The roach is one pest that most people squirm at. You can crunch them under foot but there are many myths regarding the roach and how to kill it.
In fact there are 4,500 species of roach in the world but only a handful of them are considered pests. Of course if those pests are invading your home then you’ll need to take prompt action.
Getting in a professional firm is always a good idea, but there are a few things you can try yourself to help get rid of roaches:
Food & Water
A roach can survive for approximately one month without food. But it can only survive a week without water. This is the best target point to kill existing roaches and prevent new ones arriving.
Clean all standing water from your home. Dry the surfaces, dishes and even splashes round the toilet.
You should also clean your work surfaces with an anti-bacterial spray and seal all food in containers. This will prevent the roaches from having access to food.
Without food and water they will die or simply leave.
Bait Traps
You can purchase bait traps from most stores or pest control centers. Put them in dark places, such as under your kitchen cupboards. These are the sorts of places that roaches go.
The poison in the bait box should kill the roach.
However it is possible to get some poisons which have a delayed reaction. This allows the roach to go back to the nest and share the poison; killing more roaches in the process.
A green alternative is to mix boric acid with a little flour and water. Flour attracts roaches but boric acid will eat their exoskeleton.
Sticky Traps
This is similar in theory to the bait stations. The main difference is that the roaches are literally stuck to the trap. They won’t die instantly.
However, although less humane these traps will help you to identify where the majority of the roaches are coming from. They don’t usually stray far from their home.
You can then figure out which part of your house needs to be targeted and treated.
Diatomaceous Earth
This is classified as a low risk product. In fact most places do not even recognize it as a pesticide. It is a natural product which comes from the earth and is made up of diatom fossils which have decomposed over millions of years.
All you do is spread it on the floor near where you think the nest is. The roach walks through it and it eats into their exoskeleton. The result is rapid water loss and death.
Professional Help
Once you realize that roaches can live in large colonies you may simply want to get the professionals in to deal with the issue.
Not only will they have experience at locating the nest, they will usually give you a guarantee that the issue has been solved. You’ll be paying for peace of mind and that’s priceless!
