There are over 4500 species of cockroaches worldwide. They are not the cutest creatures in the world, and seeing them in your home should be a cause for concern. Wondering how to eradicate cockroaches at home? Cockroach extermination is not always an easy and straightforward process, but it can be done. We will try to discuss how to eradicate them once and for all.
Table of contents
The cockroach eradication plan consists of two parts
- Potential areas of visitation, hiding places and potential sources of food and water need to be cleared.
- Cockroach traps and cockroach extermination products should be provided. Specialists may need to be called in.
No matter what kind of cockroaches visit your home, the process is always the same.
How to eradicate cockroaches in the home by keeping it clean?
Food and water attract cockroaches, so eliminating the cockroaches’ ability to feed is the first and most important task. And it will have to start with the general order of the kitchen.
- Clean kitchen appliances and tools. Cockroaches feed on grease and food residues in or under appliances. Therefore, start by cleaning the following appliances: fridge, hob, oven, dishwasher, microwave.
- Empty and clean cupboards. Crumbs and spilled food in cupboards are an ideal food source for cockroaches. Therefore, empty and clean cupboards thoroughly.
- Store food products tightly. Cockroaches are voracious and can squeeze through any gap in a box or hole in a bag. It is therefore best to store food in airtight containers.
- Clean your kitchen the night before. Cockroaches are active at night, after dark. Therefore, after dinner in the kitchen, wipe the surfaces, sweep the floor, dry the sink and hide leftover food. Do not leave food for cockroaches for the night.
- Clean the floor regularly. Crumbs fall on the floor quite quickly and invisibly. It is therefore necessary to clean and mop the floor regularly, especially if you see cockroaches. Cockroaches emit pheromones wherever they visit, which attracts other cockroaches. This is why you need to keep your home clean and tidy at all times. So how do I eradicate cockroaches in my home?
- Do not leave animal food open overnight. It’s time to wean your pets off their bedtime meal. Food left out overnight is easy prey for a cockroach. Therefore, pets’ feeding areas must be kept clean, especially at night.
- Keep garbage neatly and tightly closed. If you have a large family and a lot of rubbish, you can make it a routine to empty the bins in the evening and take the rubbish outside to dispose of it in a bin.
Food is important, but a cockroach can survive for months without food. Without water, it can go for weeks. Water is therefore very important and care must be taken to ensure that cockroaches do not get it.
- Fix any dripping taps or “wet” pipes.
- In the evening, dry sinks, baths, showers and plug drain holes.
- Use damp cloths and sponges.
- Store wet toothbrushes in sealed cases.
- Dry the water container under the fridge.
Cockroach eradication by special means
A dead cockroach is poisonous and other cockroaches that feed on it die. This sets off a chain that aims to eradicate all cockroaches.
Cockroach eradication takes several weeks or months. It is therefore not worth relaxing and letting yourself forget about cockroaches after not seeing them for a few days.
Even if you force the cockroaches to live without food and water, this does not necessarily mean that they will go away. Therefore, in parallel with your tidying up, set up cockroach ‘houses’, traps or other means (or all of them at once) to eradicate cockroaches.
Above all, keep clean. Second, replace cockroach bait, huts or other means according to the instructions. Thirdly, buy special products, which are usually sticky, and place them in the cockroaches’ “path”. This will be an indicator to let you know if the cockroaches have returned to visit you.
When to leave cockroach extermination to professionals?
If you feel that you can’t cope, or if there are too many cockroaches left after initial attempts to eradicate them, contact cockroach exterminators. Cockroach extermination companies supply so-called baits, which are poisons that can only be bought by licensed companies.
