If you’ve noticed a cockroach in your home, it’s best to act quickly. The insects can multiply within days, especially in the kitchen, and you can end up with an infestation. In this guide, we’ll show you how to get rid of roaches naturally using simple home remedies.
Finding cockroaches in your home is everyone’s worst nightmare, but there’s no time to panic. You need to act quickly if you want to effectively keep roaches away. Cockroaches often appear in groups, which is why you need to be especially thorough to make sure you’ve gotten rid of every single one. Otherwise, the nasty little insects can continue to multiply.
With the following home remedies, you’ll be able to get rid of roaches without an exterminator or harsh chemicals. This is better for your own health because so many chemical insecticides are very aggressive and can cause irritation for humans.
Identifying Roaches
Cockroaches love warm, humid environments and feed mainly on crumbs and other food remains. They often hide in dark cracks, joints or even pipes during the day, and come out when it’s dark. Roaches are one of the filthiest insects. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cockroaches have been known to spread things like salmonella, E. coli, typhoid, and various forms of gastrointestinal infections.
There are four main roach species that may welcome themselves into your home:
- American (Periplaneta americana): growing up to 2 inches long, this is one of the largest cockroach species. They are mostly reddish-brown in color, have well-developed wings and are capable of flight (though they still prefer to walk). This species is very sensitive to the cold and can be found near furnace rooms or under stoves.
- German (Blattella germanica): growing up to ½ inch in size, this is one of the smaller roach species. Recognizable by their light brown body and two dark stripes down their chest, these roaches are most likely to be found in your grocery containers or packaging. Similar to the American species, they are very sensitive to the cold. They are also the quickest to reproduce going from egg to adult in approximately 60 days.
- Brown-Banded (Supella longipalpa): similar to the German cockroach, but is slightly smaller and has lighter striping along the back.
- Oriental (Blatta orientalis): this species grows between 1 – 1½ inches long and is regarded as one of the filthier cockroach species. This is because they love damp areas with decaying material. You can identify them by their shiny dark brown or black shell.
Even though the species differ in size and appearance, you can control them with similar means. We’ll show you how to get rid of roaches with home remedies!
How to Get Rid of Roaches Naturally: 6 Home Remedies
Found a cockroach in your home? Fight them with the following home remedies for roaches:
- Set Up Sticky Traps: you can buy special sticky traps at the hardware store, or you can add them to your cart on Amazon**. These emit a scent that attracts the cockroaches. Once the pests get stuck to the trap, you can take them outside, remove them with gloves, and set them free again.
- Remove Their Food Source: If the cockroaches can’t find food, they will starve to death or look for a new place to live. Thoroughly clean your home of leftover food and pack opened food in airtight containers.
- Use Natural Scents: roaches apparently hate the smell of laurel and catnip, so you can use this to your advantage. Lay out the leaves liberally in your home, preferably on the animals’ favorite walking paths and in the kitchen.
- Tobasco Sauce: the two main ingredients are red pepper and vinegar, which will create a natural barrier the roaches won’t cross. This home remedy is especially useful if you know where the nest is located. You can use Tobasco sauce to temporarily prevent the roaches from leaving the nest.
- Cup & Paper: while you may get a bit squeamish at the thought of going anywhere near a roach, you can remove the pest from your home with the same cup and paper method that is often used to remove spiders. Simply place a transparent cup over the cockroach, slide a piece of paper under it to trap it inside, and then release it outside.
- DIY Cockroach Trap: you’ll need a bowl with boiled potatoes and some grass or straw. Place the former in your home and cover it with the latter. After a while, the roaches will climb into the bowl in search of food, and you can then simply release them back outside.
Cockroaches are often difficult to control because they only venture out of their hiding places in the dark. If you’re struggling with an infestation, contact an exterminator. They can give you more tips and provide professional advice for getting rid of roaches.
How to Keep Roaches Away: Preventative Tips
Fighting cockroaches is very tedious and often difficult without the help of a specialist. That’s why it’s best to ensure no pests can settle in your home in the first place. Prevent a cockroach infestation with the following tips:
- Keep a Clean Home: to ensure that cockroaches find as little food as possible, regularly wipe all surfaces and tables down with a wet cloth, especially in the kitchen. Even the smallest crumbs can attract the pests.
- Close Entrances: cockroaches can enter your home through even the smallest cracks near entryways. If you find any small cracks around your windows and doors, make sure to plug them up with plaster.
- Regular Ventilation: a warm and damp home is the ideal environment for cockroaches. Therefore you should ventilate regularly to get rid of excess humidity, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Read more: How to Lower the Humidity in Your House: Tips for Avoiding Mold
- Dispose of Leftovers Properly: leftover food attracts cockroaches, so use them up or throw them away. Make sure trash cans are leak-proof and tightly closed.
- Seal Opened Foods: store food that has already been opened in airtight containers. This will help prevent cockroaches from being attracted to the smell of food.
- Check Groceries/Kitchen Utensils: as gross as it sounds, cockroach eggs are often already in food you bought at the supermarket. So check your groceries thoroughly for the eggs of the pests. If you’re purchasing second-hand kitchen utensils, give them a good and thorough cleaning to get rid of any eggs.
This article has been adapted from German by Karen Stankiewicz. You can find the original here: Kakerlaken bekämpfen: Diese natürlichen Hausmittel helfen
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