How to Get Rid of Roaches

Roaches are more than just a nuisance.

Five types of roaches call America home, including the American cockroach and the German cockroach. They commonly appear in areas lacking proper maintenance and hygiene because the insects live off trash and debris. You can even bring roaches into your home from the grocery store, as the insects crawl into potato bags and other produce looking for food. When you get rid of roaches, you must remove both the adults and any eggs left behind.

Things You'll Need

• Sticky traps
• Steel wool
• Masking tape
• Bait traps
• Roach dust
• Old newspapers
• Chair
• Roach foggers

Instructions

1. Lay sticky traps around your house, including in the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Check the traps at least once a day, looking for any bugs stuck to the top. Using traps lets you see where the roaches come from, and they indicate where you need to place other traps and poisons.

2. Tear a steel wool into small pieces, roughly the size of your pinky nail. Plug the steel wool into any holes that act as an entrance point for the roaches, especially if you live in an apartment or townhome where you share walls with neighbors. Cover the holes with a piece of masking tape. Look for holes along baseboards and around the pipes in your bathroom.

3. Place bait traps in the cabinets of your home and underneath the sink. The traps have a small entrance for the roaches and contain poison inside. Depending on the type, they either eat the poison and carry it back to the others or become trapped inside the bait trap and die.

4. Pour roach dust around any areas where you have a bug problem, but keep the dust away from areas frequented by pets and children. The dust contains a poison that the roaches eat, which causes them to die. Use the dust in upper cabinets, in closets and in your pantry.

5. Open all cabinet doors, and lay down old newspapers on a chair. Set the fogger on top of the chair, peel back the lid, and then press the button on the top. As soon as the gas comes out, leave the house. The process will take approximately two to three hours, depending on the manufacturer. When you return, open the doors and windows, and let your house air out for a few hours. The fogger should kill any remaining roaches in the house.

Tips & Warnings

• Wash your dishes after using the fogger or dust, and throw away any open food packages. Poisons used for bugs can be dangerous to humans.

• If you live in an apartment, contact the maintenance department. Even if you keep your home clean and kill any roaches, the bugs may still come from neighboring units.

• For property that you own, consider using a more permanent method to block roaches. Spray expanding foam into any holes, or staple or nail hardware cloth to the holes.

• When working with chemicals, including the roach dust, keep the materials out of reach of animals and children.

• Vacate your family and your pets before using the fogger, as the chemicals are dangerous to humans and animals.

References

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Least Toxic Cockroach Control; Barb Ogg, Ph.D., et al.
• HouseLogic; Get Rid of Roaches Forever (At Least for Now); Craig Guillot; April 2011
• How to Get Rid of Things; How to Get Rid of Cockroaches; August 2011

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish