If cockroaches manage to settle in your home, it can be really difficult to get rid of them. They eat your food, damage wallpaper, books and even electronic devices. Additionally, some species can spread germs that are dangerous to humans. Read this article to evict these insects from your home and prevent them from returning by using bait, insecticides, traps or barriers. Choose the method that best suits your needs.
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Deprive them of water and food
Step 1. The cockroaches must have a source of water
Depending on the temperature of the environment and their size, they can live even a month without food, but not more than a week without water. Find any water leaks in your home and fix them. Once their water source is eliminated, they will be much more interested in eating some gel-based bait you can install.
Step 2. Clean the house thoroughly
A clean home is key to keeping cockroaches away, and the first place to start is the kitchen. Wash the dishes and put the food away immediately after meals. Clean up crumbs and liquid splashes immediately and keep the entire area clean at all times. Pay particular attention to the stove, as cockroaches prefer greasy areas.
Step 3. Keep food containers tightly sealed and do not leave food exposed for long periods
Do not keep dirty dishes in the sink overnight and do not leave fruit on the counter.
Step 4. Clean the floor regularly to remove crumbs and sticky stains
Do not spill the water against the walls; remember that cockroaches need it.
Step 5. Remove litter regularly
Keep only one garbage can in the house but empty it often. Choose one with the lid on, instead of the open ones. If you keep an organic waste bin in your home, don't leave it for too long. Put the trash in sealed bins and take them out - but don't keep them too close to home.
Method 2 of 5: Using the Lures
Step 1. Use bait that you can buy in supermarkets
You can find them in various designs: both in tiny child-resistant boxes and in gel form containing a slow-acting poison that you can apply mixed with a food that attracts cockroaches. The beetles eat the poison and carry it to the nest, where it eventually kills all the other specimens.
- Place the bait in an area where you know roaches are, such as along baseboards, under the sink, and in corners. You should place it very close to the nest, so that it is eaten by as many beetles as possible who pick it up and carry it back to the nest.
- Most baits contain 0.05% Fipronil or 2% Hydramethylnon as the active ingredient. The beetles eat the poison and expel it to the nest, where other beetles come into contact with it and die.
- Killing cockroaches using this method can take several weeks. Keep in mind that even when you manage to eliminate the first generation, their eggs hatch and you will have to poison other beetles before you get rid of them completely.
Step 2. Try making your own bait at home
Mix one part of powdered, non-granular boric acid (sometimes sold specifically as a powder to kill cockroaches, but is often available in drugstores), one part of white flour and one part of powdered sugar. Sugar and flour attract cockroaches, while boric acid kills them. Spray the powder on the bottom of drawers and cabinets, under the refrigerator, under the stove and so on.
- You can also try making a mixture of 1 part boric acid, 2 parts flour, and 1 part cocoa.
- Expect that for at least 3 times even after treatment they can reappear in increasingly minor infestations, lasting about 2 weeks each. Keep using boric acid until the parasites disappear completely.
- Babies, dogs, and some other animals can eat this mixture. Boric acid is not very toxic to humans and pets, but it should only be applied for external use, so only put it where insects can be.
- The mixture becomes a hard dough in humid environments, so it is advisable to protect floors and cabinets by placing it on paper trays or film.
Method 3 of 5: Using Insecticides
Step 1. Use a simple solution of soap and water
This is an easy way to kill adult cockroaches. Prepare a solution of soap (bubble bath is fine too) and water that is light enough to spray with a spray bottle. You can spray it directly on insects. 2-3 drops of this soapy water solution are enough to kill a cockroach. Make sure you get his head and lower abdomen wet. If you can spill the parasite by spraying its belly, that's even better. The cockroach will try to run, but will suddenly stop and die within minutes.
- The soapy water kills it thanks to a thin film that forms on the respiratory pores of the cockroach, which becomes blocked due to the surface tension that causes it to suffocate.
- Throw the parasite away as soon as possible, since it may recover if the water dries up or if it doesn't hit a large area of its body.
Step 2. Use an insecticide spray
Get a bug insecticide specifically for cockroaches that contains cyfluthrin or another active ingredient of similar effectiveness. Spray the product in any area they may hide or in any crevice they may enter, including along walls, cracks and vents.
- Keep pets and children out of reach of the product when you spray it and carefully follow the safety instructions on the label.
- If you are also using a bait, do not spray the product near the bait. You could contaminate it and prevent cockroaches from approaching.
- The spray product is effective at keeping parasites out of sight at the present moment, but it could also push them back into the walls of the house, thus making the problem worse. It is important to treat the nest and kill the beetles on the spot.
Step 3. Apply a liquid concentrate
This product was once the exclusive domain of professional exterminators, but today it is also used by individuals. It is a poison or chemical deterrent that is diluted with water and then sprayed or rubbed on almost any surface, crack or crevice to kill any cockroaches present. It is particularly effective against re-infestations, as it deters cockroaches from returning for at least 1-2 weeks or more.
Step 4. Get a professional quality pesticide
As a last resort, for more severe infestations you can take the strongest pesticide on the market. Look for one that contains cypermethrin. Professional baits, glue or pheromone traps, and professional sprays are much more effective than products purchased in household stores or supermarkets. Cy-Kick CS is a very effective microencapsulated product against cockroaches. You can buy it online, because it is not usually sold in stores. It is capable of killing insects, as well as maintaining a residual effect for three months. Spray it around the perimeter of the house and in humid environments such as the basement.
- The downside to this product is that it kills all insects, even those that feed on cockroaches, such as spiders and centipedes.
- Apply this product only as a last resort and do not use it at all if there are pets and children nearby. It is a powerful poison that can harm anyone who ingests it.
Method 4 of 5: Using Traps
Step 1. Use traps that you can buy at the supermarket
These attract cockroaches and trap them with a sticker. Get plenty of them and place them wherever you notice their presence. While this is an effective way to kill a small population of adult cockroaches, it is not effective for hitting the nest.
Step 2. Use pots like amphorae
A simple and effective home way to attract cockroaches is to create a trap by placing a vase near a wall. In this way the insects enter it, but they are no longer able to get out. You can put any bait in the jar, including coffee grounds and water, but you can also just catch them with water in drier climates. Again this is a method that works to kill adult cockroaches, but does not affect the nest and eggs.
Step 3. Use soda bottles to trap them
Take a plastic bottle and cut off the top, where it curves. Flip this cut part over and insert it into the body of the bottle as if it were a funnel. Apply masking tape to seal the edge. Pour some soapy water into the bottom of the bottle and put it in a place where you see cockroaches. They will enter the trap and drown.
Method 5 of 5: Preventing New Infestations
Step 1. Keep garden waste away from the front door
Cockroaches love wooden posts and other comfortable hiding places, but when the weather gets colder they tend to move inside the house to stay warm. Make sure your woodpile is well away from the house. Remove piles of straw, leaves, grass clippings, and any other garden waste.
Step 2. Seal the house to prevent cockroaches from entering
Close any cracks in the exterior walls to keep these insects out of the house by blocking their entry. Make sure you also seal every possible spot inside the house. This is a time-consuming job, but it leads to effective results as it allows them to eliminate most of their favorite hiding places.
- Fill in every crack inside every cabinet in the kitchen.
- Fill in the gaps on both sides of the floor moldings, doors and windows.
- Fill all the openings around the pipes in the bathroom and kitchen.
Step 3. Set up traps for preventive purposes
Even if you managed to get rid of a nest, prevent a re-infestation of cockroaches by placing traps before you can no longer manage a reappearance. The best approach is to let some grout stick out of the cracks that are close to potential entry areas, such as vents or vents, and to place the traps as follows:
- Spray it with an insecticide (such as Raid) in the form of a gel or liquid. This serves as a second line of defense should the cockroaches survive or overcome the steel wool; this at least weakens them.
- Repair any cracks or crevices with putty, putty, or some other product such as silicone. If the crack is on a baseboard or wood, after applying the putty rub the surface with resin or cover it with a wood varnish. When the sealant has hardened, 4-6 hours after its application, it is also safe for children.
wikiHow Video: How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
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Advice
- Keep pots, pans, and dishes upside down so that they don't have droaches or roach eggs in them.
- Seal open cereal packs by placing the inner bag in an airtight bag and put everything back in the original box. Avoid accumulating crumbs around the sealed bag inside the box because even a few crumbs can be enough for a cockroach for a long time. Make sure you seal all food tightly. Flour, sugar, oatmeal must all be in sealed containers. They seem trivial things, but in reality it is very important.
- Keep the plugs on the drains of the toilets and sinks so that insects cannot enter the sewers.
- Leave mothballs in the corners of the house. Cockroaches hate the smell of it.
- Natural repellents for these parasites are peppermint oil, cucumber peel, citrus fruits, catnip, garlic, oil and cloves.
- The cockroaches hide in the toaster and eat the crumbs, so be sure to clean it regularly and turn it on for about 3 minutes to destroy any food scents.
- Don't leave the house in a mess. These insects make their nests in everything from paper to clothing. This applies to the garage, attic or basement. There is no limit.
- Always keep food and anything that attracts them out of their reach and take out the trash before going to bed.
- If you hit a cockroach, be sure to clean the surface thoroughly and carefully dispose or clean whatever tool you used to kill it.
- When you find a nest, spray a glue remover inside it - this gets into the roaches' breathing pores and will kill them, while also leaving a scent they hate.
- Make sure you clean the areas where you squashed any roaches. They are cannibal insects.
- To dispose of the dead ones, you can throw them in the toilet thus moving them away from your home.
- It is unclear whether stepping on a female beetle destroys the eggs. The eggs are laid in a thick, capsule-like casing, and most likely will not survive if the female is killed, but it is still wise to clean everything - including the shoe.
- Ants and lizards feed on these insects. Ants also eat termites. (Better if you don't use pesticides, of course.)
- If you don't have a lot of money (or are simply lazy) and live in a small apartment, you can also use ordinary plastic everyday grocery bags as a simple and inexpensive alternative to sealing putty. Just find the cracks and openings along the floors, walls and baseboards where you think pests might enter and insert a bag or two into each opening to "close" it securely. If that's not enough to convince cockroaches to find another apartment to settle in, it should at least limit the area they can enter through. Consider using other methods to kill and catch insects more effectively.
- Build the traps by lining the inside of a tic-tac candy box with fly paper, then put the lid back on. Leave the tab of the box open so that insects can get inside. You can also use a small matchbox that has an opening on both sides. Fly paper is much cheaper than a cockroach trap and works in much the same way.
- Lures and traps are most effective when placed in multiple areas of the house, especially near the paths used by cockroaches or where you find their droppings. Try not to disturb the area too much with excessive cleaning so that the cockroaches always use the same routes.
- If you use a communal laundry room in your condo, wash the sheets and white laundry first with lots of bleach and very hot water, then move on to the rest of the laundry. If this is not possible, do a vacuum wash with hot water and bleach then wash your clothes. Transfer the clothes immediately to the dryer using the hottest program. Put them in a sealed bag and get them out of the common laundry as soon as possible. Fold and hang them only once you get home. Maybe your clothes will be a little wrinkled, but that's better than taking unwanted guests home. If you need to fold clothes inside the laundry room, spray the countertop with water and bleach first. Wait for the surface to dry so as not to damage the cloths. The best way to avoid moving cockroaches from the communal laundry room to your home is to do your laundry at home with your personal washer and dryer.
- Clean up immediately if your dog or cat defecates in the garden, as cockroaches feed on excrement and can drag them into the house contaminating it.
- Install lights or fluorescent adhesive strips inside the kitchen cabinets and leave them on all the time. Cockroaches do not like the light and in this way you discourage them from nibbling on present food and crumbs. Alternatively, leave the cabinet doors open and the kitchen lights on. It's not a way to kill bugs, but at least the house will be less inviting. Use sticky paper impregnated with repellent.
- If you want cockroaches to have "instant death", spray them with alcohol (any kind is fine). Hair spray is also effective.
- If the methods described here don't work, call a pest control company. Staff are licensed and trained to use very strong products while ensuring safety for you and your family.
- Mothballs in spice jars are very effective. Put some in a salt shaker, close the perforated lid and then put the container back inside the cabinets. Occasionally shake the container to stir up the mothballs which tend to clot. Put a couple of glue traps to catch the cockroaches. These are most effective when placed in front of drawers and wall units. A box of mothballs allows you to prepare 12 jars.
Warnings
- Insecticides, baits, and other chemicals can be toxic to people (especially children) and pets, so handle them carefully, read the warnings on the label, and follow the manufacturer's instructions exactly.
- When you spray the product on kitchen cabinets, hold your breath and spray quickly or consider purchasing a respirator to apply it. Get a pressure bottle that acts fast.
