How To Get Rid Of Cockroaches

Cockroaches are an unbelievably disgusting pest that can be extremely persistent without the proper treatment. They generally find their way inside your home in search of resources like food, water, and shelter. Cockroaches don’t need a lot to survive so even if your home looks clean, cockroaches can still find enough crumbs, dirt, and dust to eat to survive. Letting a cockroach problem get out of hand can happen quickly which is why it is recommended that homeowners take immediate action when dealing with cockroaches. 

How to Get Rid of Cockroaches Overnight

Getting rid of a small cockroach problem can be done quickly using a cockroach pesticide spray. Dealing with a larger infestation will likely take addition effort, time, and strategy but using a combination of different cockroach treatment strategies will ensure that you maximize your chances of cockroach extermination. Using the different treatment strategies will leverage the unique benefits of each while mitigating any limitations of any individual treatment strategy.

Cockroach Treatment Checklist

What Kills Cockroaches Instantly?

Many of the ways to get rid of cockroaches instantly involve the use of pyrethroids. These are chemical compounds that are derived from chrysanthemums. They are an effective cockroach deterrent and treatment option that helps keep cockroach populations in check. When applied in toxic concentrations, the chemical affects an insect’s nervous systems, causing normal body functions to cease. There are other insects that are impacted by this as well, but the pesticide is safe for human and pet contact as long as it is diluted to levels acceptable by state regulations. They provide a “residual” effect as well, which means that the pesticide makes surfaces deadly for several weeks after application. 

How To Get Rid of Cockroaches Naturally?

There are a handful of natural cockroach treatment options that are effective are exterminating cockroach infestations:

• Diatomaceous Earth: Diatomaceous earth is basically fossilized algae that has been ground into a fine powder. The powder is a dry and abrasive dust that kills insects like cockroaches by suffocating them, degrading exoskeletons, and drawing out moisture causing dehydration.
• Baking Soda: This is a common household kitchen item that reacts violently with the stomach acids of a cockroach causing them to burst. 
• Boric Acid: A common insect treatment for bugs like cockroaches. When it is consumed, it causes the nervous and digestive systems to fail.
• Borax: This laundry detergent ingredient dehydrates cockroaches when consumed causing them to dry out.
• Citrus: Citrus oils won’t kill cockroaches, but the scent of citrus will act as a cockroach repellent. Be sure to use lemon scented cleaners to deter cockroach activity.
• Essential Oils: There are specific essential oils that irritate bugs senses. Peppermint and lemongrass are 2 that are effective against cockroaches. 

How to Get Rid of Cockroaches Outside

Cockroach activity always starts outside so taking preventative measures to minimize cockroach activity outside is critical to preventing cockroaches in your home.

• Clean up: Cockroaches will thrive where there is shelter and food. By keeping outside space clean and free of unnecessary debris, cockroaches won’t have places to hide and food to sustain themselves.
• Sealing trash: Garbage is usually where cockroaches will find their food so keeping trash in the appropriate containers far away from a home is important in preventing cockroach activity near your home.
• Apply sticky traps: Sticky traps can be applied near access points and in places that have previously shown lots of cockroach activity.
• Spray pesticides: Pesticides can be used to lay down a barrier which should kill any cockroaches that come into contact with the spray. 

How to Prevent Cockroaches

Preventing cockroaches is much easier than trying to get rid of them after they have infested your home. By implementing strong preventative strategies and staying active with them, you should be able to stop cockroaches before they start. Follow these simple instructions and cockroaches won’t be a massive problem to deal with later:

Cleaning / Sanitation: Unless the attractants that brought cockroaches in the first place are removed, cockroach treatment won’t work because cockroaches will continue to come back. Infested areas will need to be cleaned up to remove debris and potential food for roaches. Be sure to:

• Keep sinks clear of dirty dishes and drains sanitized
• Immediately clean and sanitize spilled foods and crumbs
• Keep indoor trash cans emptied and sealed any trash outdoors
• Keep floors mopped and sanitized
• Clean cabinets, under the sink, and other places that often go unchecked
• Minimize exposed pet food

Properly Sealing Food: Having accessible food is a sure-fire way to ensure that bugs like cockroaches become a problem. Use airtight containers made of plastic or glass to seal in stored goods to ensure that they don’t provide cockroaches access to their next meal.

Clean Kitchen Appliances: Cleaning up kitchen appliances removes food and grease that cockroaches would love to feast on. It also removes any crumbs or food remnants that are left inside. Be sure to clean under appliances as well to really ensure that there is not enough for cockroaches to survive on.

Fix Plumbing: Cockroaches are drawn to water so they can stay hydrated. Be sure to fix any leaks or plumbing issues to minimize excess moisture.

Sealing Gaps / Cracks / Crevices: Access to food and shelter can be sealed off using building materials like caulking or silicone. Any gap that a quarter can fit in is enough space for a cockroach to pass through.

Inspect Cardboard Boxes: Cardboard boxes that are used to transport groceries and other items from the store can contain cockroaches. Be sure to inspect boxed goods at the store to ensure you don’t pick up any unwanted guests.

Eliminating Cockroach Attractants

Ultimately what cockroach prevention comes down to is eliminating the things that attracts cockroaches in the first place. This means removing food, water, and shelter.

• Food: Food sources can be anything from spilt food and drinks, to dust under the fridge, to other cockroaches. There are an infinite number of potential food sources for cockroaches which means that eliminating food can be difficult and tedious. Be sure to properly seal any food that isn’t stored well and then clean up any remaining food.
• Water: Roaches need a stable source of moisture to stay hydrated. It doesn’t take a lot though so even the smallest leak might be enough for cockroaches to thrive. Ensuring that there are no leaky faucets or standing water will really help prevent roach populations from exploding.
• Shelter: Living inside is far preferable than trying to survive out in the elements. This is why humans shelter inside and also why cockroaches will also flee bad weather conditions for places that are dry and warm. 

How Does EcoGuard Pest Control Treat for Cockroaches

EcoGuard’s licensed cockroach exterminators utilize an integrated pest management approach that combines each of the treatment strategies that are effective against cockroaches. By combining several strategies that work, we can leverage each for their unique benefit. Our licensed and trained cockroach exterminators will come in and inspect your property before creating a customized treatment plan designed to exterminate your cockroach problem.

Inspection: The initial inspection is crucial to determining the best treatment strategy. During inspection, our technicians will be able to find active cockroach nests which helps identify the species and severity of an infestation. We also identify problematic areas and how to remove cockroach attractants to minimize the potential for future cockroaches.

Treatment: Initial treatment is determined by what was discovered during the inspection. The type of cockroach species and active hot spots will determine how to treat for cockroaches using the most effective treatment strategy for the circumstances.

Follow Up: After the initial services, on going monitoring will help our team determine if additional treatments are necessary. For smaller cockroach problems, the initial services may be adequate but sometimes bigger infestations require more intense treatments.   

Contact EcoGuard Pest Management Today 

If you have been dealing with cockroaches and all other treatment options have failed to deliver results, call EcoGuard Pest Management today! Our team has been trusted with delivering a pest free experience and our results are guaranteed. There is no risk calling in to schedule an initial appointment to see how bad your cockroach problem really is. If you are dealing with a cockroach infestation, our team will curate a plan designed to exterminate your problem. 

How to Get Rid of Cockroaches FAQs