How to Naturally Rid Your Home of Cockroaches

How to Eliminate Cockroaches Naturally

Getting rid of cockroaches is a difficult task and takes time and patience.

There are a range of insecticides available on supermarket shelves that you could grab on your next weekly shop. While these can be effective, successful removal of cockroaches means multiple applications and that many toxins can be harmful to your health. Baits left around the home can be harmful to small children or pets if consumed.

A more natural approach means that you can persevere on your mission to eliminate cockroaches without bringing unnecessary chemicals into your home.

Here is our recommended method:

Combine equal amounts of Bi-Carb Soda and icing sugar in a bottle, shaking together and sprinkling across either entry points to your home or in areas you’ve spotted cockroaches. You could also place some in shallow dishes.

The roaches are attracted to the sweetness of the sugar, while the Bi-Carb will kill the roaches. You could also use Borax (purchased from the supermarket for around $4) with the icing sugar – it is more potent, so you only need a tablespoon or so per half cup of sugar. You should keep Borax away from pets or small children as it can be harmful if ingested.

If you’re reading this during lunch, I’d put down your fork. An added bonus of this method is that cockroaches will eat their dead. You can use this gross fact against them, as their cannibalistic tendencies mean they will eat the poisoned cockroaches and likely be affected, too.

How to Prevent Pests from Entering Your Home

They say prevention is better than cure, and that is certainly the case when it comes to avoiding cockroach infestations. Here’s some tips.

Try to keep areas like your kitchen and bathroom as clean as possible, paying special attention to areas like your pantry.

Seal cracks around the home where cockroaches can enter.

Cockroaches love moist areas, so keep the temperature as cool as possible.

Essential oil scents such as peppermint, tea tree and eucalyptus are great roach deterrents. Combine 10 or so drops with water in a glass spray bottle and spray in high traffic areas and cockroach entry points.

It’s an old wives’ tip but some people swear by sprinkling cinnamon along entry points – cockroaches and other bugs won’t cross it.

Some infestations are just too severe for home remedies to work their magic. If nothing seems to be working, it may be time to call in professionals. A professional pest control technician can determine precisely where the infestation is to provide targeted and long-lasting treatment.