Trapping And Removing Cockroaches From Your Home
Cockroaches rarely travel alone, so if you see one, you can assume there are many more nearby. You'll likely need a pest control company to come out and find their nesting sites and get rid of them at the source. But until the exterminator arrives, there are a few home remedies you can try to limit their activities in your house.
Coffee grounds - Fill a small paper cup half full with coffee grounds. Place the cup into a tall jar with a wide mouth. Pour water into the jar around the paper cup. Place the jar where you've seen cockroach activity. The insects will be drawn to the coffee grounds, but once in the jar, they won't be able to get out.
Borax and Sugar - Mix together equal parts of sugar and borax in a small plastic container. Sprinkle this mixture along the paths where you've seen cockroaches traveling. The sugar attracts the insects and the borax causes intestinal problems, killing the cockroaches. Borax is hazardous to pets and children. If you have pets and small children in the house, use baking soda instead of borax. The baking soda also kills the cockroaches, but more slowly.
Water and Fabric Softener - Put equal parts of water and fabric softener in a spray bottle. Keep the bottle handy in areas where you see cockroaches and spray it on them directly. The mixture clogs the tiny pores in the insect's skin through which they breathe, suffocating them.
Water and Ammonia - Wipe off your kitchen counters and tabletops with a mixture of equal parts ammonia and water. Wipe out kitchen cabinets and along baseboards with this solution. The ammonia destroys the pheromone trail left by the cockroaches which is used by the insects to mark their trails.
Catnip - Buy several cheap catnip toys at the pet store and place them in bedroom dresser drawers, closets and under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. The catnip smell keeps these insects out of those areas.
Bay leaves - Place whole, fresh bay leaves in the back of kitchen drawers and cabinets to keep cockroaches out of those areas. Replace them weekly as the leaves dry out and lose their scent.
Try these home remedies while you're waiting on the pest control company to treat your house. Continue these treatments for a couple of weeks after the pest control treatment to catch any insects that have escaped the treated areas.
To learn more, contact a company like Edmonton Exterminators Ltd.
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