How to Get Rid of Cockroaches – What Really Works

If you're looking for how to get rid of cockroaches then you're in the right place. Roaches are perhaps the most despised pests on the planet. Not only do they carry diseases (in rare cases), but they’re associated with a dirty environment (often erroneously). These insects have been around for 300 million years, so arming yourself with the right information can be the difference between success, or failure. Save yourself from wasted time, money, and effort. Read on to find out what works, and make this the last time.

 Short on time? Here's My #1 Recommended Solution

Want to skip all the reading and just get straight to THE solution that'll work? I've got you covered. Here's what I would do if I ever move into a house infested with them again.

1. Buy the Green Leaf – Cockroach Killing Bait (Powder/Chalk).
2. Clean every night and put all food away, as well as leave no dirty dishes in the sink.
3. Lightly dust the powder appropriate locations like inside cabinets, behind appliances and wherever you see a lot of roaches. Chalk along the bottom of major appliances, baseboards, cracks and crevices.
4. Continue to use the roach powder/chalk until they are completely gone.

This method is the most effective I've ever used. However, you have to be patient. This doesn't provide instant, visible results like Mortein Doom, Bolt Insecticide, Cockrakill Paste Roach Killer, Ridsect, or Baygon, but it's the most effective at targeting the entire roach infestation (which is what you want). Give it a few weeks to start seeing results and a couple of months for total eradication.

Of course, once you have more time, you'll want to come back and take your time to read through the wealth of information on this website. Knowing more about these pests is key to eliminating them successfully.

The Pests

Why They're Bugging You

These pests like to live indoors among humans; where it provides warmth, shelter from the elements and has easy access to food & water. In other words, they're just looking for a place to survive; and your house is giving them exactly what they want. They're living the dream at your expense.

What's attracting them

The basic necessities for survival mentioned above are what they are attracted and they're all they will ever ask for in life. But all of them do not have to be present to attract them to your home in the first place. It takes just one of them to get their attention–especially the smell of food.

Once they make their way in and discover all their necessities readily available in one place, they'll alert others and invade your home and quickly multiply to almost uncontrollable numbers (if not handled correctly). They'll eat your food while spreading the germs they carry; threatening your well-being.

 Prevention

1. Repellents to Keep Them Away

The best way to keep roaches away is a clean home. You'll have no roaches if you cut off their food sources and water sources completely; leaving them with absolutely no way to find food, or water in your home. Of course, realistically, that's basically impossible. Don't let that deter you though. You're still able to make it less attractive for them and it is absolutely vital for successful cockroach control.

2. Reduce food source

Dirty dishes provide plenty of food for the roaches. Don't leave them out. Wash them.

Make it harder for them to eat by:

1. Leave zero dirty dishes overnight.
2. Putting food away in sealed containers.
3. Covering food.
4. Reducing clutter.
5. Sweeping & vacuuming on a daily basis.
6. Keep all garbage in tightly closed containers.
7. Take out the garbage often.
8. Reduce water sources

Reduce their access to water by:

1. Fixing all leaky plumbing (including fixtures that drip).
2. Drying all kitchen, bathroom, and other sinks in the house every single night before bedtime.
3. Covering all drains (sinks and bathtub) at night. See this cool Silicon Sink Plug by Jumia.
4. Wipe and dry any spills.
5. Emptying and drying pet water bowls at night.

Get Rid of the Pests

1. Baking Soda and Sugar

A simple yet effective mixture. Baking soda and sugar are able to effectively help kill roaches, and you’ll be able to notice a quick decline in the population as a result. You’ll need to know where the roaches are hiding out, so it’s important to make note of where you’ve seen these pests before planting the bait for them to eat. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

1. Baking soda
2. Sugar
3. A bowl or cup

Baking soda is not toxic in the same way as boric acid, and it will begin to mix with the roach’s stomach acid, causing it to die over time. You’ll need to mix equal parts baking soda with equal parts sugar (1/4 cup of each is a good start). Now, all you’ll need to do is sprinkle them in the areas that you’ve seen roaches. You’ll need to leave this bait out and repeat your sprinkling of the mixture often to ensure there is enough to kill the roaches. Sugar isn’t the deadly portion of the mixture, but it will work to attract the roaches. See Bicarbonate of Soda from Foodplus  or Clover’s Bicarbonate of Soda from Foodplus.

2. Boric Acid

Boric acid can be purchased in stores or online, and this is one of the best killers of roaches, ants and a variety of other pests. This acid has been proven to be effective at killing roaches, and it’s one of the most widely used remedies for this purpose. But boric acid isn’t safe for consumption, so you’ll need to keep it out of reach of children and pets. This is a poison, and long-term exposure can cause you to become ill. Ingesting boric acid will result in poisoning as well. Roaches will die if they come in contact with this acid, but there are a few points you need to consider when sprinkling boric acid in your home:

1. Only a light dusting is required (too much, and it will be ineffective)
2. Boric acid is not effective when wet

The goal is to have the roaches walk through the boric acid powder, which is difficult if the roaches are in tight corners or under the cabinets. Once you’ve placed the acid, the roaches will get it on their antennae, legs and body. During grooming, the acid will be ingested, which will result in death for the roach.

See AMAR Boric Acid Powder from Foodplus or Rosa Pham Boric Acid Powder from Epepea 

3. Fabric Softener Spray

A home remedy to get rid of roaches that takes a little action on your part. Fabric softener can kill roaches, but it can’t just be placed on the floor in hopes that it will get the job done. Instead, you need to make a spray and actively spray the roaches you see out and about in your home. Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

1. Natural fabric softener
2. Water
3. Spray bottle

You’ll want to mix three parts fabric softener with two parts water. For example, you can combine 3/4 cup of fabric softener and 1/2 cup of water together in a spray bottle and mix it up. A simple shake of the spray bottle before usage is really all that is needed. The solution will be rather thick, so keep this in mind when going to spray. When you see roaches, squirt them with the solution. If you see a roach skitter behind a piece of furniture, you can often squirt them with greater ease than if you tried stepping on them, for example. Roaches breathe through their skin, so when the thick spray gets on the roach, it will suffocate them. This is one of the home remedies for roaches that works best if there is a massive infestation where you’re sharing every inch of your home with these pests. Dish soap can be used in lieu of fabric softener, but we found it to be less effective.

4. Bay Leaves

Maybe you have a soft spot for roaches. Perhaps you don’t want to kill them, but you just want to keep them out of your home. Bay leaves are a natural roach repellent – they simply hate the smell of them. Another major benefit is that bay leaves aren’t poisonous to humans, so you won’t have to worry where you place them. To get started, you’ll need the following:

1. Mortar and pestle
2. A handful of bay leaves

Now, you may not have a mortar and pestle available, so just use a bowl and something to crush the leaves effectively. The back of a butcher knife can crush dry leaves effectively. You can use your hands, too, but it will take longer. Simply place the leaves in a bowl and crush them into a powder. This powder will be sprinkled in areas where you know roaches are present and possibly nesting. Cucumbers can also be placed around the home (slices or peels) as a repellent against roaches. Find Tropical Heat Bay leaves at e-mart 

5. Lemon Peels or Lemon Juice

The fresh smell of lemons is often associated with a clean home, and lemon is often used in the world’s most popular household cleaners. There is no denying that lemon juice is a powerful agent that is able to cut through grease and stains, but what many people don’t know is that it can repel roaches, too. The anti-pathogenic properties of lemon, and other citrus foods, will keep roaches away. You can do a lot of different things with lemon to keep roaches out of your home.

1. Add lemon juice (or buy 100% lemon juice) and spray in hard-to-reach areas of the home where you know roaches reside.
2. Grind up lemon peels and place the grounds around the home where roaches are present.

But you can also go to the extremes – which is what we recommend. You’ll need:

1. A bucket or large bowl
2. Lemon juice (bottled or freshly squeezed)
3. Rags or towels

Mix the water and juice together, ensuring that the lemon is not too diluted. This sounds a lot more complicated than it sounds, but it’s not. We recommend adding lemon juice into the bucket first, followed by adding in water slowly to ensure that the lemon smell is still strong. Err on the side of more lemon juice than water for best results. Now, clean everything from the countertops to the floor with the mixture. The goal is to clean all of the surfaces where roaches reside to repel them away. And your home will have a clean, lemon-fresh smell, too.

6. Coffee Traps

Coffee is something that roaches like, too. And all of those used coffee grounds can actually be used for something – getting rid of roaches. You’ll want to use the coffee as a lure to trap the roaches and kill them. You’ll need:

1. Coffee grounds
2. Jars

Fill a jar with coffee grounds and add water so that the roaches will die. But roaches can breathe in water for 40 minutes, and if fully submerged, they can live for 30 minutes, so if you find them crawling out of the jar, here is another trick .Apply petroleum jelly to the inside of the jar so that the roaches can’t gain traction to climb out of the jar. Strategically place the jars around the home where roaches frequent. We recommend checking these jars every morning to dump out the dead roaches. Repeat the process for a few weeks until you start to notice that there are no roaches entering the jar. If the roaches did not lay eggs, you’ll be roach-free. If you notice even one roach, it’s essential to take action right away. Roaches can lay up to 50 eggs at a time, depending on the type of roach in the home. Proper sanitization and filling entry points will be essential to curb roaches from coming into the home in the future. Reducing pathways and entryways will be a must for a roach-free future. Reducing food and water sources should follow. Pesticides and management solutions can also be followed if the roach problem is a recurring issue that only goes away and comes back every few months. You need to be relentless when it comes to roaches. Natural home remedies for roaches are less deadly than their pesticide counterparts, and they often fail when the homeowner stops taking action. Even if you haven’t seen a roach in a month, the eggs they left behind may be ready to hatch at any time. Insect growth regulators can be used in this case, or you’ll need to be prepared with the remedies listed above so that you can stop any future problems before they grow into a full-blown infestation.

7. Ammonia Solution

Cockroaches often hide in sinks and drain pipes. Ammonia is a top class house hold roach’s home remedy in these situations. Add a cup full of ammonia in a bucket of water and flush it down sinks and toilets to clean out the pipes. The strong pungent smell will ward off the roaches nesting in pipes and sewers.

8. Moth Balls

Moth balls are excellent for warding off all kinds of pests including roaches. Place a few in your cupboard and near specific areas prone to infestation or likely to be the nesting area for roaches. However, they are not good for humans either so it is important to keep them away from children.

9. Pepper, Garlic and Onion solution

This potent mixture can be concocted by adding one tablespoon of pepper, a clove of garlic and half an onion mashed up together and added to a litre of water. Add some liquid soap if you want, and sprinkle this solution on kitchen and bathroom areas roaches frequent at night. You may also use this water to mop the floors or counter tops and cabinets. Roaches cannot stand the smell of this combination are likely to leave your home alone.

10. Professional grade concentrated pesticides

a) All natural boric acid and borax

Boric acid is my favorite all-natural solution for roaches. In fact, it's a favorite even among professional exterminators for pest control of insects and other unwanted bugs such as ants.

An alternative that might be easier to locate for some, is borax powder. Borax can often be found in the laundry aisle; being sold as a laundry booster. Some people often confuse borax to be the same as boric acid, but that's actually wrong. They are not the same thing. However, they both work amazingly well at killing roaches and they are both used in the same manner.

To effectively use either boric acid or borax, lightly dust the powder using a bulb duster. Once the powder is lightly dusted and an unsuspecting cockroach walks through, it clings to their legs. From just the physical contact alone, the powder causes destruction to their protective exoskeleton. It gets even better though. When they clean themselves after contact is made, it'll also poison them from the inside (because they end up ingesting).

You can even mix boric acid or borax with a little sugar and water to create a very potent homemade DIY bait.

b) Non-toxic diatomaceous earth

An all-natural and non-toxic alternative is diatomaceous earth (DE). I've had good results with DE, but I personally preferred and have had better results with the other solutions listed above. Of course, I can't ignore those who would prefer a non-toxic solution, so I can't leave out DE (because it works).

If you'd rather use this solution instead, buy food grade diatomaceous earth and apply it the same way you would with boric acid or borax powder. Remember to use a bulb duster.

Here are 10 Fun Facts about Cockroaches;

1. A cockroach can live for a week without its head. Due to their open circulatory system, and the fact that they breathe through little holes in each of their body segments, they are not dependent on the mouth or head to breathe. The roach only dies because without a mouth, it can't drink water and dies of thirst.
2. A cockroach can hold its breath for 40 minutes, and can even survive being submerged under water for half an hour. They hold their breath often to help regulate their loss of water.
3. Cockroaches can run up to three miles in an hour, which means they can spread germs and bacteria throughout a home very quickly.
4. Newborn German cockroaches become adults in as little as 36 days. In fact, the German cockroach is the most common of the cockroaches and has been implicated in outbreaks of illness and allergic reactions in many people.
5. A one-day-old baby cockroach, which is about the size of a speck of dust, can run almost as fast as its parents.
6. The American cockroach has shown a marked attraction to alcoholic beverages, especially beer. They are most likely attracted by the alcohol mixed with hops and sugar.
7. The world's largest roach (which lives in South America) is six inches long with a one-foot wingspan. Average cockroaches can vary in size from ½"- 2" long.
8. Cockroaches are believed to have originated more than 280 million years ago, in the Carboniferous era.
9. There are more than 4,000 species of cockroaches worldwide, including the most common species, the German cockroach, in addition to other common species, the brownbanded cockroach and American cockroach.
10. Because they are cold-blooded insects, cockroaches can live without food for one month, but will only survive one week without water.

What's your favourite way of getting rid of these pesky insects?

Xoxo,
Miss Cherono.