There is no telling just how having roaches around your home can easily turn out to be the most frustrating experience of your life. The worst part is when they spread diseases such as typhoid, may cause allergic reactions, induce asthma attacks and generally cause distress in your life.

When you decide that you have had enough of these nasty creatures, just how do you go about eliminating them from your home?

Hiring an exterminator can be quite an expensive affair, and so is purchasing some roach killers, especially if you are on a budget.

In today’s piece, we are going to cover the different ways you can use to get rid of cockroaches completely from your life, where they are in your home, car or even your place of work. The methods vary from natural treatments you can make from the comfort of your home to manufactured roach killers that are just as effective.

Top methods to help you get rid of roaches

There are a few factors that determine the technique you choose to go with. If you are on a budget and are looking for some cheap options, then natural treatments will work the best. If you can afford roach killers, then there are several products in the market that will come in handy.

If you are lucky, the method you will use will be so effective that you will rarely see a roach just scurrying around. Some treatments take a bit more time to work than others but this should not discourage you in any way.

However, you should keep in mind that despite the reviews, different ways work for different people and therefore it is up to you to try out the various methods, see what works best for you and stick with it.

Natural methods

If you are against using chemicals in your home for whatever reason, then this is just the method for you. The results do not show as fast when compared to other forms of treatment but in the end, your apartment will be completely roach free.

To begin with, with this method, there are a couple of actions you need to take around the house. For instance, it’s vital that you first thoroughly clean your house, especially behind appliances and under sinks to destroy the damp areas roaches thrive at, and ensure there is food residue or grease left behind in the kitchen.

If you discover any cracks and crevices in the house, it’s time to seal those too. Doing this will ensure that the roaches have nowhere to hide and whatever method you sue will surely get to them.

Here is the deal. Even with the decision to go all natural in your fight against the roaches, you have to understand that the ingredients you use for the roach baits may contain some chemicals. The best part is these chemicals are not toxic to humans and therefore will not harm you or your family, which includes your pets.

The most basic bait is mixing borax or boric acid with granulated sugar. Roaches are attracted to the sugar and the borax kills them by causing severe dehydration and tampering with their digestive systems.

You might want to keep this mixture away from your kids and pets and if this is not possible, you can decide to use safer alternatives. Baking soda and sugar work just as well, or a combination of cayenne pepper, white onion, garlic, and water. Alternatively, coffee grinds or fabric softener mixed with water also acts as a very strong roach repellent.

Diatomaceous earth is another natural remedy that users have sworn by time and time again. When applied to high traffic areas, its abrasiveness will damage the roaches’ exoskeleton which results to severe dehydration and death.

The mode of application for these treatments is very easy. For the water based solutions, use a spray bottle to ensure the treatment gets to the roach nests and well behind appliances and sinks. For the other sugar baits, you should apply on areas you think the roaches roam freely, not forgetting along baseboards and in cracks and crevices.

We cannot forget to include the most natural method of all, which is also product free. The next time you see a cockroach, how about you smash it with your boot or sandal? You need to have tissues in hand to dispose of the dead roaches and also keep in mind that this is not a very successful method. Yes, it’s very fast but you will never eliminate all roaches from your house completely by doing this.

Exterminators

Many of us would rather call the professionals to come and deal with the roach infestation in our homes because we might not have time to deal with the infestation ourselves or we have tried a couple of times before without any success.

If you are thinking of using exterminators, you should know that this can be quite a costly process for you. It’s important that you have a budget for that.

Basically, they will first conduct a site visit to know the scope of the infestation. At this point, you get a quotation of how much it will cost and if you are still willing, they set up the initial date to start the elimination process.

If you have such a heavy infestation, they might spray around your house to ensure the chemicals get to every roach nest. Other methods they will employ will solely depend on the extent of the infestation and the roach species in your home. Some species have a high tolerance against some pesticides and therefore this warrants a different treatment.

This whole process may take some time and you have to be patient to see the full results. However, if you cannot afford to splurge on professionals, you can opt to look at our methods and see what can work for you.

Commercial roach killers

There are several roach killers you can find in the market. What you decide to purchase is based on the effectiveness of the product, its toxicity levels, and the cost. We advise that you keep your foods sealed before application of any of these methods. Additionally, wash your hands thoroughly after coming in contact with the roach killers to avoid contaminating other areas.

Boric acid baits

If you have young children and pets in your home, the toxic levels of a pesticide should come first on your list. The last thing you want is to put your family in harm’s way. Boric acid baits work best for this kind of situation. Read more Where to buy boric acid?

They are affordable and they can last up to a few months. Moreover, you will realize that the baits help eradicate the entire roach nests, unlike most methods out there. It may take quite a while, but they get the job done so well.

Its major flaw is that if you are using the powder form, air currents in the house can blow it up leading to misapplication to other areas. You should take great caution to seal all your foods

Killer sprays

For those roaches that keep scurrying around the house at any given time, how about you purchase killer sprays? They are effective and you can always have a can in hand to use immediately you spot one.

The only disadvantage to sprays is that once the applied area is stepped on, the chemical is deemed ineffective and you have to keep applying. This can be very tiring especially if you have kids and pets who keep running around the house. You should also be very careful not to contaminate other areas during the application.

If you are already using the roach baits, using these sprays will also deem your baits ineffective. You should therefore be using one treatment technique at a time.

Gel baits

What you will love most about this technique is that a few roaches may come in contact with the bait but it will end up killing all the ones remaining at the nest.

You will put out the bait on areas the roaches frequent, and they will ultimately be attracted by the bait. On ingestion, they go back to the nest and end up infecting the other roaches with the chemical. The result? A complete elimination of the colony.

This is among the most successful methods in the market; it’s fast and cheap and you might consider purchasing the product if you are looking for an effective way to do away with entire nests at once.

Wrapping up

Whether it’s in your apartment, car or home, roaches are the last insects you want to see moving around. Apart from wanting to protect your family against contamination and allergies, you want to keep these roaches away for the rest of your life. This can only be achieved by looking for a fast, cheap and effective method that will ensure they are fully eliminated.

You can opt for natural remedies because they are less toxic and cheaper than hiring exterminators or purchasing store roach killers. If you feel that the roaches have developed a higher tolerance against these DIY killers, then do not shy away from going to your local store and buying a suitable pesticide, which will depend on how much you are willing to spend and the effectiveness of the product.

Whichever treatment technique you decide to adopt, keep in mind that most methods take the time to show results hence you should be patient. Do not hesitate to change the method if you feel that it’s just not working for you.

Moreover, ensure to always keep your house clean, with all crevices sealed to prevent the roaches from creeping back into your home.

Loved this article? Please comment and let us know what you liked best and what information you feel that we left out. To top it off, share with your friends and family to help them know how to get rid of roaches in case they are having a similar problem.

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