How to get rid of cockroaches at home

Is your kitchen infested with cockroaches? You are not alone. Almost all kitchens have roaches crawling at night. They swarm on your cupboards, on your kitchen sink, under the furniture, inside your cabinets, and in your bathroom. They carry germs that could make your family sick. Here are some simple methods on how you can eliminate them:

1. Remember that roaches can go on for long periods without food but not without water. Before you sleep at night, tightly close your kitchen and bathroom faucets, and wipe the sink and floors dry.

2. Keep your surrounding clean. Remove any traces of food debris from the sink. Mop the kitchen floors clean of any food spills. Make sure to clean the mop as well. Take the garbage out before you retire for the night. Put your debris as far away from your main house as possible.

3. Caulk all cracks and crevices, which could become their hiding place. Repair concrete cracks, and patch gapes and holes on wooden panels and partitions. These are potential lairs for cockroaches.

4. Avoid using commercialized insecticides as much as possible. These contain chemicals that could compromise your health. Remember that the longer you use the insecticides, the more resistant the roaches become. You can use the following items instead:

Ground coffee. Place some amount of ground coffee on a wide-mouthed container. Leave
them at strategic places – inside cabinets, cupboards, kitchen sink and bathroom corners – at
night uncovered. Roaches will munch on the coffee particles which will make them go
sleepless for days. Eventually, they will die.

Bay leaves. Crumble some bay leaves around your kitchen area before going to bed. Roaches
don’t like the smell of bay leaves and will promptly go away.

Moth balls. Crushed naphthalene crystals mixed with kerosene can be painted or sprayed on
suspected cockroach hiding places. Not only is this effective against termites and ants, but
roaches abhor and quite irritated by the mixture.

Peppers. Whether chili hot pepper or the black variety, this spice will ruin a cockroach’s
night quite easily. Just mix the powdered pepper with small amount of water and place it in
your kitchen corners.