How to exterminate cockroaches at home?

Cockroaches, like any other pests and parasites, infesting your home is particularly unpleasant.

Cockroaches are quite large and difficult to catch – when the lights are on, they scurry and hide, and many people associate them with unpleasant associations and unclean, unsanitary conditions.

These pests can spread quickly and infest the whole house, so how can you eradicate cockroaches as quickly as possible?

How to recognise cockroaches, where they live in the house and why do you need to exterminate them?

These insects have a flat, oval body, wings, long antennae and spiny legs.

Depending on the species, cockroaches are usually brown, black, yellowish brown or reddish brown.

• Cockroaches are omnivorous and feed on food scraps, waste etc. With up to 50 eggs laid by a female per generation, the population of these insects grows instantly.
• Cockroaches like dark places in the house, such as drawers, cupboards, kitchen cupboards, especially if pipes are leaking, floor areas under appliances, cellars, damp bathrooms, etc. Cockroaches need food and water, which is why they are most often found in kitchens.
• Cockroaches can also damage leather or cardboard items, leave stains that are difficult to remove, contaminate food, and can cause allergies and asthma.
• These unpleasant creatures carry more than 2 dozen pathogens – bacteria, intestinal rods, viruses, fungi and worm eggs.
• Cockroaches can spread E. coli, staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus bacteria. Thus, cockroaches indirectly cause salmonellosis, cholera, dysentery, gastroenteritis, leprosy, listeriosis and even typhoid fever.

How to kill cockroaches at home effectively using insecticides and what else is important to know about the products?

People naively think that products sold in hardware stores will help eradicate cockroaches, but they are usually ineffective: for example, aerosol products will only work if they are sprayed directly on the insect.

And if you don’t know which cockroach control methods are the most effective, you could be harming yourself, your loved ones, your pets and the environment.

Professional insecticides for cockroach control

Cockroaches can only be eradicated with long-lasting insecticides. They remain effective on the surface for up to 3-6 weeks.

These insecticides are sufficient to spray the areas where cockroaches are most likely to visit: it is not necessary to find every nest.

Using long-lasting insecticides and special chemical films applied behind furniture or in hard-to-reach places, a protective barrier is formed to prevent and deter cockroaches trying to enter the house.

The Sterilus.lt team also uses long-lasting insecticides to kill cockroaches in their daily work. These products are safe for humans and animals, and you can return to your home the same day after disinfection.

However, it is important to know that insecticides do not affect cockroach eggs, so a new generation of cockroaches may hatch after a while.

So even one cockroach left in the house means that disinfection needs to be repeated. That’s why we offer a 30-day guarantee on our services: it means that the return visit and cockroach extermination will cost you nothing.

And if you do your best to keep cockroaches out of the cracks and crevices of apartment blocks, you can get rid of their friendship for good.

Special sticky traps for cockroaches

The belief that cockroaches can be eradicated with special traps is wrong. Sticky traps can simply help to facilitate the collection of cockroaches after disinfection, or to assess the efficacy of their eradication after 10-20 days.

How to eradicate cockroaches without professional chemicals?

There are many different ways to kill cockroaches, many of them DIY. Sometimes it is useful to try several methods.

The easiest way is to simply swat the cockroach with a slipper, but this won’t get rid of all the pests, and the procedure is very unpleasant. Cockroaches are also very insensitive to impact and can withstand up to 900 times their weight.

Cockroach extermination with soda

Baking soda is one of the most effective ways to kill cockroaches. Soda accumulates gas in the body of the ingesting insect and eventually kills it.

However, baking soda is not tasty and will not attract cockroaches on its own. What to do? Mix equal parts baking soda and sugar and place a plate or bowl where the cockroaches are most likely to be.

Cockroach extermination with boric acid

Boric acid is highly toxic to cockroaches and can help kill several generations of cockroaches. Boric acid, sugar and water should be mixed in equal parts to make a sticky mass.

Roll it into balls and place them where you see cockroaches. The cockroaches will die in their nests after tasting this ‘treat’, and the live cockroaches will feed on the poisoned bodies of their ‘colleagues’ and die as well.

What smell do cockroaches dislike?

Kaip kovoti su tarakonais? Ko nemėgsta tarakonai, kokie kvapai gali padėti juos atbaidyti? 

• Citrus, peppermint. What are cockroaches afraid of? They simply can’t stand the smell of lemons and peppermint. If you have just one other pest in your house, you can buy essential oil, add a few drops to water and spray it on the cockroach’s tract. You can also use the solution to wash floors and clean worktops.
• Tea tree and geranium essential oils are also effective against pests.
• Herbs include bay leaves, chamomile, wormwood, coltsfoot and elder leaves.
• Smell of kerosene, petrol, some building materials. By the way, once rooms have been renovated, cockroaches usually do not return.

However, bear in mind that many pests are becoming better adapted to their surroundings, so sprinkling dried chamomile flowers and wormwood twigs on top is unlikely to get rid of cockroaches. These are only aids.

Cockroach prevention in flats and homes

Our customers often ask, how do I eradicate cockroaches in an apartment block?

Insulation

The first and perhaps most important step is to insulate the rooms: eliminating all cracks and gaps between pipes, fixing small grilles in the vents and other similar methods.

If you successfully eradicate cockroaches from your flat, but the whole block is infested and your neighbours do not take any action, the cockroaches will return sooner or later and will have to be eradicated again periodically.

Keep it clean

Cockroaches will feast in your home if they find leftover food, rubbish, crumbs or spilled drinks. So clean up thoroughly after eating or cooking, and take out the rubbish in the evening.

It is a very good habit to eat only in the kitchen or dining room, not in the living room on the garden or other areas of the house.

Get rid of moisture

Cockroaches need moisture to survive. So fix leaky water pipes and other sources of moisture immediately.

And you can put moisture collectors in basements and other damp rooms.

Make sure that there are no cavities or gaps

Be sure to seal all gaps around doors, windows and foundations. When the temperature drops, cockroaches and other pests can enter your home even through very small gaps.