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Getting rid of roaches naturally


How To Get Rid Of Roaches In Your Home: A Complete Guide [2022]

Unfortunately, they’re common pests, and they can be difficult to get rid of. If you have roaches in your home or apartment in areas such as kitchen cabinets, the attic, or in your bathroom, it’s important to get rid of them fast.

Here at Smith’s Pest Management, we help homeowners throughout Northern California, from Marin to Monterey, get rid of pests. Our team offers professional cockroach control services to help you reclaim your space and get life back to normal.

In this post, we’ll share the best and fastest ways to get rid of roaches for good, and everything you need to know about your various options.

Here’s an overview of the roaches you’re most likely to see indoors:

German Cockroaches


Image: LMBuga via Wikipedia / CC by SA 3.0

The German cockroach is the most common cockroach in the U.S. Because they breed so rapidly (each egg case can produce 20-40 baby roaches), even a single female in your home could produce a cockroach infestation of more than 30,000 individuals in a single year.

Unlike other roach species, the female German cockroach carries her egg pouches with her until they’re ready to hatch.

This means infestations spread easily and can be difficult to contain.

All cockroaches have flat, broad bodies with long hind legs and antennae. Their wings lie folded flat on their backs, and most are black or brown.

The German cockroach, however, tends to be light-brown with two dark, parallel stripes that run down the body from the head to the wings.

Brown-Banded Cockroaches


Brown-banded roaches love warm, dry areas, and are commonly found inside walls or electronics like televisions or refrigerators.

A flying cockroach, this species hates water and doesn’t like to live in moist or damp places.

They are about 0.5” in length, and tend to be dark brown. Both males and females have light yellow bands on their wings and abdomens.

American Cockroaches


 Image: Gary Alpert via Wikipedia / CC by SA 2. 5

While the American cockroach isn’t the most common roach species in the U.S., it is the largest.

It’s also one of the longest-lived – with lifespans of about two years.

These roaches are sometimes called the “sewer roach” or “palmetto bugs.” They can reach 1-3” in length and tend to be brown or reddish-brown with light yellow edges around their bodies.

What Attracts Roaches to My Home?

Regardless of what kind of roaches you have in your home, one thing is certain: you don’t want them there.

In addition to giving you the creepy-crawlies, roaches can trigger allergies, spread disease, and create an unsanitary living environment.

Fortunately, the first step to getting rid of roaches is understanding what’s attracting them to your property in the first place.

Here are some of the most common culprits:

1. Food sources

Roaches are omnivores, meaning they’ll eat anything. They are particularly fond of starches, sweets, greasy food, and meats.

Easy sources of food – like dirty dishes in the sink, pet food on the floor, or crumbs on the counter will draw them in.

Roaches also love garbage, so make sure to take the trash out regularly and keep all household garbage cans tightly sealed.

2. Shelter

Cockroaches enter homes for shelter.

Depending on the species of roach, they may live behind picture frames, in hollowed-out wood, in damp places like beneath the sink or behind the toilet, or in the backs of your electronics.

As the temperature dips outside, roaches will venture indoors.

They love quiet, forgotten areas, and may live underneath large appliances, in the corners of basements, and the attic.

3. Location

If you’re wondering “why do I have roaches in my clean house?” we understand.

Solving a roach problem can be frustrating – especially if you’ve been careful to avoid common attractants.

Unfortunately, some locations are just more appealing to roaches than others.

Species like the American cockroach don’t need unsanitary conditions to thrive – they simply enter through a gap in a window seal or a door left open and start establishing themselves in your house.

4. Water

Like all animals, roaches need water to survive – and they’ll enter even the most sanitary homes to find it.

Leaky pipes and faucets are common attractants, as are open showers and pet water bowls.

5. Landscaping

While roaches love to live inside, they’ll also enter your yard in search of food, shelter, and water.

Standing water in birdbaths, gutters, and flowerpots will all attract roaches, as will food sources like birdseed or fruit plants.

How Roaches Enter Your Home

Shelter, food, and water attract roaches to your home, but how do they get in? The most common way roaches enter your home is through tiny cracks and gaps in windows, doors, and other areas.

Here are some of their favorite access points:

1.

Cracks and Gaps in Windows and Doors

Cracks and gaps in your home’s doors and windows are the top way roaches make their way into your home. Doors that aren’t sealed properly and windows that don’t close entirely are perfect access points for roaches.

2. Holes in Pipes and Vents

Another common entrance point for roaches is through holes in pipes and vents. If you live in an older home with vents that have holes or don’t properly seal, it’s an invitation for roaches to come inside.

Check your vents when you replace or service them and keep an eye on pipes and plumbing fixtures for holes or other potential roach access points.

3. Hitching a Ride on Furniture and Other Items

If you’re bringing used furniture or other items into the home, check them for roaches, first. These insects can hole up and hide in used items, only to emerge once they’re safely inside your home.

How to Get Rid of Roaches Naturally: 6 Home Remedies

If you want to get rid of roaches without chemicals such as bombing, foggers, or sprays you’re in luck. There are a handful of effective home remedies that will send these nasty critters packing and many of them are not harmful to children or pets.

Here are a few we recommend:

1. Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth, or DE for short, is an excellent natural insecticide. Composed of pulverized, fossilized algae, DE’s particles are sharp and dehydrating. When roaches come into contact with DE, it damages their exoskeletons and dehydrates them to death.

Purchase some food-grade DE and sprinkle a light coating on any surface where you’ve noticed roach activity.

Pros: Effective, affordable, safe for kids and pets

Cons: Messy, requires re-application, you will have to locate and dispose of dead roaches after each DE treatment

2. Baking Soda

Baking soda is one of the fastest, easiest ways to get rid of roaches – and it’s probably something you already have in your pantry. To make a DIY roach bait, dice a handful of onions and sprinkle them with baking soda.

Place this appetizer in a shallow dish anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity. When the roaches consume the baking soda, it creates gasses in the roaches’ stomachs, causing them to burst.

Pros: Effective, non-toxic, affordable

Cons: Pets may consume the onion mixture (onions are toxic for dogs), messy, requires you to locate and dispose of dead roaches

3. Boric Acid

Boric acid is a naturally-occurring compound. A mixture of water and boron, it shows up in fruits and plants.

And while it’s harmless to people and pets, it’s deadly for roaches. When cockroaches come into contact with boric acid, it sticks to their legs and wings. When they ingest the powder, it acts on the roach’s nervous and digestive systems – killing it rapidly.

To use boric acid to get rid of roaches, sprinkle a light dusting onto a paper plate. Put an orange peel or spoonful of peanut butter in the middle of the plate and place the whole thing anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity.

Pros: Effective, affordable, natural, non-toxic, easy

Cons: Can be messy, requires several applications or treatments, may not be ideal for homes with pets or young kids, requires you to track down and dispose of dead roaches 

4. Borax

Borax is a readily-available laundry product that’s excellent for killing roaches. For best results, combine equal parts borax and white table sugar. Dust the mixture any place you’ve seen roach activity. When the roaches consume the borax, it will dehydrate them and kill them rapidly.

Pros: Effective, affordable, kills both adult and baby roaches  

Cons: Can be messy, requires re-application, requires you to track down and remove dead roach bodies

5. Citrus

Citrus is a tasty treat for humans, but it’s a repellent to cockroaches. The smell of lemons, specifically, deters roaches. Add a few drops of lemon oil to the water you use to mop your floors. The scent won’t be detectable to people, but it will send roaches packing.

Pros: Effective, affordable, ideal for homes with kids and pets

Cons: Does not kill roaches – only deters them

6. Essential Oils

Essential oils are a great natural roach repellant. For best results, purchase peppermint or lemongrass essential oil and mix it with a bit of water. Spray the mixture anywhere you’ve seen roaches.

Pros: Effective, affordable, safe for kids and pets, non-toxic

Cons: Does not kill roaches 

How to Get Rid of Roaches Inside the Home: 5 Conventional Methods

Looking for more conventional options to solve your roach problem? Here are some of the fastest ways to get rid of roaches:

1. Use Glue Traps to Identify Problem Areas

Glue traps are an effective way to identify roach problem areas and resolve infestations.

The smell of the trap lures roaches in and, once they step on the strip, the glue traps them.

For best results, place store-bought glue strips in any place you’ve noticed roach activity, including behind the refrigerator or under the sink.

Pros: Effective, safe for kids and pets (as long as the strips are hidden), fast-acting

Cons: You must monitor strips for a few days or weeks and change and replace them when they become filled with dead roaches 

2. Set Bait Stations

What kills cockroaches almost instantly? Bait stations. Typically, these bait stations come in a long tube and can be placed anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity.

The smell of the bait attracts roaches who then eat the poison. When the roach travels back to its home location and dies, the other roaches will eat it, passing the poison through the group.

Pros: Effective, fast-acting

Cons: Bait stations look unattractive around a home, can be toxic to kids and pets, will leave dead roaches around the home, dead roaches may be consumed by non-target species like birds and other animals – poisoning them as well

3.

Caulk all Entry Points

While glue strips and bait stations can be effective to get rid of roaches, they won’t do much good if new roaches are constantly entering your home. With this in mind, use caulk to seal gaps and possible entry points. Pay close attention to gaps between walls or tile, worn-out weather stripping, or gaps in door and window seals.

Pros: Effective, safe, affordable

Cons: Caulk wears out over time, so you must check and recheck access points routinely

4. Use a Liquid Concentrate

Purchase a liquid roach deterrent concentrate at your local home improvement store. This concentrated liquid is designed to be diluted and sprayed into cracks and crevices where roaches like to hide.

If you need a more comprehensive solution, you can also add a bit of the concentrate to a mop bucket and mop your floors with the solution. This option will deter roaches overnight and keep them from coming back.

Pros: Effective, fast-acting, affordable.

Cons: Contains toxic ingredients, not ideal for homes with kids and pets. 

5. Hire a Pest Management Professional

For best results, hire a professional roach management team like Smith’s to get rid of your infestation once and for all.

Professional teams know how to locate and eradicate roach infestations safely and effectively, without putting your kids, pets, or household at risk.

Pros: Effective, safe, long-lasting, can deal with roach infestations both indoors and outside the home

Cons: Requires a larger upfront investment than DIY options

Roach Bombs: Avoid if Possible

When wondering how to get rid of roaches without an exterminator, some people turn to roach bombs.

Also called “foggers,” roach bombs spray a pesticide into the air.

When the pesticide falls to the ground, it coats indoor surfaces and kills target pests. Most roach bombs are designed to be placed in the center of the room and activated.

Unfortunately, roach bombs are extremely toxic, and we recommend against using them. There are safer and more effective ways to get rid of your roach infestation.

Pros: Fast-acting

Cons: Toxic, flammable, most effective only for flying roaches, not suitable for homes with pets or young children, requires you to vacate the home while the roach bomb works 

How to Get Rid of Roaches Outside Your House

If you want to prevent cockroaches in your house, you have to start by limiting their numbers outside your home.

Here’s how:

1. Clean Up

Remember: roaches need three things to survive – food, water, and shelter. While you can’t eliminate these things in the outdoor environment, you can make your landscaping less welcoming for them.

Here are a few tips:

Pros: Effective, affordable, makes your landscaping look beautiful

Cons: Does not kill or get rid of roaches – only makes your landscaping less appealing for them

2.

Use Sticky Traps

Sticky traps aren’t only for indoor use – you can place them outdoors, too. Lay sticky traps down any place you see roaches entering your home, such as cracks around doors or windows, or foundations.

If you’re not sure where the roaches are coming from, lay the traps down in a few locations and check the traps daily to identify high-traffic routes.

Pros: Effective way to identify roach routes

Cons: Unsightly, time-consuming

3. Place Bait

To decrease the number of roaches entering your home, kill them with bait before they get inside.

Since roaches like to keep the top or side of their bodies pressed against something as they walk, your bait stations will be most effective when placed next to outbuildings, ledges, corners, fences, or the foundation of your home.

Pros: Effective, fast-acting, long-term solution

Cons: Toxic, can be dangerous for kids, pets, and other animals

4.

Spray Pesticide

One of the more effective ways to get rid of roaches is to spray a pesticide around the perimeter of your yard and home. These sprays are long-acting (many last three months or more) and will kill roaches on contact.

Pros: Effective, long-acting

Cons: Toxic, can be dangerous for kids, pets, and other animals 

How do Exterminators Get Rid of Roaches?

If you hire a professional exterminator to get rid of roaches, what can you expect?

Here’s how our team at Smith’s Pest Management does it:

Step 1: The Inspection

Our cockroach control experts will arrive at your property to inspect the infestation. We’ll look for areas where the roaches are accessing your home, and sources of moisture or food that may be enticing them.

We’ll also identify the species of cockroach you’re dealing with and formulate a plan for cockroach control.

Step 2: The First Treatment

Based on the information we gleaned during our initial inspection, we’ll develop a treatment plan for your home. Since cockroaches can be a difficult pest to eradicate, we take a two-step process to get rid of them.

Depending on the severity of your infestation, our preliminary treatment may include baiting, monitoring, trapping, or spraying the cockroaches or providing education, cleaning and sanitization services, or insect growth regulators.

During this step, we’ll place cockroach monitors to gauge activity.

Step Three: The Follow-Up Visit

Once we’ve deployed our initial treatment, we’ll check our monitors and deploy additional treatments, as needed. The result is a complete end to your infestation, as quickly as possible.

How Do I Keep Roaches Out of My House?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Keep roaches out of your home in the first place with these simple tips:

1. Clean the House

First things first: start by removing everything that could attract roaches.

Any homemade roach killer you employ will be more effective if you make your home as unwelcoming as possible before using it.

Here are a few items to check off the to-do list:

2. Get Serious About Storing Food

If you want to keep roaches out of your house, eliminating food sources is critical. One of the best ways to do this is to store food in airtight glass or plastic containers.

Store perishables in the refrigerator, and avoid leaving fruits and vegetables out on the counter.

3. Clean Kitchen Appliances

Remember: roaches love fat and grease, and your kitchen is a great place to find these tasty treats. With this in mind, keep the stovetop, dishwasher, and other cooking appliances clean.

Pay special attention to areas like the drip pans under stove burners, the backsplash, and your garbage disposal.

Additionally, make sure you’re wiping counters and tables after you cook each night. To add an additional layer of protection, add a few drops of lemon oil to your cleaning water. The scent of citrus will keep cockroaches from coming back.

4. Get Rid of Newspapers and Cardboard Boxes

Roaches love newspaper and cardboard boxes because they make excellent breeding and nesting material. To prevent roach infestations, recycle or get rid of old newspapers and used cardboard boxes as quickly as possible.

5. Seal Cracks and Entry Points

Roaches can squeeze their small bodies through tiny gaps and cracks. To prevent them from gaining access to your home, seal cracks in the home’s foundation and install door sweeps to block gaps under doors.

You’ll also want to check for gaps around windows, and around holes used for gas, plumbing, and electric lines, and crawl space vents. Use caulk or sprayable foam to seal these cracks and keep your home roach-free.

6. Fix Leaks Right Away

If you have plumbing leaks in your home, fix them as quickly as possible. Even a tiny pipe drip is enough to provide roaches with the moisture they need to survive.

In addition to fixing leaks, regularly inspect sinks, refrigerators, appliances, and faucets to ensure they’re not leaking or producing excess moisture.

Are Roaches Taking Over Your San Francisco Bay Area Home? We’re Here to Help!

Our team is here to help you get rid of roaches permanently. We provide top-quality pest control services to residential and commercial customers in Northern California – from Marin to Monterey.

Don’t settle for living with roaches – call our team for fast, effective roach control services: (408) 871-6988

8 Tips to Get Rid of Roaches Naturally

Roaches are annoying pests that infest your home and garden, searching for shelter, food, and water. Although they generally visit places with filth on the ground, just because you have roaches doesn’t mean you have a dirty home!

Cockroaches can contaminate food, cause allergic reactions, or make asthma worse, so getting rid of them as soon as you notice them is important for your health.

Unsure if you have a roach in your home? Watch this video to see what they look like and learn about the different types, including German cockroaches:


What is the best natural home remedy for getting rid of cockroaches?

1. Boric acid

Boric acid is a powerful natural home remedy for getting rid of roaches overnight.

Mix equal amounts of boric acid, flour, and sugar until it becomes a dough-like consistency.

Place small pieces where the roaches can feed on them.

2. Borax

Borax is a powdery substance best known for its laundry boosting power, and it can be used as an alternative method for getting rid of roaches.

Borax is safe for humans and pets in small amounts. Mix equal parts sugar and borax, and spread a light dusting around the area where you’ve seen the pesky bugs.

3. Mothballs

Mothballs act as both moth deterrents and anti-mite attractants — the smell of naphthalene blocks their respiratory system and makes it hard for them to breathe.

Place two or three mothballs in areas where you’ve seen cockroaches, and they’ll (hopefully!) stay far away.

4. Essential oils

Citrus and peppermint essential oils are great for keeping roaches at bay, since these insects despise those scents. This method works well for getting rid of roaches in an apartment.

Lemon and lemongrass essential oils specifically will drive any cockroach away due to their strong scent of limonene, which smells like nothing else on earth!

Add a couple of drops of citrus or peppermint essential oil to a few cotton balls, and lay them around where the roaches in your home congregate. Add a few drops to your mopping water to spread the scent across your rooms.

Shop for natural roach remedies from Grove.

How to prevent roaches from getting into your home

Follow these easy tips to keep cockroaches from entering your home in the first place:

1. Deep clean your home weekly

Keeping your home clean will help keep those roaches — and other little buggers — away.

A thorough weekly cleaning, especially in the kitchen and bathroom , which are popular hangouts for roaches, will also help you understand the status of your cockroach infestation.

2. Clean up the kitchen each night

Leaving food out or dirty dishes in the sink at night is an open invitation to cockroaches.

Do the dishes, and wipe away crumbs and spills from the counters before you go to bed.

Store food in sealable, air-tight containers, including dry goods you keep in the pantry.

Don’t leave food out at night — including snack remnants in the living room or crumbs under the table — so that any roaches that visit won’t find anything to eat

3.

Keep a lid on the garbage can

Cockroaches love the garbage can, and keeping it clean and covered with a tight lid is a great way to help keep roaches out of your kitchen.

Empty the trash regularly, and never leave anything behind in the can, or it will accumulate filth over time — an open invitation for roaches and maggots , another worst-of-the-worst pest to have in your home!

4. Seal cracks and holes

Cockroaches are pesky pests that can cause a lot of trouble for homeowners. One way to keep them out of your home is to block all entrances where you suspect they may be entering.

Suspect areas include tiny cracks or holes along baseboards, windows, and service entrances (like cable or pipes) that could provide an opening into your home.

When should you call a pest control company for roaches?

Professional pest control for a heavy roach infestation is a must. A pest control company will likely use harmful chemicals, but they will use them far more responsibly than the average homeowner, who may think more is better. Practice good sanitation after pest removal to help prevent the chance of a re-infestation in the future!

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How to get rid of cockroaches naturally - best result

Targani buildings live in extreme minds. The stench is not afraid of radiation, sticks to chemicals and boldly sue people who have plenty of life. Sob pozbutisya vіd tsikh komakh, vikoristovuyut raznі vіznі methods iznischennya, including freezing (rather not to practice in apartments and houses with water scorching). The most effective way to reduce targans is to call fakhivtsiv with good possessions, or you can try to solve the problem on your own.

Are the stars and like targani taken to the booths?

targani linger in missions, where there are plenty of zhі and vologists. You can often see them in shops, places of public eating, in warehouses. With purchases and speeches, the stench is consumed in apartments and private booths, regional colonies.

Another reason for the appearance of targaniv is that the apartment of susidiv is infected. Tsі komakhi can get into your life through ventilation shafts, slots in pіdloga i vіknakh or simply through vіdkritі vhіdnі doors. Їх add:

navit with regular tidying up, comakhs know for themselves a quiet little tuft and zherelo їzhi.

Methods for lowering targans

Relief from targans over singing training and pedantry. The first stage of the fight against shkіdnikami - vіdrіzati slyakhi їh penetration into your house. Who needs:

After the liquidation of the gaps, it is necessary to carry out the processing of all the premises, if possible - the exit platform. Bazhano home with susidy and bring in targans at once. For disinsection of vicorist, there are three types of methods:

From folk recipes for the fight against cockroaches, the scattering of boric acid, which causes fatal dehydration in insects, is most often used. You can scatter bay leaves, catnip around the apartment - they scare away pests, but do not kill them.

Traps for cockroaches can be bought in specialized stores or made independently by putting the bait on the bottom of the jar and lubricating the neck with oil from the inside. Regular trapping weakens the colony, but does not completely solve the problem.

Insecticide treatment of premises is one of the most effective methods for eliminating insects. The preparations are applied to all surfaces, including the areas between walls and sofas, beds, cabinets. You can process the furniture from the inside. Having bought the desired drug, carefully study the instructions, and use personal protective equipment when processing. At the time of disinfestation, children, pets should not be in the premises, it is also better to take out indoor plants.

How to prepare an apartment for disinfection

Before building an apartment or a private booth, it is necessary to prepare all the rooms. Basic preparatory calls:

Retelny preparation, effective preparation and correct processing - a guarantee of success in the fight with targans. So that the problem does not recur in the future, do not make good decisions for the comrades for reproduction. It is necessary to tidy up the table and clean the table every day after the meal, blow all the turns of the water from the plumbing system, wipe off the condensate on the pipes and cough from the bathrooms.

If the disinfection was successful, it would be better to trust the fahivtsy, having turned to the right company. The experts of the firm "Licvidator" vicorista are now in possession, for the help of which insecticides are sprayed on all surfaces, put in places with important access - under the beds, sofas, between the walls and important cabinet furniture. Viklik fahivtsiv of the company "Licvidator" will help you save time and effort and achieve a good result.

Find out more about targans

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How to easily and easily get rid of cockroaches naturally

Technology Cockroaches are disgusting guests and it can be very difficult to completely eliminate them from your home. These insects are not only repulsive, but they also carry diseases and can contaminate food supplies without you even noticing. The biggest concern is that cockroaches can hide almost anywhere in an apartment or house, and are usually active at night when we sleep.
Are you ready to get rid of cockroaches? There are many pest control products available today that can quickly and easily eliminate these pests in seconds. But the substances in their composition are usually very toxic to both your health and the health of your pets.


In today's article, we will share some home remedies for cockroaches made from natural, highly effective and inexpensive ingredients.


Where do cockroaches hide?
Before we teach you how to keep these pests under control naturally, it's important to find their favorite places in your home where they hide during the day.


In crevices and cracks in cabinets and furniture in the kitchen and bathroom.
In wooden furniture.
They come in from outside through small openings in doors and windows.
They live in drainpipes and faucets in the kitchen or bathroom, in gas pipes, heating and air conditioning pipes, shields or ceiling panels.
They like to hide behind or under the refrigerator, oven, blender, microwave picchu and other household appliances.
Cardboard boxes, storage containers, buy paper, and pet food are their favorite spots.
Under wooden floor.
Wherever there is scrap, discarded building material or debris.


How to get rid of cockroaches?
Homemade insecticides are a great option for killing and repelling cockroaches. But before you apply any of these "remedies", remember that the state of cleanliness and tidiness of your home is the most important factor in the fight against this pest.


First you need to close all the gaps around the dishwasher, sink, shower and bath. It also helps ensure that the kitchen and bathroom stay dry.


Clean under furniture frequently, including under chairs, beds, mattresses, pillows, carpets, and especially between furniture and walls.


Empty and clean any drawers or shelves containing books, magazines, or clothes.
Do not leave dirty dishes or any leftovers in the sink that attract cockroaches. Also, remember to seal food containers tightly, especially pet food.


Home remedies for cockroaches

Bay leaf: Simply place chopped or crushed bay leaves in areas where you suspect cockroaches live. They hate the smell of this plant and tend to leave these areas immediately.


Onion & Boric Acid This remedy is very popular due to the fact that it is both very effective and inexpensive. Make a paste using a medium-sized finely chopped onion, half a cup of flour, a small amount of water or beer, a pinch of sugar, and 3-4 teaspoons of boric acid powder (you can find it at hardware stores).

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