Ever get scared by a six-legged Roach running across your kitchen counter or the sink? Or worse when the roach starts to fly?
Fret not, for us through this article will provide you with simple and effective home remedies to get rid of Roaches and ensure that they do not enter your humble abode again.
Cockroaches are of one the most primitive insect species and about 30 species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats.
They are common and are the primary transporters of harmful microorganisms, which are contained in their saliva, and they spread their saliva over anything and everything that they come in contact with, thus spreading the infestation.
They can also tolerate extreme environmental conditions: from Arctic cold to the Desert heat.Cockroaches running around in the kitchen, on the utensils or in the bathroom is something all of us dread.
Therefore, getting rid of the roaches is an absolute must to maintain hygiene and cleanliness in our homes.
While one could always opt for over the counter Roach sprays, they contain harmful toxins and chemicals that are harmful to your and your pet’s health. Thus, home remedies are the need of the hour.
Table of Contents
What Causes Roaches In Your Home?
1. Food
Food is the major attraction for Cockroaches. Although they can survive several months without food, roaches eat anything that has nutritive content. They are especially attracted to starch, sugar, grease, meat, and cheese.
2. Decaying Food Items
Decaying food items are predominantly delicious for roaches in search of their next meal.
3. Cockroaches may enter your homes through tiny gaps around doors, pipes, through sinks and wash basins and tend to set up camp in cramped and dark spaces in your house.
4. Any leaky pipes or any stagnant water in and around the house attracts pests. Check under the kitchen or the bathroom sink.
5. Trash that is not sealed properly or that hasn’t been taken out is also a breeding ground for roaches.
Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Roaches
The Home Remedies to get rid of Roaches are as follows:
1. Keep Your House Clean
Cockroaches are mostly found in damp, dark, cluttered spaces of the house. They also enter the house through the drainage pipes. Thus, regular cleaning and dusting is a must.
Also, ensure the drains are properly covered. Keep the garbage in a sealed bag and take it out regularly. All food material must be sealed in boxes.
2. Sugar And Baking Soda
The mixture of Sugar and baking soda both are easily available in our kitchen. Sugar attracts the roaches with its sweet smell and when mixed with baking soda can prove fatal to the roaches.
How To Use Sugar And Baking Soda To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Mix sugar and baking soda and apply it to the areas where the roaches move.
- When they ingest the mixture, baking soda reacts with the stomach acid of the roaches and kills them.
3. Garlic, Onion, And Pepper Mixture
Due to the overwhelming scent of the aforementioned ingredients, they make a natural repellent for the roaches.
How To Use Garlic, Onion And Pepper Mixture To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Take a liter of water in a jug and add one garlic clove, one tbsp. of cayenne pepper powder and the paste of one white onion.
- Marinate the mixture for an hour and add one tbsp. of soap solution to it. Mix thoroughly and apply the mixture where the roaches visit frequently.
4. Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum Jelly with added fragrance attract the roaches and once the fall into the trap, it’s difficult for them to escape.
How To Use Petroleum Jelly To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- To make a Petroleum Jelly trap, take a jar and apply the jelly to the inner rim of the jar and add pieces or peels of fragrant fruits such as Banana, Mango, Guava, etc. and keep it in the area frequented by the roaches.
- They will get attracted by the fragrance and get stuck in the jar due to the Petroleum jelly. Discard the contents of the jar using soap solution and water. Later, flush it down the toilet.
5. Bay Leaves
Bay Leaves are found in our kitchen and used as a fragrant and adds flavor during cooking. When crushed, essential oils come out of the leaves with a strong fragrance.
How To Use Bay Leaves To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Keeping crushed bay leaves under your pillow, at your shelf corners, amidst your kitchen utensils keeps the roaches away due to the strong smell of the leaves.
- The smell does not kill them but ensures their remote distance from your belongings.
- Better the quality of the leaves, stronger is the fragrance thus keeping the roaches at bay.
6. Listerine
Listerine or any mouthwash is readily available in Grocery stores or Chemist shops. The strong smell and chemicals in the liquid repel the roaches and can be used to kill them too.
How To Use Listerine To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Create a solution using one portion of Listerine and an equal portion of water and add 1-2 drops of any dishwashing liquid or soap solution.
- Pour the mixture into a spraying bottle and spray it right on the roaches, thus ensuring their quick getaway from your homes.
7. Borax
Borax is a Boron compound and used in detergents, cosmetics, etc. Powdered borax is white, dissolves easily in water and is available in Chemist stores. Borax harms the digestive system of the roaches and dries out their exoskeleton, thus killing them.
How To Use Borax To Get Rid Of Roaches?
Here we use sugar to attract the roaches.
- Mix equal parts of Borax and sugar
- Apply this mixture near the roaches’ nest, on the shelves, under the sinks, etc. Guaranteed dead roaches within 2-3 hours of placing the mixture.
Precautions While Using Borax
It is a toxic chemical, and proper caution needs to be maintained while using it. Keep away from pets and children. Wear gloves while making the mixture and wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
8. Fabric Softener
Roaches breathe through their lower body part and when sprayed with fabric softener have difficulty in breathing. Thus, killing them due to suffocation.
How To Use Fabric Softener To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Make a spray by mixing three parts of Fabric Softener with two parts of water.
- Fill a spray bottle with the mixture, seal the bottle and spray the solution on the roaches ensuring that it’s sprayed on the lower part and head.
9. Coffee Trap
The strong caffeine smell attracts the roaches thus luring them into the trap.
How To Use Coffee To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Fill the bottom of a jar with coffee powder which attracts the roaches due to the smell of the Caffeine.
- Fill the jar with water so that roaches drown in it when they try to climb into the jar. The water blocks their pores making it impossible to breathe.
10. Cucumber
Cucumber is the easiest and most organic way to get rid of the roaches, who are repelled by the smell of the cucumbers.
How To Use Cucumber To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Leave some cucumber peels or slices overnight in your kitchen and around the cabinets and sinks to ward off the roaches.
- Cucumber along with bay leaves makes a strong deterrent.
11. Lemon
Lime or any citrus fruits have natural anti-pathogenic properties and a strong fragrance that drives the cockroaches away.
How To Use Lemon To Get Rid Of Roaches?
Just add lemon juice to the water used to mop the floors, kitchen counter tops, cabinets, shelves, etc. to keep the germs away and repel the roaches with the strong citric smell.
12. Bleach
One of the most common disinfectants found in the house.
How To Use Bleach To Get Rid Of Roaches?
- Mix it with water and pour it down the sinks and toilets.
- It will kill any roaches living in the drainage pipes and sewers who will get drowned away by the bleach solution.
13. Moth/ Naphthalene Balls
Mothballs contain a substance called naphthalene which is a solid, white material with a distinctive odor.
How To Use Mothballs To Get Rid Of Roaches?
Place a few in your cupboard and near specific areas prone to infestation or likely to be the nesting area for roaches. Their strong odor wards off the roaches and other pests.
To summarize, roaches are attracted to three simple things: food, shelter, and water. Since they breed quickly, action against them must be taken as soon as possible.
A quick glance at the precautionary measures to prevent roach infestation are:
- Use non-toxic disinfectants.
- Seal any cracks in walls, cabinets, doors, and cupboards.
- Seal the drainage pipes and sink outlets.
- Store food in airtight containers.
- Vacuum or dust the house regularly.
- Take out the garbage regularly and clean the bins.
- Use covered trash cans with lids.
Hope the article helps you to get rid of roaches.
You May Also Like Reading:
