How to Get Rid of Cockroaches

Cockroaches are the ultimate pest. They eat any type of food, spread diseases as they live and breed in sewers and drainage systems as well as roof voids subfloors wall cavities and other undetected areas. Once they settle in your home, it can be an involved process to rid them from your property successfully. Here is what you need to do.

Remove Food and Water Sources

Cockroaches can't live without water for more than a week, whereas some cockroaches can go up to a month without food.

• Fix all water leaks in your home. If you know a bit about plumbing, you could fix some of these yourself. If you have more serious plumbing problems, call a plumber as soon as practicable.
• Keep your home clean. Sweep up crumbs, wipe up spills, and do the dishes right away. Make sure your kitchen is very clean, including the oven and stove tops; cockroaches like grease. Mop properly, and make sure you don't leave excess water on the floor.
• Store food properly. Don't leave dirty dishes out overnight, and don't leave food (especially fruit) out for long periods of time. Keep your food containers sealed - they should be airtight.
• Dispose of trash properly. Keep a separate trash receptacle for food waste. Use trash cans with lids. Take out your trash regularly, and store it in sealable containers away from the house.

Cockroach Traps

Cockroach traps are good if you have a small number of cockroaches in your home.

• Traps available in stores. Most of these rely on adhesives to trap cockroaches once they are lured in. Place liberally where the cockroaches seem to frequent.
• DIY plastic bottle traps. You can use any size of disposable drink bottle, as long as it has a cylindrical body and curves in at the top. Cut the top off the bottle where it begins to curve in. Pour some water with a bit of dish soap into the bottle. You can also add bait, such as coffee grounds or something sweet. Flip the top over and carefully place into the body of the bottle; it should look like a funnel. Place the trap where you've seen cockroaches - they will enter the trap through the funnel and drown.
• DIY water jar trap. Put coffee grounds and some water into a jar and place it up against a wall. Cockroaches will enter the trap and drown. These can also be made from other containers, such as margarine tubs.

Insecticides

Use with care if you have pets or children.

• Cockroach bait. The ones you see in stores either come in a little case or in the form of a gel you apply to areas cockroaches frequent. They contain a sweet "food" mixed with slow-acting poison, which the cockroaches eat and bring back to their nest. It may take several weeks to wipe out a nest since the eggs will hatch and those cockroaches will need to continue the poisoning cycle.
• Sprays. Keep pets and children away as you spray. Target baseboards, cracks, vents - wherever cockroaches are hiding or entering. Make sure you don't spray cockroach bait, or the cockroaches won't eat it.

Hire a Professional

Some articles promote using professional-grade insecticides and products, but if your infestation is serious, you really need to call in the professionals. Sometimes you may inadvertently drive cockroaches deeper into your walls (but not kill the colony) with your efforts, which could be even more disastrous. When in doubt, consult with professional, dependable pest control.