If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve seen one or two cockroaches scurrying for their lives across your kitchen floor. Or maybe you haven’t spotted any roaches yourself, but you’ve noticed the telltale signs of their presence: shed skins, droppings or that distinctive medicinal odor that comes from the scent glands on their abdomens. If you have no idea about ant species, it’s always a great idea to call our team of professionals at ant pest control Newcastle.
If you’re dealing with a roach infestation, here are a few ways to get rid of them.
Try Boric Acid, Cayenne Pepper and Garlic
A homemade cockroach spray can be made by combining boric acid, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. An even easier method is to mix equal parts of the three ingredients in a shaker and sprinkle around your home whenever you see a cockroach. The cayenne pepper and garlic both irritate the roaches’ stomachs and the boric acid causes them to die after ingesting it. This mixture also works well outdoors to keep roaches from coming indoors, especially along the foundation of your home.
Put Out Bay Leaves
Bay leaves are a great deterrent for cockroaches since they don’t like their smell. Place bay leaves in the back of cabinets and in other areas where you’ve seen cockroaches. You can also crush up some bay leaves and sprinkle them around your home for added protection.
Use Diatomaceous Earth
If you want an environmentally-friendly way to get rid of roaches, try diatomaceous earth (DE). DE is an organic powder that’s been used as a pesticide for decades because it kills insects but doesn’t harm humans or pets.
If you’re dealing with a roach infestation, it’s important to know how to get rid of cockroaches. These pests can live for months at a time without any food, and they can survive underwater for up to 45 minutes. They are nocturnal and tend to hide in cracks and crevices during the day. Female roaches lay egg capsules that contain 30-40 eggs at a time, so it’s easy for a small infestation to quickly grow out of control. Roaches can cause allergic reactions and trigger asthma symptoms, especially in children.
Over-the-counter sprays and baits are often ineffective against cockroaches because these insects have become resistant to many pesticides over the years. Plus, they scatter when they sense danger, so you need something that gets deep into cracks and crevices where they hide out. A cockroach gel bait will let you kill these pests where they live instead of just killing the ones that happen to crawl across the surface you sprayed.
Cockroaches are among the most common household pests in the United States. They can carry diseases, trigger allergies and asthma, and just plain creep people out. They come into the house for food, water and shelter.
Good sanitation is a crucial element to ridding your house of cockroaches. Take out the trash regularly, keep food in containers with tight-fitting lids and store dry food in airtight bins. Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight or allow pet bowls to sit around with old food in them. Sweep crumbs off the floor regularly, especially under appliances and furniture. Keep garbage cans clean and take them out at least daily. Repair leaks under sinks and around pipes, so they don’t have a ready source of water.
Reduce their hiding places by sealing cracks around cabinets, floorboards, windowsills and baseboards with caulking or steel wool; screen vents; seal gaps around pipes; install door sweeps; and make sure your doors close tightly.
Regularly vacuum areas where you’ve seen roaches — behind appliances, along baseboards and under furniture — to remove food crumbs that attract them. Take out the bag immediately after vacuuming to keep them from escaping back into your home.
There are about 4,000 species of cockroaches in the world and about 69 of those species are found in the United States. And while there are many different kinds of roaches, it’s often the German cockroach that’s the most common culprit.
Roaches can be very difficult to get rid of and once they infest a home, they quickly multiply.
So, how do you get rid of roaches? It can be done, it just requires a bit of patience and persistence. It’s also important to understand how roaches live and breed.