Simply killing all of your cockroaches will only fix your problem temporarily. The only permanent way to get rid of cockroaches is by making your living space inhospitable to them.
Inroducing Pandan
There is still one thing you can try and in a natural way. Have you ever heard of pandan(botanical name: Pandanus odorus is just one specie; english name: screw tree)?
In parts of Asia where rice is a staple food, it is used to bring flavor to the rice or to be more specific, it gives a nice smell to the rice once cooked. Lately, it has also been used on jelly and refreshments.
But pandan is also known by some to control cockroaches. Pandan leaves as it turned out contains a compound that cockroaches seem to hate. This compound don’t kill cockroaches, only drive them away. In other words pandan leaves are a natural cockroach repellent.
What you can do
You can put them on a several pots and distribute them to the different area of your house. Put as much as you want, the more the better. It would also be better if some are placed near hiding places of cockroaches.
If you don’t want it that way, you can just get some of the leaves, bundle them, make several bundles and place them on different parts of your house. Try to get the mature leaves as these are the ones that contain more of the repellent compound. Leave it there until it dries out. And you may want to replace them once all the leaves have totally dried out.
After doing the above, you should be having a positive result in just a day. No wonder some cab drivers in Singapore put pandan leaves in their trunk and leave it there to dry. The repellent compound from the pandan leaves are slowly released into the confines of the car making them cockroach free.
Source:
emman4everything.blogspot.com.au
**********
Getting rid of roaches naturally can be a slow process. With powerful insecticides, you’ll see results right away, but you’ll be exposing your family to toxic chemicals in the process. Getting rid of them naturally not only keeps your family from being exposed to harmful chemicals, but it can also prevent the problem from reoccurring. So how do you do it?
There are few well known and proven ways to safely get rid of roaches naturally.
1. Clean, clean and clean again. As with most household pests, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What do I mean? You’ve got to make sure your house is spic-and-span, because cockroaches are attracted to food residue, particularly grease. That means wiping down the counters each night, never leaving dirty dishes in the sink, making sure the stovetop is clean and sweeping the floors before you go to bed. This may seem like a lot to do every day, but if you start doing this stuff on a regular basis, a 15-minute cleanup should be plenty at the end of each night to eliminate most residues (unless you have a party — or kids — and then cleanup will take a little longer).
2. Seal up cracks and holes. That means inside your pantry, between the countertop and the wall, and in the baseboards. Roaches (and other insects) can crawl through even the smallest of spaces, so it’s important to seal the entries into your home. This may take time, but in the end, it’s worth the effort, especially if you live in an apartment and have neighbors who don’t maintain the same standards of cleanliness as you do. You can use a tube of caulk and a caulking gun to do the job.
3. Fix any water leaks. Roaches are attracted to moisture and water from leaks in pipes. That’s why you often find them scurrying under your sink. Some cockroaches can survive for months without food, but only days without water. Close off their water sources by repairing even the tiniest of leaks. Don’t let water stand in your sink and don’t over water indoor plants.
4. Make your own, natural cockroach bait. Mix three parts boric acid with one part powdered sugar. The sugar lures the roaches, while the boric acid kills them. Although the boric acid isn’t toxic to people or pets, it can be irritating so keep it away from counters and places where little fingers and noses can reach. Sprinkle it under and behind the refrigerator, stove and dishwasher, under the sink, and into cracks along the edges of cabinets and pantries.
Diatomaceous earth is a natural insecticide that is safe for use around children and pets. (Photo: Anna Hoychuk/Shutterstock)
2. Beer cockroach trap
Find a deep jar with smooth vertical and preferably glass walls. Something like a pickle jar is a good choice. Place the jar against a wall or build simple ramps leading into the jar for the cockroaches to climb.
Fill the bottom of the jar with some old beer, the proteins given off by stale beer is a cockroach attractant similar to the pheromones they use to naturally signal each other of food. You don’t need to drown the roaches, once they fall into the jar, they will be unable to escape.
This is a great trap because the beer is completely safe for pets and children, and the roaches get to get drunk. It’s a cheap cockroach trap and you probably don’t even need to go to the store to build it.
5. Pandan Leaves Cockroach Repellant
Pandan leaves are used throughout south-east asia primarily in cooking. You should be able to find them at your local asian food market. The strange thing about pandan leaves is that they will also help you get rid of cockroaches naturally.
Unlike stale beer, the pandan leave produces a smell that roaches find horrible. They will try their best to stay out of any area that has that smell.
You may also be able to find pandan leave extract at the store (it is usually colored green). This may be preferrable to buying the leaves themselves that will need to be replaced much more often.
Note: But the pandan leaves have to be fresh. When they become dried, have to change to fresh ones… otherwise they become the very source that attract cockroches.. Bundle them and place it at the bottom gap of your front door.
6. Baking Soda and Sugar Natural Cockroach Trap
Baking soda mixed with sugar is known to kill cockroaches. The sugar attracts the roach, while the baking soda reacts with their digestive tract to kill them. This is a simple trap that is safe for pets and children that will leave you with dead roaches instead of live ones.
Simply mix the baking soda and sugar in equal 1:1 parts. Place the mixture in a small, easily accessible container for the cockroaches; the lid to a jug of milk works well. Place a number of these around your home and wait a number of days to see the cockroaches die off.
7. Bring in the experts.
If you want to get rid of roaches naturally and you’ve got a big infestation, try contacting a natural pest control company.
There is a pest control company that uses a substance called diatomaceous earth in the walls of my home (inserted through the holes around the wall outlets). Diatomaceous earth is a soft sedimentary rock that is easily crushed into a fine powder. It is used in many things (including some medicines and skin care products) but is often used as a mechanical insecticide because it causes an insect to die without the use of chemicals.
Look for a pest control company in your area that uses the substance – it’s not harmful for you and your family and best of all, it’s effective.
6. Kill it with kindness … or just kill it. If you have got a cockroach in the house right now and you don’t want to spray harmful insecticides inside your home, try spraying a little solution of soap and water on it. (I keep this stuff around to clean my countertops, by the way.) Because roaches, like most insects, breathe through their skin, the soap essentially suffocates them. Of course, you could just step on it.
Getting rid of roaches naturally is easy
Just remember if you see or trap one cockroach, there are probably ten more laying in wait. If you use traps, keep them out for a number of weeks to make certain that you kill every last roach.
Source:
cockroachbite.net
mnn.com
***********
Identifying a cockroach. Cockroaches generally look like dark brown beetles, though color and size vary among different varieties. A cockroach might measure no more than a half-inch, or might be almost 2 inches long. All cockroaches have six legs, the back two pairs of which angle backward sharply. The back pair of legs stretches backward beyond the tail end of the cockroach’s body. Cockroaches have long antennae that, from a distance, can sometimes resemble a 4th pair of legs in the very front. Not all cockroaches can fly, even if they have wings – a common example is this one below.
Get rid of the food and water. If you want to learn how to get rid of roaches naturally, and without insecticides, then this is a good place to start. These cockroaches were probably first drawn to your living space because of the abundance of food they found there. Even trace amounts can attract cockroaches, and their food sources are many and diverse. Cockroaches can even survive on paper (bad news for messy college students). You must make your living space absolutely fastidious in order to solve your cockroach problem.
- Close up garbage cans tightly at all times, and take out the trash frequently. If possible, keep your garbage can outside until the problem subsides.
- Make sure cockroaches can’t simply enter your house through open windows and doors. If you haven’t already, invest in Fly screens that are free of tears and maintain a tight fit within the window frame.
- Clean all pots, pans and dishes immediately after using them.
- Put all food away in sealable containers or in the fridge.
- Vacuum, mop and otherwise remove any residue and crumbs from your living space.
- Cockroaches can feed on human tissue… got any dirty clothing lying around?
- Get rid of water. Cockroaches can survive without food for a considerable amount of time, but not without water. You must keep your living space dry at all times. How dry? I’ve seen a cockroach drink from the rim of a coke can (sugar + water = cockroach heaven). Keep all liquids sealed off and fix any leaky plumbing (especially in dark areas such as under your sink). Make sure that all pipes run smoothly and don’t back up. When you clean, be sure to dry all surfaces upon finishing.
Get rid of safe havens. You know what I’m talking about – those piles of junk, dirty clothing piles, bags of paper recycling, any place of clutter and refuge from the light of day. Those are common areas where roaches can hide within your living space, but if you find them scurrying away from those locations, you have to assume that you have a decent population of them within your walls as well. When you know you have a cockroach population living in your walls, you must find and seal all but one of the openings they potentially use. For your one remaining cockroach entry, choose the entry that is beyond reach of small children or pets (if applicable). Remember, anywhere there is a crack in the wall, they can escape. Often the cracks appear around piping or along floorboards. Search your home carefully. Even loose wallpaper can provide safe haven for cockroaches.
Use baits. In warmer climates, cockroaches may leave on their own once you render your home inhospitable to them. But cockroaches can’t tolerate the cold, so all of us in the northern U.S. will have a more difficult time convincing cockroaches to jump ship once they’ve gotten used to the heat we provide them. Once you have cleaned your house thoroughly and sealed off all possible cockroach entry-points except one, your task is now to killing the population that lingers in your walls. Roach bait stations (known as roach motels, or even Baits Motel) often prove effective, as do the bait gels that you can squirt along the crack
Pesticides are dangerous… Cockroaches could survive a nuclear holocaust, so it stands to reason that anything toxic to them would be toxic to us and to our pets. Sprays only eliminate the problem temporarily anyway, and are toxic to life in general. Take the precautionary statements on the containers seriously if you use pesticides. Use all poisons and pesticides as sparingly as possible when killing cockroaches. Keep your roach motels and baited areas out of reach of small children and animals.
If you have a large infestation of Cockroaches you might need Commercial Pest Control to get rid of them, then use these hints to keep them at bay. You cannot stop them completely there will always be one or two about. But less is better.
Source:
maroochydorehandyman.com.au
**********
What are your thoughts?