In this article we will see together how to get rid of cockroaches in your home permanently, trying to indicate all the home remedies and tricks to eliminate these insects.
We will also give you some essential tips to speed up this elimination and also how to prevent a possible return of these harmful and dangerous insects to your health.
I. What is a cockroach
The cockroach is an insect that usually lives in forests of about 2 cm long, and has gradually found refuge in homes and other human dwellings.
It infests houses where it is easy to find food, unfortunately, it reproduces very quickly and can be a vector of many diseases.
In France, the most common species of cockroach is the German cockroach.
The German cockroach is a nocturnal insect and comes out mainly at night. It spends its time in warm and humid places, where it seeks first to drink, then to feed, and finally to reproduce.
This is why the cockroach likes kitchens and bathrooms.
If it is a myth that cockroaches like dirty houses, their behavior does not invalidate it.
Since they indeed deposit their feces, saliva, and traces of contaminated water, both full of bacteria.
It considerably increases the risk of illness and asthma, especially in fragile people, i.e. children and the elderly.
II. cockroach lifespan
Another plague of cockroaches is their great and rapid reproduction and therefore widespread. It is not for nothing that we often equate the cockroach with swarming.
The amount of time a cockroach life is on average between 12 and 18 months. It spends its first month in the egg state and then passes through the different larval stages until it reaches the last larval state which is the pupal state. The amount of time a cockroach lives in this intermediate state is about 8 months.
Then the amount of time a cockroach lives as an adult, i.e. as an imago, is 7 months on average before giving way to the new generations that will succeed it in its habitat.
And this amount of time varies greatly depending on the species and the temperature of the environment where it lives.
A female can be fertilized more than 30 times during her short life. Each time she lays her eggs, she lays an ootheca (eggshell) containing between 20 and 80 eggs.
An ootheca looks like a brown bean (or white just before hatching) one centimeter long.
The female cockroach can lay an average of 1500 eggs in a lifetime. The cockroach lives as an egg, in the ootheca, for 1 month as mentioned above.
The larvae go through 5 to 10 molts, depending on the species, to reach adulthood where they can reproduce again.
The amount of time a cockroach’s life is so long compared to its multiplication that it is necessary to react as soon as possible to each beginning of the invasion of these insects. Otherwise, it would be very expensive for the victim.
III. How to get rid of cockroaches in your home permanently by cleaning
Now that we know our enemy, it’s time to take the necessary steps to get rid of it.
Before we go any further, here are some basic tips on how to get rid of roaches forever.
1. Get rid of all food waste
The first thing to do to get rid of roaches is to starve them out. So take your vacuum cleaner, sponge, and brooms and clean up.
You need to hide all the food in enclosed areas and if possible put them in closed boxes.
But first, inspect them for oothecae or roach eggs and throw any food suspected of harboring these eggs in the outside trash.
Next, vacuum all your cupboards, furniture, and floors. After that, clean your stoves, ovens, hoods, microwave ovens, toasters, and refrigerators with white vinegar.
There should be no crumbs left. Don’t eat in your room, on your couch… otherwise, you’ll have to vacuum after every meal.
If this seems like a good idea at first glance, it’s not nearly enough. As we saw in the first part, the cockroach is a professional of survival, it can survive almost a month without feeding.
Of course “patience is the mother of safety”, but you can’t live for another month with cockroaches.
2. The big cleaning
To make sure that no crumbs are left and to purify your house of all the impurities brought by cockroaches, you must persevere and start the big cleaning to eliminate cockroaches for good.
Get out your vacuum cleaner and broom!
Clean the bottom of your sofa, your bed, your carpet, your rugs, and under your carpets. The task is not over.
You also need to clean the windows and your bathroom. Do not forget the inaccessible corners, behind your desk, for example, cockroaches particularly like the shade.
Don’t hesitate to move furniture to do the cleaning. Empty your garbage regularly. Inspect and clean your cat’s litter box, which may contain cockroach eggs.
As long as you are infested, repeat your cleaning every few days.
Be careful, if you see an egg cell: don’t crush it. If you crush it, eggs may be found in a corner and hatch into cockroaches.
If you see a cockroach, don’t crush it either, if it’s a female with an egg sac, the same problem arises.
In any case, get rid of roaches by drowning them in soapy water, burning them in a fireplace, or locking them in your freezer for a week.
3. Leaking water
Cockroaches can’t survive more than a week without water. If they are in your home, it’s also because there is plenty of water.
So check that there are no leaks in your taps, bathtubs, showers, toilets… If there are, repair them as soon as possible.
Also, check that there is no standing water in your sink or puddles in your bathroom. Take a rag and try your room after every shower.
Also, use a moisture absorber to get rid of condensation. Wring out your sponges well or put them in airtight bags.
Sponges, by the way, are the equivalent of water bowls for roaches.
And finally do not forget to use the natural anti-cockroach products that we have mentioned in this article in your kitchen lever to get rid of cockroaches in the drains.
IV. Some Natural remedies to get rid of roaches in your house
There are several grandmotherly recipes to eliminate cockroaches permanently. Here are a few that have proven to be effective when properly applied.
1. How to use boric acid against cockroaches
Boric acid is a cockroach-repellent. You can make your repellent easily with this ingredient.
With gloves on, mix 30 g of condensed milk with 30 g of boric acid. Adjust the ingredients to make a paste with a pancake-like texture.
Then roll the mixture into balls the size of small marbles. Place the balls on a sheet of paper towel so they don’t stick to the floor and place them in rooms where cockroaches live and near water sources.
Keep the mixture away from children and pets. The boric acid will work for about 6 months.
You can also dilute 100 ml of boric acid in one liter of water. Clean your floor with it. Do not use this technique if you have small children or pets, boric acid should not be ingested.
Also, it is not at all advisable to clean your kitchen furniture with boric acid even in the case of an infestation.
2. Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth or silicon dioxide powder is a substance that is harmful to cockroaches and most insects, but harmless to humans and pets.
So don’t hesitate to treat infested areas with diatomaceous earth.
You can also place a sugar cube on top of 2 centimeters of diatomaceous earth. This powder has the inherent ability to dehydrate cockroaches in just a few days.
The cockroaches, once contaminated, will then come out of their hiding places to seek or find water to rehydrate.
In about two weeks, the roaches will all be wiped out. Of course, even if you use this technique, always keep up the good housekeeping.
Diatomaceous earth must be renewed as soon as it gets wet. It loses its ability to dehydrate insects. It is therefore advisable to protect it from humidity.
3. Essential oils
Essential oils are a simple way to prevent the arrival of these harmful insects. They are very effective in scaring away or eliminating roaches permanently from our homes.
If you have a diffuser, eucalyptus or laurel oil are well suited to scare away cockroaches.
If you do not have one, soak a few drops on a paper towel and put it in your closets and all places likely to shelter them.
4. Baking Soda
Baking soda is an almost magical ingredient that has ten or more proven uses. It is particularly recommended for the elimination of various insect pests such as bedbugs, fleas, ants, and of course roaches.
This white substance acts like diatomaceous earth that dries the skin of the insects, which leads to their elimination.
The method is straightforward. Mix one-part baking soda with one-part sugar. Place this mixture near the cracks on a dish.
In a well-cleaned house where no crumbs are lying around, cockroaches will surely be hungry. Then they will undoubtedly be attracted to the sugar.
Once the mixture is consumed, it will dehydrate and die.
5. Laurel and other repellents
Much like essential oils, you can chop up bay leaves and/or catnip and place them throughout your home.
Onions are also an effective repellent for roaches and many other pests. The smell will scare them away.
Place them mainly near cracks and in your cupboards, closets, and drawers.
For all these methods, continue to treat for at least one more week after the roaches have left.
If you stop all these treatments and even one egg cell remains, the infestation could very well start all over again.
If you live in an apartment building, recommend that your neighbors check to see if they are being invaded as well.
Ask them to do a preventive treatment (essential oils for example).
6. Install roach traps
Traps, mainly sticky, are very effective in eliminating roaches permanently. Place them all at once throughout your home.
Put them on walls, under sinks, and in your kitchen.
From time to time, inspect them and remove dead roaches from the traps. Use reusable traps to reduce costs.
In case you have caught a lot of roaches in one place, do a thorough inspection of the room for a nest, and don’t leave any cracks or holes without cleaning it.
You can also opt for homemade traps.
For this, nothing could be simpler. Take an empty can or jam jar. Place a base of oil, petroleum jelly, soapy water, or some kind of lubricating liquid. Add sweet food (condensed milk, sugar, fruit…). Wait for it.
It is also possible to design this type of trap with a glass; into which you pour sweet wine. Once the pests are caught, eliminate them.
7. Block cockroach hiding places
Cockroaches very often hide in dark and isolated corners. If you want to get rid of roaches permanently, then you need to inspect every corner of the house for any holes, especially where there are pipes and connections between walls.
Also, do not forget the bottoms of drawers, closets, closets, bags, piles of magazines, boxes, clothes, bookcases, behind furniture, especially washing machines.
Inspect your cellars and attics carefully, as these damp rooms are often a haven for these pests.
Once you have found the hiding place, seal it with tape or mosquito netting if it is in a piece of furniture or a machine.
But if it’s in a wall, simply seal it with cement or plaster.
8. Adopt a cat
Cats, in addition to being very cute pets, are also very good roach and mouse hunters.
Of course, don’t adopt a cat just to get rid of your roaches, but if you have one, it’s a solution.
If your neighbors or friends go on vacation, offer to keep their feline for a week, to make sure a guy is hunting those roaches in your house.
V. How to get rid of cockroaches In your Home permanently with chemical products
Many chemical products are sold on the market and in stores specializing in the fight against cockroaches.
Most of them are, despite the high cost of some, very effective. They can be found in powder, paste, or gel form in a syringe.
These roach control chemicals should be put in the corners of the house that are likely to house these insects or see them pass by.
They are so effective for some, that a few drops of, for example, a cockroach gel can eliminate them for a long time.
The only drawback to these products is that they are so toxic that they can poison small children and pets that come in contact with them.
You have to be careful when applying them. And the best solution for homes with small children and pets is to apply them in places that are out of reach such as behind the fridge, stove, and under sinks.
VI. Other questions about cockroaches in the house
We will address some issues related to our topic: how to eliminate cockroaches permanently, trying to be brief and precise.
1. Are cockroaches dangerous?
The cockroach is not dangerous in itself for humans. It does not sting and does not have venom. But because of the places, it frequents like dumpsters, damp corners, and other dirt, it is a great carrier of dangerous bacteria.
These bacteria are an essential vector for the transmission of diseases such as dysentery, salmonellosis, and typhoid fever.
The cockroach transmits these diseases through the droppings and saliva it leaves on food or places likely to host food.
2. What food attracts cockroaches?
The cockroach is an omnivorous insect. That is to say that it can eat everything: meat, bread, cheese, cereals, fruits, vegetables, and all sweet products.
3. Do cockroaches bite?
The answer is no. The cockroach always tends to flee from the presence of humans or other animals. It rarely bites, except in rare cases where it might feel in danger.
Even in this case, almost all cockroach species flee instead of reacting to external aggression.
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cockroaches were an ancient group of insects that arose during the Devonian period