One of the most disgusting sights that you can think of is a cockroach lurking around your food. These insects can carry a lot of diseases since they’re full of bacteria that can affect your health in a significant way, so you surely want to keep them out. Sometimes people don’t know how to get rid of cockroaches, so in this article you’ll see how you can keep them away from your home. However, before moving onto that subject you will need to learn why these repulsive pests can enter our homes.
What do cockroaches look for?
The first thing you need to know is how they get into your house. These tiny insects are in the search of leftovers since they need to have a good food supply in order for them to lay their eggs and multiply. Sometimes, they can be found in humid places such as rotted wood floors or cabinets, in the rubbish bin and in other dark places.
How do I know if my house is infected?
The first thing that you have to do in order for you to check if your house is being raided by these horrible insects is get yourself a torch and take a look in all of those cracks and crevices around. Take a look inside your closet, bathroom, especially under the sink, and other places that may have a foul smell as a high concentration of them can produce it. When you’ve found the nest you need to start looking on how to get rid of the cockroaches.
How do you prevent a cockroach infestation?
Cockroaches arrive uninvited, but only stay and proliferate where they find food easily and in abundance. Eliminating cockroach access points to your home will go a long way towards preventing an infestation.
It is also important to suppress food and water sources that may attract cockroaches. To achieve this, it is important to keep kitchen countertops and appliances clean.
Never leave food on countertops or in the kitchen sink overnight. If you keep providing them with the three things they need (food, water, and shelter), they will keep coming back and attracting more companions to the feast.
This includes removing any leftover food, such as crumbs, splashes and dirty dishes left in the sink. Furthermore, be sure to use metal grates for drains, which prevent any invaders from getting through, or accessing water.
Cockroaches are nocturnal, so it is most important to keep them out at night. Rubbish bins are another place where cockroaches can find food and shelter. Be sure to keep the lid always closed and periodically take out the rubbish.
Ways to eliminate cockroaches
There are different ways in which you can exterminate these insects. It’ll all depend on which way you feel the most comfortable with. They go from doing it yourself to hiring an expert in the matter since they’re the ones who have the experience and a guaranteed service.
Cleaning your house
It’s a very easy solution, but usually it must be accompanied by different products in order to be effective. During the cleaning you must remove all the dirt that cockroaches look for as that is their main food supply. Cutting it means they’ll have to either leave or find a new one. By keeping your house in a good condition you’ll be able to scare them away. However, there are several measurements you need to take right after you’ve done it so you can maintain it, such as: not letting any food crumbs or leftovers on the floor or different surfaces, washing the dishes as soon as you’re done eating, taking out the rubbish regularly and so on.
Buying traps to fool the cockroaches
If the cleaning your house didn’t have any effect, or you feel that you need something extra to make sure these pesky insects are officially done you can work a way around it. You can go to a store and ask how to get rid of cockroaches and they’ll help you. One of the options is buying a kind of bait that can pass as food. You just have to put it on a dry surface and wait for them to eat it. After they have eaten it they’ll return where they’re nesting and die, letting the other roaches to eat it and spread the poison to all of them in an efficient way.
Other stores may offer gel traps that can help you gather all the roaches in one place. The goal is to lure the roaches using a particular scent that will attract them to the glue where you can kill them or simply take them out. It’s not as fast as other means and they have to be weekly checked in case there are new roaches caught.
Use of homemade poison
Chemicals are great in terms of using them as insecticides. Many of them can be bought in the supermarket or in a detergent store, in this case what you want is boric acid. You can deal with roaches on your own by simply making food using this compound. Mixing it with the same parts of water, flour and sugar will result in a dough that can be used to be placed on the ground as it will attract the roaches and they’ll die. It is better if the dough is placed in a space where children and pets can’t access due to the fact that it’s toxic.
Home products to get rid of cockroaches
To control and prevent cockroach infestations, there are two natural substances that are highly effective and very safe to use: borax and diatomaceous earth. We do not recommend the use of any of them unless you are a trained professional, the best solution is to hire professional services.
Borax
The mineral borax, scientifically known as sodium borate, comes in the form of a finely divided white powder. It can be found in the formulation of cleaning products, but also as an over-the-counter powder.
If applied to the cockroaches’ places of passage, the substance adheres to their legs. Subsequently, the cockroach will ingest the borax to clean itself, when it returns to its hiding place. Once the powder is in its stomach, the substance acts like a poison.
It acts very slowly, but the number of insects will decrease week by week. Borax has no odour and is considered safe for pets. However, it should not be applied where it can be ingested by pets and babies.
Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth, also called diatomite, is a fine powder made by grinding the fossilised shells of microscopic marine animals. It is like sand, but finer and more abrasive.
Diatomaceous earth destroys the exoskeleton of cockroaches (and other insects), causing them to dehydrate. It also adheres to their legs, from where they ingest some of it. They usually die of dehydration soon after returning to their nests.
Apply it anywhere cockroaches are suspected to pass through or enter, especially under the sink and around drains. It has no odour and is harmless to both pets and humans.
Liquid chemicals
This is a bit more complicated since it requires to be very careful. It is an option, but we do not recommend it, hire a professional instead. Some people use Ammonia to clean surfaces, but you must be extra careful, because it can make you sick and cause damages to your hands if not handled properly.
Hire a professional pest control service
If you still don’t know how to get rid of cockroaches then you might need to hire a professional. Sometimes infestations can be very large and just cleaning or using other resources won’t suffice. It’s better to leave your house in charge to the ones that know the correct way to address this problem. Even though you try to take care of it just to save some money or because of something else you need to think about all the trouble you can forget about if they’re the ones who take care of it.
This is an issue you must deal with before it turns into a more hazardous situation for you and for your family. Having seen all the possible solutions to this problem that is common in most households it is certain that a professional will always be the top choice. They have the solution on how to get rid of cockroaches.
How to get rid of cockroaches in sinks and drains
One of the most common ways for cockroaches to enter our homes is through bathroom and kitchen drains. They don’t stray far from these areas, either, as they tend to stay close to places that can guarantee them food and water.
Where do cockroaches come from?
They may have come with the moving boxes, or they may have been living in the house even before you moved in. But sometimes cockroaches simply come into your house by walking into your drainpipes.
Like rats and mice, cockroaches can squeeze through the smallest cracks and holes, thanks to their special anatomy. They can easily fit through narrow ducts and very narrow cracks, as they can flatten their bodies if they need to.
But if you see a cockroach near the drain or sink, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve crawled in, as they may be looking for water. Nor does it mean that your house is dirty and messy. Cockroaches get in whenever they can find a hole or crevice that allows them to do so.
Not only are they very sneaky bugs, but they also know how to hide well. So, unless you catch them at night, you may not notice them until you have an infestation.
Eliminating Cockroach Entry Points
There are many things homeowners can do to make their homes less attractive to cockroaches. Here are a few tips:
Inspect and replace pipes
Check the pipes under the sink, behind the washing machine and under the sink. Any looseness in the wall is a potential entry point, or harbouring place, for cockroaches.
While caulking cracks and plugging holes may be a temporary solution, it is recommended that a professional repair or replace pipes and perform a comprehensive inspection of drains.
Fix dripping faucets
Continuously dripping taps leave small puddles that cockroaches use as a source of water. If you notice standing water in or around a tap, there may be a leak. Have a professional plumber inspect the problem and make repairs.
Fix holes in walls
Look for any holes or cracks in the walls. They can not only be points of entry, but also daytime hiding places for these nasty tenants. These holes can be filled with expanding foam insulation to seal these spaces.
Eliminate other water sources
If you eliminate several obvious sources of water for cockroaches, they will look elsewhere, such as refrigeration pipes subject to condensation. These should be protected with foam insulation and tape.
