Did you know that American roaches, one of the most common kinds of roaches found in the United States, can grow as big as one to two inches long?
If this fact makes you squeamish, you’ve probably experienced these cockroaches firsthand.
However, no matter where you live in the United States, it’s possible to enjoy your home without these big bugs skittering around in your peripheral vision.
Read on for our top tips on how to get rid of cockroaches in your home for good!
Types of Cockroaches
Before we talk about how to remove cockroaches, it helps to know the kind of cockroaches you can encounter in your home.
Oriental Roaches
These roaches are the most common in Ohio. They are black and one inch to one and a half inches long. Although the males have wings, they can’t fly
Wood Roaches
These are brown and about the same size as Oriental roaches. They also have wings and can’t fly.
German Cockroaches
These are brown with stripes near the back of their heads. These are the smallest roaches at about half of an inch.
American Cockroaches
These are the largest cockroaches and can grow as large as two inches long, though they’re about one and a half inches. These are a reddish-brown color with wings.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches: Maintenance First
If you want to consistently remove cockroaches from your home, the trick is to maintain a clean environment that doesn’t attract them in order to prevent an infestation.
1. Remove Food Supply
First and foremost, you need to look around your home and identify places where cockroaches could be getting sustenance. The easiest and most straightforward way to do this is to keep it clean. Create a sustainable schedule that works for yourself and for your family and stick with it.
Not only will you have a cleaner home, but your home will also become less attractive to cockroaches. Here are a few chores you should practice on a regular basis to ensure that cockroaches don’t have an ample food supply:
- Wash and put away dishes after meals
- Clean crumbs and spills as soon as you can
- Take out your garbage before the evening
- Make sure all your food containers are securely sealed
- Sweep and mop to remove leftover crumbs
When you clean your countertops, make sure you’re cleaning behind appliances. Sweep thoroughly under tables and, if possible, behind your fridge. Not only can crumbs travel into these crevices, but these are also the perfect hiding places for cockroaches.
2. Eliminate Hiding Places
Once you have a good habit of regularly cleaning your home, you’ll want to ensure that cockroaches don’t have nice hiding places scattered around. Cockroaches are naturally attracted to stacks of paper and cardboard. This is a good time to identify any mounds of paper or cardboard you have in your home and recycle them.
Roach bait is a great way to get rid of cockroaches. If you have pets and children in your home, you can also place roach bait in these out-of-reach hiding places so you don’t have to worry about them touching and ingesting them.
Roach bait also eliminates the chance of pesticide being sprayed and contaminating places where your children or pets travel.
3. Removing Entry Points
Now that your home isn’t as cockroach-friendly as before, you’ll want to make sure there aren’t any entry points to your home that cockroaches are taking advantage of. Here are a few places where cockroaches easily gain entry:
- Cracks and crevices
- Holes in vents and pipes
- Gaps beneath doors
You can use materials such as clear caulk and steel wood to seal up these gaps. Remember that cockroaches are also great at hitching rides on packages and in bags, especially if those items contain cardboard. Make sure to at least glance over your packages and deliveries before you bring them inside to ensure there are no hitchhiking cockroaches.
4. Boric Acid
If you have boric acid in your home, this is one of the most home remedies for your cockroach problem. You’re essentially creating a deadly cookie that tempts cockroaches. You’ll first want to mix equal amounts of boric acid, flour, and sugar to make the dough.
Roll the dough into small balls and set them into places anywhere you think cockroaches might frequent. The dough and sugar attract the cockroaches, while the boric acid kills them. Once they’re dead, their bodies also attract other cockroaches.
However, you’ll need to be aware that boric acid is extremely dangerous to pets and people. If you have pets or small children, be very careful about where you’re placing these boric acid balls. It may also be necessary to find another method that’s safer to use around them.
5. Clean Your Sink
In just a manner of days or weeks, your kitchen sink drain can become filled with leftover food particles that attract cockroaches. Cockroaches can also be attracted to moisture, so you’ll want to make sure your kitchen sink is dry before you go to bed for the night. This removes their source of drinking water.
Any kind of foam cleaner used regularly in your sink can help. Even though it won’t get rid of insects, it can help remove the buildup of food particles that encourage insect breeding.
Enjoying a Cockroach-Free Home
The trick to how to get rid of cockroaches is rather straightforward: you need to maintain a clean environment that’s inhospitable to these bugs. Cockroaches need a constant food supply, a place to drink, and warm and dark places to rest during the day.
By cleaning up your food and dishes before the evening, sealing entry points, and getting rid of piles of cardboard and paper, you’ll drastically eliminate them from your home.
Do you have a cockroach infestation and are ready for the professionals to take care of it? Contact us today for help!