dirt around a home and cause businesses to lose their reputation or even be shut down.
Know your cockroach
Although there are numerous species of roaches around the planet, the ones that are most common for homeowners are:
German cockroach – these roaches prefer to live and breed indoors and most often found around your kitchen or scurrying around your bathroom.
American cockroach – found in basements and kitchens, but prefer to breed outdoors and live on trees.
Oriental cockroach – dark black or brown in color they love cool, damp areas. These are a health concern because they love to feed on garbage and decaying things.
The problem: roaches are tough
Roaches have been around for a long time. The fossil record shows signs of roaches going back as far as 350 million years. You don’t get to survive that long on this planet without being hard to kill!
Some roach facts to be aware of:
German roaches are the fastest reproducing species of pest roaches. A single female and her offspring can produce over 30,000 individuals within a year.
Roaches can live anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months without food or water depending on the species.
Considerable health risks are caused by roaches contaminating food and triggering asthma/allergy attacks.
How to prevent cockroaches
While you should always contact pest control professionals if you have an active infestation of cockroaches, there are steps you can take to prevent cockroaches from gaining entry to your home or business.
Eliminate food sources – store dry foods in tightly sealed containers or plastic bags and do not leave food sitting out on counters. Do not leave liquids in sinks or buckets.
Clear all waste food and liquid spillage – clean up food debris from food preparation areas, under sinks and appliances. Empty garbage cans on a daily basis and keep all garbage or compost in sealed bins.
Remove pet food – and drink and litter trays before nightfall.
Rinse cans, bottles and plastics – before putting them in recycling bins.
De-clutter – remove old stacks of newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes and all other forms of clutter from the floor or bottom of cupboards.
Varnish or paint wood shelves – to seal them, and wipe them clean regularly.
Seal entry points – to deny access to cockroaches. Key risks are gaps around pipes, drains and common walls with neighboring properties. Tiny cracks around skirting boards and behind electrical sockets should also be plugged.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches in Your Apartment
Your apartment should be your sanctuary, especially in these troubling times. That said, a cockroach infestation will certainly ruin your chances of enjoying your home. No one wants to share their quarters with these pests. They can carry disease, cause allergy flare-ups, and make your home smell
It’s imperative to understand how to get rid of roaches in an apartment, and, more importantly, how to keep them out. First things first, you should notify your landlord or property manager of the situation, and see how they can help out. Unfortunately, cockroaches have a well-earned reputation for being both difficult to get rid of and seemingly indestructible. However, that’s not to say that once you have an infestation of roaches you won’t be able to drive them out.
What Attracts Roaches?
Before diving into how to get rid of roaches, it’s important to understand what attracts them. Not only can this knowledge help you avoid them in the future, but it can also help you get to the root of your infestation problem. These are two of the most common ways renters attract roaches.
Food
Home pests such as cockroaches need food to survive. Typically, roaches will be attracted to food in homes. That’s not to say that you can’t keep food in the apartment. Of course you can! It’s how you store food that can be a problem. If you leave food out for a long enough time, it will attract cockroaches (and potentially other pests).
Dirty Dishes
Dirty dishes can also attract roaches. A few dishes left in the sink overnight won’t necessarily cause an infestation. However, a kitchen sink that is perpetually full of dishes with leftover remnants of food will certainly attract roaches. These dishes will inadvertently act as the consistent source of food that roaches need to thrive.
Cockroach Control – How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Of all the possible bug and insect infestations that homes may at some time or other be host to, cockroach infestations are certainly among the most serious. The reason is simple; cockroaches carry and spread diseases. They are associated with a wide variety of other health problems too, including asthma and allergy related conditions. Harmful microbes carried on their bodies are easily transferred to exposed food, either by direct contact or indirectly via surfaces that have already been contaminated by cockroaches passing by. Cockroaches are a serious health hazard in the home, and should be dealt with as effectively as possible. What makes them even more of a problem is their prolific reproduction rate. Four hundred eggs from a single female in one year can drastically increase the size of any local population.
Categories of Cockroach Control Products
Cockroach Killer Sprays are the most common method for controlling cockroaches. For best results, we recommend using a spray with a quick knock-down such as to kill cockroaches on contact and a long-lasting residual such as Pest Expert Formula C Cockroach Killer Spray for continued protection against cockroaches.
Cockroach Killer Powders are very effective at controlling cockroach infestations, without the use chemical insecticides, but kill cockroaches by cutting through the exoskeleton of the insect. As powders such as Smite Organic Diatomaceous Earth Powder are free from chemicals and insecticides, they can be used in chemical sensitive areas such as kitchens.
Cockroach Killer Fumers & Foggers are the ideal products for eliminating a large amount of cockroaches in one treatment. Once set off, the fogger or fumer will release a powerful insecticide smoke or mist into the atmosphere, penetrating even the hardest to reach places in your room, killing most dust mites in its path.
Cockroach Killer Kits such as this Small Cockroach Killer Kit contain all the necessary equipment for the quick and efficient control of small to large scale cockroach infestations. Our kits can be used by amateurs with little knowledge of pest control, to eradicate cockroaches from the premises.
Tell-Tale Signs
First, you should do a little investigation to find out whether you have a problem in the first place, and, if you have, what the scale of the problem is. Evidence of cockroach presence, apart from the obvious, such as seeing live or dead specimens in your house, include: droppings, smear marks, a peculiar and unpleasant smell and discarded casts and egg cases. If there are no signs of any infestation, you should make sure that it will remain that way. You can take steps to minimize the chances of it ever becoming a problem in your home by following the steps given in this article.
Preventing Cockroach Infestations
Prevention is better than cure as the old saying goes, and nowhere is it more apt than in the case of cockroach infestations. With care and vigilance on your part, you can make it difficult for cockroaches to gain a foothold. Maintaining a clean and hygienic environment should be your number one priority. Make sure you remove all dropped food remains from food shelves, storage cupboards, etc. Rubbish bins should be secured too. Use the type with lids that will help prevent cockroaches being attracted to any discarded food inside, and empty them every day into your main rubbish container outside the house. In other words, don’t wait until you’ve filled your indoor bins before emptying them.
Try to block all possible entrances to your house, such as small cracks or spaces in floorboards or beneath skirting boards, etc. especially in basements. Ensure that all food in the kitchen, or anywhere it’s stored, is covered and kept in suitable containers with secure lids. Cockroaches will eat anything, and are attracted by, and thrive on, rotting food waste. Disinfectant based cleaning products will remove any food residues that may have been deposited on surfaces.