Cockroaches in the home is not a good thing. According to the World Health Organisation, cockroaches are unhygienic scavengers. They prance about your home carrying diseases and spreading to your food and surfaces.
Every homeowner would want to eliminate them.
But, you will want to choose a method that’s natural. There are a lot of cockroach repellent and killers that are toxic to your pests, humans and even belongings.
How to Get Rid of Roaches in an Apartment Naturally
If you want to get rid of roaches naturally, you will want to follow the following steps.
Keep Your Home Clean
A clean and organized home does not necessarily keep roaches away but it helps you in battling an infestation of cockroaches.
Your cleaning should be holistic.
Cockroaches, especially the common types, seek for food, shelter and water. Your kitchen is one place that has all three.
When you keep your kitchen clean, you’d be at the first step of keeping them away.
You should also pay attention to other parts of your home. Cockroaches can feed on anything. In the bathroom for instance, they can feed on soap, skin cells and even hair.
The following tips will help you in battling cockroaches:
- Wash your dishes immediate you used them.
- Check behind areas like refrigerator, cabinets and other appliances. There might be some leftover food in those places. Also, since you rarely inspect those places, it can be where they’ll want to start a colony due to how dark and warm those places are.
- Clean hard to reach corners using a strong broom or a vacuum cleaner.
- Occasionally rearrange your home, you can keep track of activities of cockroaches in your home.
- Cover your trash can in a tight manner. Also, dispose them off on time.
Use Boric Acid to Kill Them
Boric Acid is an effective agent against cockroaches. However, you should be careful with handling it as it can cause irritation to your skin. Also, it can be toxic to your pets, if they ingest it.
You’ll have to apply it sparingly. Too much of it, and the roaches will notice it and avoid it.
Boric Acid loses its potency when it’s wet. You have to make sure that it doesn’t get wet.
Another thing to remember is that cockroaches don’t use the same route you use in the home. They follow corners, flattening themselves behind cabinets and other tight corners. Those areas are where you should apply the Boric Acid.
Use Sticky Traps
This method will not eliminated the cockroaches but it can help you limit their movement in your house.
Place the trap close to areas where you suspect cockroaches’ activities.
When removing them, ensure you wear a glove or a PPE, so you don’t get infected by the roaches. Also wash your hands after getting rid of them.
Use Essential Oils
The verdict on essential oil potency on roaches is not yet out but many anecdotes claim it’s effective in the fight against cockroaches.
Many essential oils like Tea Tree and Catnip Oil have shown some activities against cockroaches.
Essential oils are natural. The only issue with them is that your family member might be allergic to it. Also, some essential oils are toxic to pets.
How to Get Cockroaches out of Apartment Overnight
There are possibilities that you can get cockroaches out of your apartment overnight. But, it’s more of the outliers.
You should know that getting rid of cockroaches is not a sprint. Take it as a marathon. It’s a process. You have to continuously work to get them out of your place.
Some methods might get them out of your place in less than a week. Take the diatomaceous earth powder for instance. It kills cockroaches in about 3 days, dehydrating them in the process. Meanwhile, during that period, it’ll spread the poison, which can help in killing other roaches.
ALSO SEE: How to Get Rid of Wood Roaches in the House
Preventing Cockroaches Infestation
The best thing you can ever do is to prevent an infestation from happening. If you have successfully eliminated an infestation of cockroaches, you’ll need to prevent another infestation from happening again.
The following are some ways you can prevent cockroaches’ infestation.
Seal Cracks and Entry Points
Ensure that you seal the cracks in your home. Cover every entry points, no matter how small it is.
Make sure your plumbing works are functional. Cockroaches can get into your home through bad drains.
Inspect Things Before Taking Them In
Before you carry anything inside your home, check for a possible accommodation of cockroaches. If you see any, you can kill them.
Seek Professional Help
Professional pest controllers are trained to fight against pests. Engage their services. They’ll help you get rid of roaches in your home.
They’ll also be willing to help you with professional advise peculiar to the rate of infestation.