If there is one thing that nobody wants to see in their home, it’s dreaded cockroaches. These creepy crawlers can make your home feel dirty, and you’ll be shocked every time you flick on the lights. If you’re struggling with a cockroach problem, then you need to know which pest control is best for cockroaches.
The best pest control for cockroaches is a combination of keeping access to food and water at bay while also closing up gaps and cracks with caulk. Homeowners struggling with an infestation will need to kill off the pack using gel bait, bait stations, or insecticide sprays. For more efficiency, boric acid dust can also be utilized.
If you’re dealing with cockroaches, you need to get rid of them right away. Cockroaches can emit a foul order and are known for carrying bacteria that are harmful to the human body. The good news is, there are several solutions. But with so many options, it’s hard to know which one is the best. Keep reading to find out which pest control is best for cockroaches.
Keep Access to Food and Water at Bay
There is one goal for the cockroach: to find food, shelter, and water. Is your home providing access to these things? Then this may be the sole reason why your home has become a target for cockroaches.
This is especially true for German roaches, which are the most common roaches found indoors. They are attracted to water. Reducing access to water will help to cease the interest in using your home as their home, therefore cutting down the possibility of an infestation.
Aside from reducing access to water sources, homeowners should ensure that they perform daily cleaning to reduce the chances of crumbs attracting cockroaches and their families. Proper food storage is also recommended, as cockroaches can and will find their way inside open bags and containers.
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Limit Hiding Spots
It would seem as though cockroaches enjoy a good game of hide and seek. That said, one way to decrease infestation and lower numbers are to take away their hiding spots. Cockroaches love boxes, so get rid of any leftover empty boxes that might be hanging around your home.
If you can, try and incorporate more light throughout the home, too, especially in cockroach-loving areas. Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures that hate the light and won’t come near it. So, adding more light to the home can help reduce the chances of them popping up.
(Insider)
Close Up Gaps and Cracks
Cockroaches are quite sneaky and can find themselves inside homes with ease. So what can a homeowner do to ensure these pests aren’t finding crevices to sneak into? The best thing is to start by locating where gaps and cracks are throughout the home. This can be done by placing cockroach traps in areas popular to cockroaches, such as behind the fridge or inside a cabinet.
After a few days, inspect the traps with a flashlight. You should find where the infestation of cockroaches is based on how many were caught by the trap. From there, you can utilize your flashlight to find the open crevices allowing these pests inside.
Once gaps and cracks are located, use caulk to close the entry holes. You may also want to apply weather stripping on your doors and windows to ensure they can’t enter from these areas, either.
While this won’t put an end to your infestation entirely, it will stop the cockroach family from growing. It will also eliminate future infestations.
Use Bait Stations
One popular method you might hear of is gel bait. This is an effective way to get rid of cockroaches. Simply apply the gel around the areas where you used caulk to close up crevices. It is a useful method of getting rid of cockroaches. However, it can be very messy. Not only is the application sloppy, but you’ll be destined to pick up dead cockroaches regularly.
The better option is to use a bait station. These neat stations work by:
- Attracting cockroaches using an exceptional poisonous ‘food’ or bait.
- From there, the poisoned cockroach travels back to its pack.
- Other roaches feast on the dead, poisoned cockroach.
- The poison is passed on to the rest of the cockroach pack, and they eventually die off.
This is a far simpler solution as opposed to gel bait because it’s not messy, and you won’t have to deal with cockroach skeletons hiding throughout your home. However, they aren’t necessarily attractive when seen in plain sight. The good news is, although they contain poison, they aren’t harmful to pets and kids, so you don’t have to worry about your loved ones falling ill.
The best cockroach bait station on the market is the Combat Max 12 Month Roach Killing Bait. This powerful bait station kills roaches in just a few short hours and will prevent them from coming back for as long as 12 months. There are 18 easy-to-use bait stations so that you can place one in every prime location, such as behind sinks, refrigerators or doors, and inside cabinets.
Use Insecticide Sprays
When most people think of pest control, they think of spray treatments – and they should. Sprays are an effective treatment for a variety of pests, including cockroaches. There are plenty of top-notch sprays that are used to target cockroaches and kill them on the spot. One top pick in the industry is Raid Ant & Roach Killer.
When using this spray (or any other type of insecticide spray), it’s important to only spray in areas where cockroaches will make contact. That said, you likely don’t need to spray on the walls or floors. Look for those smaller crevices where cockroaches congregate and pass by regularly.
Consider Boric Acid
The last tip when it comes to which pest control is best for cockroaches is boric acid. Boric acids can be found in many forms, including gel, powder, and dust. However, boric acid in the form of dust is the most regularly used form for cockroach control.
Boric acid works by clinging to the cockroach’s body through the process of electrostatic charges. Over time, when the cockroach goes to groom itself, it will ingest the boric acid. The boric acid will then attack the nervous system, killing the cockroach immediately.
To use boric acid dust, you will need to apply it to areas where cockroaches travel through regularly. It is essential to keep it away from regions where the boric acid could contact humans and food. This is because boric acid can irritate, especially the eyes.
Keep in mind that boric acid isn’t the cure-all in most cases. It should be used conjointly with other types of pest control for the best results. This is especially true in areas where there may be cockroach eggs. Boric acid does not impact cockroach eggs, so young cockroaches have a chance at life and multiply into a new infestation.
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Consider Professional Treatment
If you have tried all of the above-listed treatment options without success, it may be time to call upon a professional. Professional pest controllers have the tools and expertise necessary for handling intense infestations.
Final Thoughts
Nobody wants to find cockroaches in their home. However, the infestation problem has plenty of simple solutions. The best thing to do is to start by getting rid of access to food and water. From there, you can work on elimination. Start by caulking up crevices to prevent more cockroaches from entering. Kill off the pack with a combination of bait stations and gels, boric acid, and sprays.