Nontoxic Roach Control for Your Home
Tamara Waters
- Published Content: 121
- Total Views: 51,444
- Favorited By: 13 CPs
We've all seen them at one time or another: Those nasty brown-black roaches skittering around in the kitchen or bathroom. 
If you find that you are seeing a roach every now and then, know that there are several more that you don't see. If you have a heavy infestation, you may need to call in a professional exterminator to deal with it. When dealing with a few roaches, though, there are a few low-cost simple - and nontoxic - ways to get rid of them yourself.
Outside your home, keep debris away from the foundation. Firewood stacked against the side of a house is an amusement park for roaches. Seal up cracks around windows, doors, and other openings.
One of the first defenses against roaches in your house is to declutter. Roaches seem to love clutter - especially paper clutter. Stacked newspapers and cardboard boxes are a magnet for roaches - add moisture to that and you're in for trouble.
Take the decluttering one step further and get things up off the floor. This will eliminate one hiding place for roaches.
Since roaches love wet, damp places - clean out the cabinets under your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Check for leaky pipes and damp items. If you find a leak, fix it and clean up the mess it's made.
In the kitchen - and the rest of the house - food scraps will attract roaches quickly. Empty trash cans regularly and don't leave food sitting out on countertops or tables. Especially don't leave food on the floor. Wipe up spills immediately. Wash dirty dishes and put them away on a daily basis.
In addition to regular cleaning to keep the roaches at bay, you may need to employ your own methods for decimating the population.
You can make your own roach baits by mixing a paste made of molasses or syrup and yeast granules. Drops of this mixture can by placed on jar lids along the walls under cabinets or on countertops. Basically, the roaches eat this concoction and it causes a gas buildup in their bodies. They can't eliminate the gas, so they die.
It really does work, but not overnight. It might take a few days or even a few weeks of these baits to see a drastic reduction in the roach population.
If you find that you are seeing a roach every now and then, know that there are several more that you don't see. If you have a heavy infestation, you may need to call in a professional exterminator to deal with it. When dealing with a few roaches, though, there are a few low-cost simple - and nontoxic - ways to get rid of them yourself.
Outside your home, keep debris away from the foundation. Firewood stacked against the side of a house is an amusement park for roaches. Seal up cracks around windows, doors, and other openings.
One of the first defenses against roaches in your house is to declutter. Roaches seem to love clutter - especially paper clutter. Stacked newspapers and cardboard boxes are a magnet for roaches - add moisture to that and you're in for trouble.
Take the decluttering one step further and get things up off the floor. This will eliminate one hiding place for roaches.
Since roaches love wet, damp places - clean out the cabinets under your kitchen and bathroom sinks. Check for leaky pipes and damp items. If you find a leak, fix it and clean up the mess it's made.
In the kitchen - and the rest of the house - food scraps will attract roaches quickly. Empty trash cans regularly and don't leave food sitting out on countertops or tables. Especially don't leave food on the floor. Wipe up spills immediately. Wash dirty dishes and put them away on a daily basis.
In addition to regular cleaning to keep the roaches at bay, you may need to employ your own methods for decimating the population.
You can make your own roach baits by mixing a paste made of molasses or syrup and yeast granules. Drops of this mixture can by placed on jar lids along the walls under cabinets or on countertops. Basically, the roaches eat this concoction and it causes a gas buildup in their bodies. They can't eliminate the gas, so they die.
It really does work, but not overnight. It might take a few days or even a few weeks of these baits to see a drastic reduction in the roach population.