Make a homemade insecticide out of baking soda and sugar. While killing roaches won't solve the problem entirely, it will diminish the roach population in and around your home. If you'd like to kill them, mix together equal parts baking soda and sugar in a bowl. Then, simply sprinkle the mixture around your room.
You can spray a mixture of oregano oil and water on countertops and any nooks and crannies. Oregano has a strong, pungent odor that cockroaches can't stand. Since it's a safe oil to use around the kitchen, you can spray a mixture of oregano oil and water on countertops and any nooks and crannies they like to hide.
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.
If cockroaches get enough borax on the outside of their bodies, it actually damages their exoskeletons. This causes them to rapidly dehydrate and die; a thick coating of borax will certainly get rid of roaches overnight.
So what smell do roaches hate? Oregano, rosemary, mint, eucalyptus, lemongrass and catnip are great herby options. Citrus oils work brilliantly too.
Lemon. The idea behind this DIY roach control option is to clean your home using a solution of water and lemon juice, as cockroaches cannot stand the scent of lemon.
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.
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.
Cockroaches are attracted to food and water sources. Dirty dishes, crumbs, food spills, leftovers, garbage, and pet food will all draw cockroaches in. Roaches are excellent at scuttling into and over tiny spaces, especially holes in pipes, cracks and crevices in your home, and tears in screens.
Dirty houses are certainly more prone to attracting cockroaches and causing other types of pest infestations. However, even a clean house is not immune. In other words, you don't have to be a hoarder to have a roach infestation.
Food & Grime. The dirtier your home, the more likely you are to have a roach infestation. Crumbs, spills, and food that has been left out are a great way to end up with a roach infestation quickly. The key to keeping roaches out is to keep your home, but most importantly your kitchen, as spotless as possible.
Some suggest crushing bay leaves and placing them in areas where they hide to repel them, Essential Oils - A general idea that cockroaches dislike the smell of essential oils such as peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, and tea tree as they disrupt and musk their scent trails in food finding.
Will Sleeping With The Light On Keep Cockroaches Away? No, sleeping with the lights on will not deter and keep cockroaches away. Although they are nocturnal, they aren't afraid of the light and it won't keep them away from an area of your home.
Though they aren't commonly found in the bedroom, cockroaches will make their way from the kitchen to the bedroom if there is no intervention. Cockroaches must be stopped as soon as possible to stop this from happening.
Windex is toxic to most pests, especially spiders. Spraying window cleaner directly onto small insects like ants or mosquitoes will kill them within a few moments. For cockroaches, window cleaner can make them temporarily unconscious so that you can squash them.
Baking Soda and Sugar Mixture
Mix a pinch of sugar with some baking soda in a bowl and leave it for the cockroaches. Attracted to the food source (the sugar), the roaches will ingest the poison (the baking soda) and die. It's safe and efficient, but make sure you clean up any dead roaches as soon as possible.
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. It is very difficult to kill an entire roach infestation yourself.
If you spot one of these pesky insects, it's best to call your local Terminix technician right away to get rid of the cockroaches. There are, however, some steps you can take to prevent a cockroach infestation.
Boric acid: Used correctly, boric acid is one of the most effective roach killers. It's odorless, has low toxicity to pets, and since it isn't repellent to roaches, they will not seek to avoid it, crawling through it repeatedly until it kills them.
If cockroaches want to get in, they are going to find a way to survive. Cockroaches are notoriously difficult to get rid of. While having cockroaches in the home doesn't necessarily mean your home is dirty, a clean home can be a great way to keep your home cockroach free.
The fact is that while good sanitation methods alone rarely prevent cockroach infestation, employing scrupulous levels of cleanliness will go a long way toward controlling the problem. (It will also help you get rid of mites, ants and other pests.)