Bleach: Bleach kills everything! Spraying cockroaches with bleach or an ammonia mixture will poison them, but be cautious with this powerful chemical. Borax: Borax is a classic roach killer.
One popular DIY method is to mix boric acid with equal parts powdered sugar as a lure. Apply as a fine layer under appliances, behind cabinets and along crevices. Roaches ingest the mixture and die within a few hours.
White vinegar is often recommended as a natural way to get rid of roaches. Unfortunately, it doesn't actually kill these problem insects.
Most familiar to householders are boric acid and diatomaceous earth. For controlling cockroaches, boric acid tends to be more effective.
Boric acid tops even baking soda when it comes to killing cockroaches. With little more than a sprinkle on the floor, boric acid acts as an all-natural poison to take down dirty roaches in just days.
Boric acid is a powerful natural home remedy for getting rid of roaches overnight. Mix equal amounts of boric acid, flour, and sugar until it becomes a dough-like consistency. Place small pieces where the roaches can feed on them.
Home remedies like diatomaceous earth, baking soda, boric acid, citrus, essential oils, and borax can be effective ways to get rid of roaches. If you want to take a more aggressive approach to eliminate roaches, glue traps, bait stations, and liquid roach deterrent concentrates are all excellent options.
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.
Citronella
Citronella not only works great for repelling mosquitos but also cockroaches. While the candles don't work well against roaches, you can use citronella oil as a deterrent. You can mix it with water and use it as a spray or simply wipe down areas with the diluted mixture.
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.
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. You just need to identify their hideouts and sprinkle this mixture in those corners.
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. This works on initial contact, but Windex will not continue to kill bugs after it has dried.
Squashing a cockroach can spread disease
Indeed, salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus are some of the illnesses that cockroaches can cause, in addition to dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid fever.
Baking soda is one of the most effective ways to kill cockroaches. If enticed to ingest baking soda, gasses will build up in the cockroach's body and cause it to die.
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.
Spray roaches with insecticide or a concentrated liquid roach killer to kill them on contact and deter them from the area. Try dusting diatomaceous earth or boric acid along cracks and crevices to use them as natural pesticide powders.
In that scenario, you can buy what are called desiccant dusts—like diatomaceous earth, a non-toxic substance you can find on Amazon—and that will dehydrate the eggs, thereby killing them.
To help keep these trouble areas roach free, spray them weekly for basic prevention and every 3-4 days if you're currently experiencing a heavy roach problem. If after two weeks, you're not seeing the results you want, simply adjust to a more frequent spraying schedule. Don't forget to spray and seal entry points.
However, this is a process that can take several weeks. There are different factors that affect how long it takes cockroaches to die after treatment. The species of roach involved makes a difference. For example, it can take up to five weeks to completely rid your property of German cockroaches following treatment.
Create a soapy water solution that you can spray with a bottle. It will only take about 2 – 3 sprays to kill any roaches, as the soapy solution will cover their breathing pores and suffocate them.
This one's a myth. Salt doesn't kill cockroaches. However, epsom salt (a.k.a. magnesium sulfate) is toxic to roaches. Use it just like baking soda.