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Quickly stop roaches and keep them from coming back with these expert pest control tips
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Did you turn on your kitchen light and catch sight of some roaches skittering away? Even if you manage to squish a few, there may be more you haven’t seen yet. The thought of cockroaches hiding in your home may be unpleasant, but you can easily get control over these pests before they start to spread. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through how to trap, kill, and prevent those pesky roaches from growing into an infestation.
This article is based on an interview with our MMPC-certified pest control specialist, Kevin Carrillo. Check out the full interview here.
Things You Should Know
- Put adhesive traps in cabinets, under large appliances, and in the corners of a room to stop cockroaches in their tracks.
- Leave out bait traps so roaches bring pesticides back to the nest to kill the entire infestation.
- Spray roaches with insecticide or a concentrated liquid roach killer to kill them on contact and deter them from the area.
- Try dusting diatomaceous earth or boric acid along cracks and crevices to use them as natural pesticide powders.
Steps
Join the Discussion...
I recently moved into a new apartment and discovered there are roaches. We're pretty good about keeping tidy but we've gone into clean overdrive... Read More
I've had the best luck killing roaches with boric acid. Just sprinkle some around the perimeter of the room, inside cabinets, and near doors and... Read More
Do these work well for all kinds of roaches? I've seen some pretty small ones and some really big ones at home. Are they the same?... Read More
Expert Q&A
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QuestionHow do roaches get into your house?Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.Cockroaches are absolute experts when it comes to hitching a ride into your home. Cockroaches can sneak in from a delivery package, the cardboard cutout for a 6-pack of beer, or airport luggage. Once they're inside, they're there for good and it can be pretty difficult to get rid of them.
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QuestionWhere do cockroaches hide?Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.Cockroaches like to hide in small openings that are only 1 or 2 millimeters wider than they are. You can find them at the top of cabinets, behind shelfs, in small openings around baseboards, and behind appliances. This is part of why they're a pain to get rid of; it can be hard to find where the cockroach's nest is.
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QuestionDoes cockroach bait actually work?Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News.Yes, the over the counter baits and sprays will kill cockroaches. You can always spray them with rubbing alcohol, too. That will kill them pretty quickly.
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Tips
- Keep bath drains plugged to prevent cockroaches from coming up from the pipes. [22] X Research sourceThanks
Tips from our Readers
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.
- If you stay in a motel or other location with a roach problem, be extra cautious not to transfer roaches back home with you. Carefully inspect luggage before packing it and wash all clothing immediately when you return. Store food tightly sealed and keep your space very clean.
- When spraying pesticides into cracks and crevices, spray until soaked to ensure roaches contacting the surfaces die quickly. However, avoid overusing pesticides and don't continue using them unnecessarily once the infestation is under control.
- When using boric acid powder or other pesticide dusts, be sure to wear gloves while applying it. Then discard the gloves so roaches aren't attracted to pesticide residue on your hands later. This protects you from exposure.
- Consider adopting a few geckos and releasing them in your home. Geckos will hunt down roach nests and eat their eggs. This can provide natural pest control. However, be prepared to be startled by the freely roaming geckos!
- To make a homemade sticky trap, cover a cookie sheet completely with shipping tape, sticky side up. Put sugar or another food in the center as bait. Roaches will be drawn in and get trapped by the tape.
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Warnings
- If you can’t get a handle on a roach infestation on your own, then call a professional exterminator to come get rid of them for you.Thanks
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References
- ↑ Kevin Carrillo. Pest Control Specialist. Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.
- ↑ https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG082
- ↑ Kevin Carrillo. Pest Control Specialist. Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.
- ↑ https://extension.msstate.edu/publications/control-household-insect-pests
- ↑ Hussam Bin Break. Pest Control Professional. Expert Interview. 28 June 2019.
- ↑ https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-23/E-23.html
- ↑ Kevin Carrillo. Pest Control Specialist, MMPC. Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.
- ↑ Kevin Carrillo. Pest Control Specialist. Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.
- ↑ https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7467.html
- ↑ https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/dam/pubs_ext_vt_edu/ENTO/ento-528/ENTO-528.pdf
- ↑ https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/less-toxic-insecticides/
- ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28334192/
- ↑ https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/cockroach-control/
- ↑ https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/roach/roach10eng.pdf
- ↑ http://npic.orst.edu/faq/roach.html
- ↑ https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG082
- ↑ Kevin Carrillo. Pest Control Specialist. Expert Interview. 22 October 2019.
- ↑ https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG082
- ↑ https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7467.html
- ↑ https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG082
- ↑ https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/cockroachmanagement.shtml
- ↑ https://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/cockroachmanagement.shtml
About This Article
Article Summary
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To get rid of roaches, keep your kitchen as clean as possible to cut off their food source. Wash dirty dishes right after using them, wipe the floors and countertops regularly to get rid of crumbs, and clean up spilled food in your kitchen cabinets. Keep your trash in a sealed bin so roaches can’t get into it. Additionally, make your own cockroach bait by mixing 3 parts boric acid with 1 part powdered sugar. Sprinkle the bait in your kitchen cabinets, behind appliances, and in your pantry. The sugar will attract roaches, and when they eat it, the boric acid will kill them. Make sure to keep children and pets away from your cockroach bait. If you encounter a roach while you’re cleaning or putting out bait, spray it with soapy water to kill it. Keep in mind that it can take weeks or months to get rid of all the roaches in your home, so you may want to hire an exterminator if you can’t wait that long. To learn more about how to set roach traps and use pesticides, continue reading!
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- "The information here is thorough. Instructions included are easily understood! Even though I was aware of using boric acid as a treatment, the forms of treatment and prevention were clearly addressed. Thank you so much for providing such a great resource!" ..." more
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"I used foggers, soap spray, roach spray, seal cracks, traps in cabinets and pesticides under fridge. It's a continuous process, but if you're disgusted with roaches as much as I am, you keep it up until they're gone!"
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"Boric acid did the trick for me. I deep cleaned my kitchen and poured the boric acid everywhere, especially the places where I had seen the roaches. Within a week they were completely gone, and it's been over a year."
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