Cockroaches are common pests that can contaminate household items, kitchen utensils, and food items. These little troublemakers also leave a repulsive odor.
They’re found in food preparation sites or places lacking sanitation. They move between filth and food, thus, transmitting pathogenic microbes and illnesses. Some people may also be allergic to their shed skin and excrement. The allergens can cause watery eyes, congestion, sneezing, and life-threatening asthma.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches?
There’s no single solution to eliminate cockroaches, but you can use a combination of methods to deal with them. The following methods will eliminate small roach infestation. For bigger issues, call a professional exterminator.
1. Baking Soda
Baking soda is the easiest and fastest way to eliminate cockroaches. It’s something everyone has in their homes. All you need are a handful of onions sprinkled with baking soda to create your roach bait.
Place this dish where you have noticed cockroach activity. Baking soda creates gases in their stomachs, causing the cockroaches to burst.
Baking soda is an affordable, effective and non-toxic way to deal with roaches. If you have pets in the house, you must keep the solution out of their reach.
2. Glue Strips
Glue strips are another safest way to kill cockroaches. These sheets are covered in a sticky substance to catch roaches in 24 to 48 hours. This method, however, doesn’t work for a large infestation. Glue strips also help you monitor the severity of the infestation so you can address it accordingly.
3. Diatomaceous Earth
DE (diatomaceous earth) is a natural roach extermination method. It’s made of fossilized and pulverized algae. The particles are dehydrating and sharp to damage the exoskeleton of cockroaches, causing them to dehydrate to death.
Buy food-grade DE and coat on places where you have noticed roach activity. DE is safe for pets and kids but can be messy. Moreover, it requires re-application and locating dead roaches to dispose of them.
4. Boric Acid
Boric acid can also cause stomach poisoning, and cockroaches don’t have resistance to it. It’s a naturally occurring compound that is harmless to pets and people.
Boric acid sticks to the wings and legs of roaches when they come into contact with it. The boric acid powder acts on the digestive and nervous system of roaches, so they ingest the powder, killing them rapidly.
Sprinkle a light amount of boric acid onto a power plate. Put peanut butter or orange peel in the middle of the paper plate and place the plate where you’ve noticed the cockroaches.
It’s a non-toxic, effective, easy, and affordable method. However, it can be messy, requiring multiple applications like DE.
5. Essential Oils
Another all-natural way to deal with roaches is through essential oils. These oils are roach repellants. Get lemongrass or peppermint essential oil for better results.
Mix these oils with water and spray them on places where you’ve noticed roaches’ activity. This method is kid and pet-friendly but won’t kill the roaches entirely.
Hire Environmental Pest Services Instead
The aforementioned solutions only work for small infestations. If your house is largely infested with different roaches, hire our environmental exterminators. At Clearview Environmental Sciences Inc., we provide science-backed, all-natural pest control solutions to Bayonne residents.
Schedule your appointment today!