Set out a shallow dish or bowl containing equal parts sugar and baking soda. Roaches are attracted to the sugar, but the mixture is deadly to them.
Mix baking soda with sugar to make a killer combination
A concoction of baking soda and sugar is an effective cockroach killer and controls the multiplication of these pests. Sugar acts as a bait to attract cockroaches and the baking soda kills them.
Glucose sets off bitter receptors in roach taste buds, causing roaches to avoid foods that bring on this taste-bud reaction.
Roach Repellents
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Smells that roaches hate: a quickfire summary
Oregano, rosemary, mint, eucalyptus, lemongrass and catnip are great herby options. Citrus oils work brilliantly too.
It's a fact that cockroaches are afraid of humans and other mammals or animals that are bigger than them. They see us as predators and that fear triggers their instinct to scatter away. However, they dislike strong and distinctive scents such as citrus, peppermint, lavender and vinegar.
'Salt doesn't kill cockroaches!
That's right, it doesn't. It repels them.
They love sugar and can smell it from anywhere. This means you'll want to keep your sugar containers, fruits, and other sweeteners sealed in air-tight containers that are up off the floor. Furthermore, these pests will even lap up the dried, sticky soda on your floor, so make sure you clean up any spills right away.
Beetle larvae, silverfish, and even other roaches make up the majority of what eats cockroaches inside the house.
Breadcrumbs or baby food can be effective lures to draw cockroaches out of their nests and into your traps. You can also use peanut butter – and dipping pieces of bread in beer has also been shown to be an especially enticing lure for cockroaches.
Baking Soda
A concoction of baking soda and sugar is an effective way to control the multiplication of these pests. Sugar acts as bait to attract cockroaches and the baking soda will kill them. You just need to identify their hideouts and sprinkle this mixture in those corners.
Dusts – A few insecticides used for cockroach control are applied as dusts or powders. Most familiar to householders are boric acid and diatomaceous earth. For controlling cockroaches, boric acid tends to be more effective. Roaches succumb to boric acid after crawling over treated surfaces.
White vinegar is often recommended as a natural way to get rid of roaches. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually kill these problem insects. It's more of a cleaning tool than anything else, and it won't actually help eliminate your roach problem.
If you see a cockroach or three, you're likely have hundreds—or thousands—living in a nearby nest. But if you act fast before the population has taken hold, you may be able get rid of cockroaches within a week to ten days. And most of them will be gone in a day or two.
Eucalyptus essential oil has a fresh fragrance that, surprisingly, seems to confuse or alarm cockroaches. This stuff is strong and you'll only need to mix a few drops with water and spray it around the cockroaches' hotspots to repel them. Research has also shown that eucalyptus essential oil is toxic to roaches.
Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth around areas where roaches travel and frequent. The sharp particles of diatomaceous earth damage the waxy, protective exoskeleton of the roach, causing it to dehydrate and die, typically within 48 hours of contact.
The best way to get rid of roaches fast is to sanitize your home, eliminate hiding spots and stagnant water, store food in airtight containers, and use glue strips, bait, boric acid, or liquid concentrates.
Baking soda can kill roaches, but in order to do so the roaches have to eat the baking soda mixture, and once they consume water the baking soda reacts with the water creating gas in their stomachs, which kills them.
Cockroaches hate red light and will always move away when they are in its presence. In contrast, they are actually attracted to the yellow color and will gravitate towards the yellow light but always run away from the red light.
Bleach's Effect on Roaches
Taking a deep drink of household bleach would kill anything, roaches included. But the same strong odor that keeps people from taking a swig of bleach repels roaches as well. So though it could work, in reality, it will not.
The World Health Organization also advises against crushing them, for reasons of hygiene. According to the body, which classes cockroaches as “unhygienic scavengers in human settlements”, squashing them can spread bacteria into the environment that can lead to asthma, allergies and illnesses.