Whether you live in an apartment or a house, cockroaches are a nasty pest that you hope that you never see. These nasty bugs can be hard to get rid of, which is why prevention is the best way to keep cockroaches out of your home.
Cockroach Prevention
There are several steps that you can take to help reduce the risk of your home being invaded by cockroaches. Here are a few tips to get started:
1. Garbage: take it out on a regular basis. If you are putting leftover food in the garbage can, make sure that you take it out every night. This is the first place that cockroaches are going to go to look for food.
2. Vacuum: if you eat at a kitchen table, make sure that you sweep under it every night. If you eat in your living room, the carpet should be vacuumed each day as well. A cockroach can survive on just a little bit of food, so it is important to get every food particle removed. Remember to vacuum your furniture as well. This offers a great place for cockroaches to find a meal.
3. Cabinets: make sure that you wipe down your cabinets regularly. This includes wiping down appliances such as toasters and ovens. Roaches will eat almost anything, including these little crumbs.
4. Dishes: after eating always wash your dishes. Do not leave them sitting out overnight either.
5. Leftovers: make sure that your unused cooking supplies and your leftovers are stored in sealed containers.
6. Water: there should never be any type of standing water in your home or apartment. Roaches seek out a steady water source even more than food, so this is extremely important in order to prevent a cockroach infestation.
7. cracks: All cracks should be filled in around the home. Caulk up all of the cracks in your cabinets. It is also a good idea to wrap up your pipes and wires that are outside of the home.
5 Natural Remedies to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Even if the preventative measures above are taken, there is still a chance that your home may become infested with cockroaches. There are several types of home remedies that may work to remove cockroaches from your home.
1. Hot Sauce Spray
Make up a mixture of approximately two tablespoons of hot sauce with a quart of water. Pour the concoction into a spray bottle. You can mist this around cabinets and other areas where the cockroaches have been seen.
If using this method it is a good idea to wear a mask while you are misting the areas. Essentially, you are misting with pepper spray so it may cause you to sneeze quite a bit.
2. Moth Balls
Similar to moths, roaches do not like the smell of moth balls. You can strategically place moth balls around your home to help get rid of cockroaches. A few places where mothballs should be placed include underneath the stove, in the cabinet under the sink, and in furniture cushions. Moth balls are not great for humans, so make sure to keep them away from any areas where food is stored or prepped.
3. Cedar
Another item that offers a natural deterrent for roaches is cedar. There are cedar balls, chips, and blocks that can be purchased and placed in certain areas of the home to help deter not only cockroaches, but other bugs as well. Cedar has been used as a natural deterrent for bugs for many years. This can be seen with older dressers and closets that are lined with cedar.
4. Mint Oil
This type of oil is used in many types of roach sprays. Roaches will stay away from mint oil and if you spray mint oil onto a roach it will suffocate and die. Mint oil sprays may not work as fast as some of the normal poisons that may be used to get rid of roaches, but is safer to use in kitchen areas and around young children and pets.
It is possible to make a spray with mint oil that can be used in much the same way as the spray made with hot sauce. You can dilute some peppermint soap in some water and then put it in a spray bottle.
5. Bay Leaves
Another scent that cockroaches do not like is that of bay leaves. You can find bay leaves in the spice aisle of any grocery store. Put the leaves in a small sachet and place in your cupboards and your closets. This is probably the best source to use in your kitchen cabinets.
Conclusion
Roaches can be one of the worst types of insect pests to get rid of. Cockroaches can thrive on very little food and water and will multiply in a short amount of time. The best steps for avoiding an infestation of cockroaches in your home are to make sure to keep your home as clean as possible. Keeping your home free of food particles is the absolute best way to keep the cockroaches out.
Using some of the above methods can also help prevent cockroaches from invading your home. The remedies can also help get rid of cockroaches if you currently have an infestation.
If you have tried everything and still are seeing cockroaches inside your house or apartment, visit Bugz Pest Control in order to solve all of your pest problems. Sometimes the only way to get rid of an infestation of cockroaches is by using a professional service. Cockroaches are extremely resilient, which is why they can be so difficult to get rid of.
A professional service will be able to not only get rid of the cockroaches, but can help keep them away for good. Of course, you will have to do your part to keep the home clean and food particles away.