You’ve spent all morning working to get your home looking spotless – then before you know it, you spy a sneaky cockroach crawling across your clean floor. Sound familiar? Cockroaches certainly aren’t the most welcome of house guests, and they can actually make us quite sick with stomach upsets, diarrhoea, and allergy symptoms – so it’s important to get rid of them as soon as possible. But what’s the best way?
Cockroaches thrive on old food, and are attracted by the delicious smells of cooking, so try to get rid of any crumbs and smells by cleaning regularly. When it comes to cockroaches, regular kitchen cleaning products just won’t cut it – bleach is what you need, so always keep a bottle of Domex handy for roach invasions. Remember to follow the safety guidelines & wear protective gloves.
Key Steps for Cockroach Control
If you want to know how to get rid of cockroaches, we’ve got a simple, 3-part process that is sure to get your floors cockroach-free. Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Clean Your Home
There are three essential aspects a cockroach cannot do without – food, water, and shelter. By taking these things away from them, they’ll begin to look for a more suitable place to live. Use bleach to thoroughly clean your kitchen and get rid of any crumbs or lingering food smells. The bleach will also help to remove any waste the cockroaches have left behind – getting rid of cockroach waste can improve health, as it’s a very common allergy trigger.
Step 2: Trap the Roaches
You can get rid of cockroaches by using bait to lure the roaches out of their hiding places and into a trap. A tall glass jar filled with water is ideal, as the cockroaches can get in, but are unable to get back out. Try adding some coffee grounds or chopped banana to the water – these have excellent success rates as the smells are so inviting to roaches they can’t refuse a closer sniff. Studies suggest that this method has roughly an 85% mortality rate.
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Step 3: Locate the Nest
If you’ve trapped a few cockroaches but are still noticing more and more scurrying around, you may have a nest somewhere – check in dark corners, as these are ideal breeding grounds. If you don’t destroy the nest, new roaches will continue to cause a nuisance, so it might be time to call in an exterminator or use a pesticide. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and ensure children and pets are kept well away from the roach poison.
Getting rid of cockroaches is one thing, but it’s another to make sure they never come back again. One of the main reasons why cockroaches may be eyeing up your home as their new place to live is because your cooking smells so delicious they can’t resist coming in for a closer look. Try to keep any leftovers tightly sealed, and if any scraps get thrown away, take the garbage out immediately, and keep the bins as far away from your door as you can. It’s also worth trying to think like a cockroach – you may look a bit silly, but get down on the floor and look for any cracks in your doorframes where the roaches may be able to sneak inside – they really are sly little things.
Do you want to learn which household cleaning tasks cause the most stress? Then read our Heated Household data analysis.