How To Build An Effective Roach Trap
I have used the jar trap with great success. If you have the big American Roaches this will work for you. It will also trap Brown-banded Roaches effectively as well. Give it a try. Nothing to loose except for more roaches. This is one great video tip on how to get rid of roaches.
Top Eleven Ways to Protect Yourself From Bad Pest Control Companies
1. Don’t let anyone in your house if you did not set up an appointment.
2. Don’t allow someone to be in your home without supervision.
3. Ensure that the technician/company is licensed.
4. Keep tabs on what the technician is doing inside and outside (I guess you don’t need to follow them into the attic unless you would really like to do that).
5. Confirm that the technician does all the things that they are expected to do.
6. Feel free to ask lots of questions. You can test their knowledge and it keeps them on their toes. Ask about natural ways for how to get rid of roaches or your other pests. Ask for list of ingredients for any products used.
7. Do not pay prior to servicing.
8. Don’t pay with cash in case there is a dispute.
9. Don’t mention anything regarding how you expect the service to be expensive or that you think you have a problem with a certain insect. Let the technician come to his own conclusions.
10. Get at least 3 quotes.
11. Ask for and actually check references.
Quick! Get a projectile!
There it goes. It’s a big one close to 2”. And it’s making a beeline for the ceiling. It only stops briefly as to look down on me and chuckle to itself. “Ha, ha you can’t reach me up here.” the roach taunts. It is now moving along the top of the wall of the vaulted ceiling.
“I need something to fling up there to knock the smile off that little creep.” I say in my head. When just then, I see a plastic bag filled with a sufficient amount of some sort of grain type bulk aisle item. “Eureka!” my brain blurted out.
I grabbed that bag and whipped it up at that roach. Bam! Nailed it. The roach came hurtling down and landed in a wooden basket. It appeared to be a little taken aback as it scurried to hide.
I managed to flick it out of the basket and onto the floor. Skillfully I grabbed a nearby pen and ran it through as it raced for cover. Sorry roach, but this is not your house. Now that is how to get rid of roaches.
Other than this little incursion, I have not seen many roaches running amuck in the house. I will continue to look for the clues (poop) and keep an eye out for any missed access points in order to keep them at bay.
Remember the steps are simple:
1. Locate and seal access points
2. Keep things clean and dry
3.Use products in places where evidence of roaches is found. (I recommend the non-toxic products if placing it where people or animals might come in contact with it. You can use boric acid in out of reach areas like behind appliance and you can also use gel baits if you need to in and around cabinets. But please try the non or less toxic items first as I care about the health of you and your family/friends)
4. Keep monitoring and adjusting above as needed
Please let me know if I can be of help.
Good Luck!
Look Out Roaches! Comprehensive eBook Available.
There are few ebooks out there on the topic of how to get rid of roaches, but I believe I have found one of the best. This ebook is chock full of really helpful information from descriptions of the different roaches to methods of eradication. It also includes some good images and diagrams. And I’ll let you in on a little secret…you may even get an extra bonus or two when you purchase the ebook. This is under priced at just $7 dollars.
If you are interested (and I can’t for the life of me figure why you wouldn’t be) Click Here!
Nighttime Roach Patrol
Here I am skulking around the house in the dark with the radiant beam of my trusty flashlight leading the way. I move with the dexterity and silentness of the most skillful of ninjas. The silence is only pierced when my foot encounters the occasional child’s toy which I’m sure would also foil the most skillful of ninjas. But this excusion into the dark can be a revealing endeavour when gauging your roach population.
It’s a little after 12:00AM, and I have spotted an American Cockroach peeking out from behind a corner cabinet. Our eyes meet and we both instantly know what’s going to happen next. Time to spring into action. I start moving the cabinet so I can get a better angle on the big fella, but alas he takes off a runnin’. I rummage through the cabinet in my search. Nothing. This one has manage to escape me, but all is not lost.
As I move the cabinet out from the corner I see that the roach has been living there for awhile based on the amount of roach ‘dirt’. This roach will not be welcome back to this spot now that I know about it. Time to clean and prep the area.
So it’s a little after 12:30AM now and I find myself cleaning the floor and inside the cabinet. Then I lay down some boric acid as this will be out of the reach of the dog and kids. From now on I will monitor this area every few days to see if I find a big dead roach (Yay!) or if I see any signs of continued occupation.
This is part of the process. You have to find those hiding spots and either eliminate them or make them a death trap. Definitely looks like things are under control as sightings are infrequent.
I will keep trying to learn how to get rid of roaches effectively and will pass on any helpful knowledge to you.
Keep up the fight, my friends!
What You Need To Get Rid Of Roaches
Here’s all scoop on what you need to get rid of roaches. The method(s) that you will want to use depends on the level of infestation and the amount of time you want to take in getting rid of these little pests. For those with a heavy infestation, the desire is often to have them gone yesterday and those with only a few are often more patient.
Either way, I hope that you will be patient enough to start out with the more natural methods for battling these creepy creatures. Here are my suggestions for a progression of treatments that will make your home all yours again.
1. First you want to make sure to clean any infested areas. Roaches feed on almost anything organic and they love to hang out where there is paper and cardboard. So get rid of any clutter and vacuum, scrub, and/or wipe down all surfaces. They also need water so check your faucets, pipes, refrigerator drip pan and anywhere where there might be a source of H2O. A lack of food and water will encourage your guests to go elsewhere. (It also works on human guests as well. Just saying.)
2. Now, start with Diatomaceous Earth (or DE). This product comes from the fossilized remains of diatoms which is a type of algae. DE works by cutting the exoskeleton of the roach as it moves over it. This causes the roach to loose moisture which eventually causes it to die of dehydration. DE is pretty safe to use anywhere around the house as it is natural and non-toxic. I would look for a product that is 100% food grade Diatomaceous Earth. To use it, just sprinkle it around where you see your little friends hanging out. Under the sink, in cabinets, around and under appliances, along baseboard and doors, in the tracks of windows. It also helps with fleas and some other pests as well. Just remember, try to not sprinkle to heavy as the bugs will just walk around it if it is too much.
3. Now that you have a start with the Diatomaceous Earth, you’ll want to work on prevention. This is where you start looking everywhere for any cracks, gaps, holes, or any small little bug doorways. Look not only for entry from outside but entry also from wall spaces as well. Like around pipes or outlets. If they can’t get in then you will greatly limit the chances of having to deal with them once you solve your current issue. You might want to make a trip to the hardware store as you might want to pick up some caulk, copper screen, and maybe some of those pieces you can put to cover up the gaps between counters and appliances to keep the crumbs from falling down in there. Try to seal every spot you can and hopefully you’ll be able to keep any potential invaders outside.
4. Now on to battle! At this stage you will want to step up to more targeted measures of eradication. You want to offer them something that they will ingest that won’t agree with them once they eat it. The more natural of this is a mixture of baking soda and powdered sugar. I use a 2 to 1 ratio to make sure there is plenty of baking soda there to get them. You can sprinkle this is the popular hangouts or put it on a piece of paper in those areas if you like. Some people say that cucumber peel will deter roaches, but I have not found that to be true. I have seen roaches standing right on top of the peels which is proof enough for me that it does not work.
I also like to use glass jars as traps. Just take a glass jar from pasta sauce or peanut butter, put a little cooking oil around the inside at the top and put a piece of banana in the bottom. The roaches will climb in and will not be able to get back out. This is good if you feel bad killing the roaches as you can just let them go outside preferably somewhere away from your home. This also is a good way to get a closer look at what type of roaches are present in your home.
5. If you want to you can step it up even more with Boric Acid. This is not as toxic as many of the store bought insecticides, but you still want to be careful with it and only put it in out of the way places like behind appliances, under sinks or in wall cavities. You can mix the Boric Acid with some powdered sugar as well to entice the roaches. They do not need to feed on it directly. If they walk through it they will get it on their body and then will ingest it when they clean themselves.
6. If after a month or two you are still seeing more roaches than you would like you can either keep doing the methods in the first few steps or you can add the use of a gel bait to the mix. You can use gel bait products from Combat or Maxforce which are popular and effective. You will need to place just a small amount of the gel (the size of a BB) in infested areas. Use the gel in corners of cabinets, in the back and on the outside of drawers, and behind appliances. Don’t forget to put some up on top of cabinets if they do not go to the ceiling.
7. Now you can think about if you want to turn your focus outdoors. There are granular baits that you can use around your home to reduce the population of roaches around your home. You can even look into growth inhibitors as well. I would see how things go with the above methods first though.
8. The last thing that I would consider is having a pest control company come out and spray or fog my home. (Unless the situation is so bad that you really have no choice due to health concerns). If you need to do that, please be sure your exterminator provides you with the information on what chemical is going to be used and where it is going to be placed. If using a fogger then you will need to remove or cover as many things as possible in your house because anything that is not tightly covered will get the insecticide residue on it. You will need to clean and wipe down everything from floor to ceiling.
By following these steps you should get your problem taken care of in a couple of months. Make sure you take all precautions and read all manufacturers labels especially if you have pets and/or children running around.
Just stick with it and you’ll get there. Now you know how to get rid of roaches.
Good Luck!
How To Get Rid Of Roaches: Some Thoughts
Image courtesy of aopsan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Just the sight of one of these multi-legged, hard-shelled visitors crawling across the floor is enough to make your toes curl, and your screams can hit high notes you didn’t realize were possible. But what are you dealing with?
Roaches are a large, disgusting insect, with six legs, and 18 knee joints. (We were sure you’d want to know that.) There are more than 5,000 species in the world, but the most common are the German cockroach, and the American cockroach.
Initially cockroaches may infest your home from the outside, finding cracks, gaps under doors, and other ways to enter the home, attracted by warmth, darkness, and spoiling food or standing water, in things like open garbage pails, unwashed dishes. As big as they may seem, a cockroach can insinuate itself through an opening as thin as a dime when young, or a quarter as an adult. They don’t like light, which is why many homeowners can’t believe it when the cat or dog presents them with the remains of their latest victim. But you can’t depend on your pets to control the population.
The first measure in getting rid of cockroaches is hygiene. If you have stored vegetables that are rotting, open containers of food in cupboards, or unsecured garbage pails, remove all refuse and replace containers with those that seal tightly. Check under appliances, in cupboards, basement corners, and other dark places for traces of a black gritty dirt that has an oily appearance. This is roach feces and a sign that you do have a problem.
Once your home is cleaned, your choices in removing them are to do it yourself, or to have the home professionally treated by a pest control company. Which you choose, may depend on the severity of the infestation. The primary means of destroying roaches are contact poisons/sprays, and residual sprays which leave time released ingredients in your cupboards and on the surfaces where sprayed, that will work over a period of 2-3 weeks. There are also the infamous “roach motels” that can be placed in your cupboards. Sometimes it may take a combination of several methods, such as an immediate contact kill substance, and then roach motels in places where you have evidence of previous inhabitants. Once your immediate problem is eliminated, you can also take preventative measures, such as sprinkling powdered boric acid in between walls, and around foundations where they may have entered the house. This is generally a safe product, and will be carried on the roaches feet, to wherever they are hiding and breeding.
And one important note of caution for you: Pesticides can be highly toxic to humans and pets. Spray treatments should never be carried out without proper respiratory protection, and first removing of all food, pets and dishes or other items that your food may come in contact with.
Getting to know the enemy
We’ll start with the American cockroach as it is the biggest of the roaches that inhabit homes in the U.S. This is the one that you see running across the floor carrying a loaf of bread or a pineapple. OK, maybe they are not that big, but those of you who have them vacationing in your homes know what I mean. They say that these roaches can carry disease causing organisms and leave them around your house as they creep around. That is in addition to their poop as well, which can be a trigger to allergies and/or asthma. I don’t believe I have ever got salmonella or anything like that from a roach,but yeah, it’s kind of gross.
These roaches grow to be around 1.5 inches and just shy of .30 inches high. I hear that they are one of the quickest bugs around and I can believe that because when chasing one down to can get pretty exhausting. They like to be where it is moist and warm scavenging for fermenting food which is one of there favorites. They lay their eggs in little cases that look like dark brown purses which is known as an ootheca. These ootheca contain several eggs inside which will hatch in about 7 or 8 weeks.
The Oriental cockroach is another of the large breeds measuring up to 1 inch and tends to be darker in color than the others. These also enjoy the moist environments where they look for there food and water sources.
The German cockroach is a small little foe measuring only up to .65 inches. The thing about these are that they may give off a bad smell when scared. So don’t sneak up on them.
These ones ones will often eat excretions or skin of other roaches. Gag. No wonder why peole don’t want these thing in their homes. They will also go for sweet foods or even meat.
The Brown-banded cockroach is another little one that only get to be about .65 inches or so with two bands across the wings and body. These roaches need less water than the others so are more likely to venture into other parts of your home other than the kitchen and bathroom. Plus, they will eat many different foods.
All of these roaches tend to be active at night unless you have a major infestation or if you happen to frighen them. They will try to hide in cracks and crevices or behind and under your appliances and cupboards, and to be honest, they could be anywhere. Believe me in that you will find them in the strangest places. So act fast and stick with it. You’ll be able to beat them back if you just stick with it. I’ll talk about tactics of how to get rid of roaches and products in another post.
How To Get Rid Of Roaches Dot Net Welcomes You!
Hello Everybody!
My name is Eric and I hate roaches. If you are like me, then you have a great disdain for seeing one of those buggers scurrying across the floor, finding little “black crumbs” on the kitchen counter or locating a “purse” (egg sack) underneath the couch. Argh!
I am developing this site as a haven for those who are fighting the good fight in trying to get these prehistoric creatures out of our homes and working to keep them out permanantly. This will be a place to learn about different products and methods, to share our stories, and band together against our common enemy.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against the roach in general. If it wants to frolic outside in the dirt or under a rock that is just fine with me. When it gets into my house it is a different story. All bets are off. Sound the alarm. Send out the troops.
Please feel free to comment on any post and add in your valuable experience so we can create a vast collective of information and hopefully share a few good stories along the way.
Thanks to all of you who join me on this crusade. Victory will be ours!
