Everybody wants their homes spick and span. But even the cleanest homes can be harboring pesky cockroaches.
The population of cockroaches grows rapidly. Cockroaches don’t choose breeding grounds and habitats. A dirty, dark and humid environment, is a place most preferred by roaches. But it can be your clean room too.
Getting pest control services might require you and your pets to leave your house to avoid or minimize exposure to chemicals. Although it is easy to buy an off-the-shelf insect spray that promises to be the best roach killer, is it effective, safe and environment-friendly?
We have gathered proven safe ways to eliminate cockroaches and other crawling insects the natural ways. This list will help you prepare your home remedies to drive away and exterminate cockroaches and other insects:
1. Boric Acid
Boric Acid is derived from the mineral Boron. It is widely used as an insect killer and can be bought online and in hardware stores. There are commercially available formulations intended as cockroach killers but you can also opt for a do-it-yourself solution.
It works best when sprinkled in affected areas. You may want to use an applicator brush for crevices, baseboards and cracks. Cockroaches will not be attracted to it but when it’s placed in the right areas, cockroaches that will go past it will have the boric acid powder stuck in the legs, body and antennae. Ingestion is expected during grooming and will eventually result in death.
Boric acid roach powder kills roaches, ants & silverfish indoors, Most indoor areas include homes, restaurants, schools, offices, warehouses, vehicles, boats, etc.
2. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth or DE is a powdery substance made from the remains of diatom algae. It sounds like it is food right? But it fantastically works both outside and inside of the target insects.
Cockroaches have a thin waxy covering. Similar to human skin, this roach repellent retains moisture and repel foreign bodies from harming the cockroaches internally.
Diatomaceous earth powder has 1% silica and can powerfully absorb moisture twice as much as its weight. Once it touches the insect’s waxy covering, it will immediately absorb the moisture and will lead to the death of the insect due to dehydration and decomposition.
To use diatomaceous earth, use a dry brush and apply on affected areas. Make sure to brush lightly as different types of cockroaches might get rid of areas where heavy applications.
This amazing product is made of tiny, fossilized diatoms (plankton) that accumulated over millennia in freshwater lakes. When mined and left untreated, this fine powder can be used in hundreds of different ways. At 10 pounds, it's easy to transport yet big enough for large projects making it our most popular size.
3. Baking Soda
It can be just plain baking soda sprinkled on corners where you’ve seen cockroaches nest before or you can add some sugar or coffee with it to easily attract cockroaches. Baking soda is believed to have the ability to slowly kill cockroaches once mixed with their stomach acids.
You can use a small bowl or container to avoid mess or prevent it from getting wet in case you are planning to put it in the kitchen or your bathroom. Make sure to revisit and replace the mixture as well as to ensure that no other pests get attracted to the mixture like ants. Ants might be interested in your mixture but not to eat then and there. So be ready of the possible raid of insects as well.
Discover the simple solution for a clean and fresh home. Baking soda is the most versatile product in your home.
4. Catnip
Cat lovers need to not worry about getting rid of your roach problem without harming their beloved furry friends. Cats love catnips but studies show that cockroaches will not go near it.
Catnip will not actually one of the ways to kill cockroaches because they can smell it for afar, for sure but it can drive them away or it will prohibit them come coming out of their breeding ground leading them to die in hunger.
Aside from spreading dried catnip in areas where cockroaches and pests are, you can boil dried catnip for 10 minutes, let it cool and transfer it in a spray bottle. You can use this as an all natural cockroach repellent not meant just to repel roaches, but also for ants, bugs and mosquitoes.
5. Bay Leaves
Bay leaves make a lot of dishes fragrant but the appeal it has to humans is what repels insects. The distinct scent of bay leaves, whether fresh or dried is more potent when leaves are crushed, ground or powdered.
Although it does not technically kill cockroaches, it can wade these pests away from your home or make it difficult for them to wander around the house and find food sources. Crushed or powdered bay leaves can be placed in small containers every 2 to 3 weeks and leave it inside the cupboards, under the sink, or scatter in outside the doors and on top of the garbage at night.
Burning bay leaves is also a way to drive away flying insects like mosquitoes and fly.
6. Homemade Traps
Commercially available cockroach traps are easy solutions to capture and keep roaches in one place until they die, otherwise, it will still be easy to get rid of your cockroach problem.
These are the all-natural cockroach traps you can easily prepare at home :
a. Coffee Jar Traps
Mix 1 teaspoon of coffee, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water in a saucer. Get a clean recycled jar from jams or spreads. Dip the rim of the jar in the mixture. Set aside.
Bring two cups of water to boil, mix in 1 cup of cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Mix well until you reach a glue-like consistency. Let it cool.
Place the cornstarch mixture filling ¼ of the jar. Place it sideways the suspected breeding areas.
The cockroaches will get attracted to the scent of coffee, will explore inside the jar and will find it hard to escape because of the gluey and sticky mixture of sugar, water and cornstarch.
b. Wine or Softdrinks Bottle Traps
Place a mixture of 1 teaspoon coffee, baking soda and borax acid inside the bottle. Using a paintbrush, brush some cooking oil from the mouth of the bottle and at least two inches down.
The cockroaches will slide down and will never be able to climb up. Perfect for mild infestations.
How to Keep Your Home Pest-Free
Now that you’ve learned about the home remedy for cockroaches, the next step is to keep your home free from pests, forever. Cockroaches love to dwell in a warm, moist and dark environment. They also love to stay close to hiding places where food and water is accessible, there are our tips to keep your home tidy, fresh, and free of pests:
1. Keep your home clean and airy
Keeping every corner of your home clean will not only ensure that your place is insect-free but will guarantee that you will be allergy and virus-free. A well-lighted and well-ventilated place is what insects hate the most. A well-kept home will also signal you if there are areas that might have started harboring pests because cockroaches leave a musty smell because of their droppings.
One smart trick to keep your home clean and fresh is with lemon and lemon peels. By squeezing some lemons to be used for mopping. It will leave a pleasant scent to your home and repel insects at the same time. Lemon juice can also remove smell and stains from pest droppings.
2. Do not leave a pile of dishes on the sink or uncovered food on the table
The aroma of food or the stink of leftovers doesn’t matter to cockroaches. They will find where the smell is coming from. They are scavengers by nature. Regardless of their species or breed, cockroaches are rampant where food is.
Keeping food uncovered, leaving the dishes in the sink for too long or keeping beer bottles inside your house will surely attract creepy crawlers, not limited to cockroaches. There is a study about how the scent of beer drives cockroaches nuts.
Always make sure to wash the dishes after every meal, take out the trash twice daily and keep the outdoor garbage bin covered. Sprinkle baking soda to get rid of the smell that will attract insects. Take your beer bottles and can immediately.
3. Check and seal cracks and holes in and out of your house
Most pests don’t enter the house through your door or any entry points that are easily visible. Periodically check for other means for them to get in like broken pipes, underground holes done by rodents, or a recently purchased furniture.
Place homemade cockroach infestation traps in suspected areas to help you confirm the possible entry points and plan for home remedies to kill them.
4. Use essential oils
Relaxing while getting rid of insects and cockroaches. Wouldn’t it be nice to hit two birds with one stone? Essential oils are becoming a lifestyle trend nowadays. It is a vital part of health and wellness and these oils can be combined to address different health and household concerns too.
Neem, eucalyptus and peppermint oils are popular choices to relieve insect bites and alternative to cockroach repellent. Infuse these oils in water and spray in all corners of your home especially where insects might be dwelling. Mop your floor with essential oil-infused water as well.
Conclusion
There is no one perfect roach killer, whether it’s commercial or natural. But there are ways where you can combine the strength and fast-acting effects of commercially available roach killers and those that you can prepare using readily available household pests ingredients for diy cockroach control.
This article wishes to provide information and alternatives because the best cockroach killers are not just those that can be found it the supermarket. You can also complement your efforts by trying out these homemade roach killers that are proven safe, cheap and effective.
