The most effective ways to kill a cockroach

Cockroaches are extremely interesting creatures. They are able to survive rough conditions. However, they often fill people with loathing and horror. And we certainly do not want them in our homes. What should we do with such unwelcome guests?

Where to look for cockroaches?

Good news! No need to look for them. And the bad news is that they will find us.

The cockroaches are nocturnal. They don’t like light or noise. That’s why we don’t usually meet them during the day. Thanks to their incredible ability to flatten themselves, they can squeeze into narrow gaps. Often, they hide behind the cabinets and mouldings. Most frequently they visit the kitchen and bathroom. They will come to the other rooms only if they don’t find food in previous rooms.

How to get rid of a cockroach?

Homemade ways

1. The first thing to do is to keep the house clean. Wipe all the cabinets and store food in tightly closed containers. Seal any cracks and throw away rubbish regularly.
   Naturally, maintaining order and tidiness will not guarantee that cockroaches will not come from a neighbour. Nevertheless, this is the first point on the list of what we can do to limit roaches’ visits.
2. Coffee. Cockroaches love coffee. And we can use this fact to build a trap. Make a strong coffee. Put the grounds into a big jar. Lean a ruler or cardboard on its edge so the roaches can climb. In the morning, we burn the insects or flood them with boiling water. A bit violent, but this is what people suggest…
3. Beer. Cockroaches love not only coffee but also beer. They won’t despise other spirits either, but beer is their favourite. You can make the same trap as with coffee or soak a sponge with beer, leave it for the night and watch drunken roaches in the morning.
4. They also like parsley so you can use it to build a trap as well.
5. Pea, plaster and sugar. Grind a handful of dry peas, add a handful of fine sugar and another of plaster. Mix it and leave in the place where the insects come in.
6. A mixture of boric acid, powdered sugar and milk. Mix everything into a thick paste. Make small balls of it and spread it where the cockroaches walk. Keep away from children and pets.
7. Plant catnip. Apparently its smell effectively repels the cockroaches. But it attracts cats. So we change one animal for another.
8. You can also invite Pharaoh ants. They also scare the roaches off.

Ready made products

1. Insecticides. There is a whole mass of such products available on the market. They can be in a form of gel, spray or powder. Remember to read the instruction carefully as most often they are harmful to children and pets.
2. Traps with a substance that attracts cockroaches. Insects come in but cannot go away.
3. Ultrasonic repellers that scare the insects away with ultrasound.

Professional help

There are professional companies that carry out building’s disinfection. Important things to know are that this should be done through the whole house or apartment block and should be repeated after 4 weeks.

How I deal with them?

It is not easy to catch a cockroach. They are really fast and agile. The first cockroach in our backyard, we tried to kill with rakes… They were made of plastic and we didn’t know that roaches are so resistant to crushing. Jurek strongly hit it a few times with a flat side of the rakes convinced the cockroach was dead. It wasn’t. After a moment it ran into bushes.

We performed a few more night cockroach hunts in the garden. One of us light the area up and block the escape route, the other tried to crush the insect. Our evening hide and seek play.

Finally, somebody advised the sprays from the supermarkets. Most of them should be used for spraying the rooms, but as we have a child and a dog at home, and cockroaches fortunately only outside, we use it differently. As soon as we spot a cockroach, we just spray it with a chemical. At first, it still tries to run away, but after a short while, it falls on its back and soon dies.

I’ve also heard that you can pour liquid soap over them so they can’t move. I tried it once, but it got away.

And my hero is a girl who designed the most reliable way of dealing with cockroaches. She quickly grabs them in her hand and breaks in half! Roach buster!

The last words I dedicate to my faithful dog. Kaprys has exposed a cockroach to us more than once. When we’re all sitting outside together, he suddenly becomes alert and starts staring at one point. And so he stares and waits for our reaction. He won’t go to catch it by himself. A wise dog. 😀