How to Get Rid of Cockroaches from your Kitchen Forever

Table of Contents

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No one loves to see cockroaches in their houses – especially in their kitchens where food to be eaten is prepared. Having the problem of infestation by these creatures in your kitchen can be solved naturally and chemically, wherein they and their eggs can be killed.

What then attracts cockroaches in the kitchen?

Cockroaches are pests extremely capable of anything. They can eat anything you can just imagine. Their diets are quite on the high side. They easily adapt in any environment and poses health challenges, as they can carry any bacteria around.

Location

Some areas are more susceptible to cockroaches than others. They can enter your home through a gap in a window seal or through a door that is left open for a long time.

Accessibility

Cockroaches come into your home in search of three things: food, shelter, and water. They have then developed the habit of entering the house through opened seals and gaps. As long as you have open spaces, you can be sure to have cockroaches around.

Moisture

Cockroaches need moisture to survive and this search for water will bring them into even a very clean home. So, anything that could leave off water or moisture like refrigerators, leaky pipes, basements, you can always find cockroaches to come around these places.

Food Sources

Cockroaches will seek out food sources wherever they can find them. Note that there is nothing they can’t eat ranging from cardboards, leather, soap and even normal food,

Forgotten Areas

Abandoned areas and items can easily house cockroaches as they tend to hide in these places seeing that it is most likely unclean.

Signs of a Cockroach Infestation

There are a few signs of a cockroach infestation in your home. You can keep your eye out for the following:

Seeing a cockroach – If you see one, at least, be sure that there are others around somewhere.

Cockroach droppings – Wherever cockroaches are, you can find their droppings that may look like coffee grounds or ground pepper.

Discarded egg cases – Also called oothecae, cockroach egg cases are oblong and brown. These may be a sign of a cockroachinfestation. Interestingly, finding a combination of these egg cases means they are wanting to multiply already and you should do something about getting rid of them.

There are some cockroach prevention steps you can take to help keep them from invading your house:

1. Identify the source

You should first find out where they are coming in from. This will help in targeting them directly. Target plumbing areas, grocery bags and used books, and small cracks or doorways.

Common cockroach hideouts are places where there is food or moisture and outlets. Check those kitchen cabinets and near your refrigerators as well.

2. Targeted treatments

There are solutions that can get rid of cockroaches within a couple of weeks. Simply add it over cracks, seams and corners, along baseboards, around appliances and so on.

The best way that has been found to treat them is a combination of gel baits, boric acid, IGR (insect growth regulator), and pesticide spray. Insecticides that contain boric acid are effective in killing both adult cockroaches and eggs. Just be sure to follow the instructions of whatever you are using carefully.

3. Seal up entry points

As mentioned above, cockroaches often find their way into our homes through small cracks and openings. These include areas around baseboards, cabinets, windows, and flooring. They then linger around wherever they will not be disturbed or where has been abandoned.

4. Cleaning

Make sure you take extra time to clean up your kitchens. Deal with the corners, cabinets, the surfaces and get rid of crumbs and every other thing that might attract them. The fewer tight corners there are, the better the chances of not having cockroaches in your house.

5. Try detergents

You can make use of special detergents in washing off areas where you can find them. This will drive them off those places.

6. Use proper storage

Cockroaches can crawl through small spaces, and once they get into kitchen cabinets or the pantry, they can easily find their way into boxes or cartons of food. Keep food stored in airtight containers so the cockroaches can’t access it. If you have pets, be sure to keep their food tightly sealed as well, and always put any leftovers away. If you leave dog or cat food out on the floor overnight, you risk attracting cockroaches

7. Manage moisture

Moisture attracts cockroaches, and these insects have been known to live in kitchen and bathroom drains. Keep an eyes out for leaking or faulty plumbing. You can also clean out your drains with a drain cleaner and use a drain cover to help keep cockroaches out. This can also help in cleaning out your drains as there might be food particles in them.

8. Call in a professional

Fumigation is something you can consider if you want to get rid of these insects. It is quite expensive though, as you will also have to move out of your house during this process.

9. Diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous earth, or DE for short, is an excellent natural insecticide. Composed of pulverized, fossilized algae, DE’s particles are sharp and dehydrating. When cockroaches come into contact with DE, it damages their exoskeletons and dehydrates them to death.

You can buy foods with DE and sprinkle it on surfaces where they reach, to get them.

10. Use glue traps to identify problem areas

Glue traps are a safe and effective way to identify cockroachproblem areas and resolve infestations. They are sheets covered in a sticky substance. The smell of the trap lures cockroaches in and, once they step on the strip, the glue traps them.

For best results, place store-bought glue strips in any place you’ve noticed cockroach activity, including behind the refrigerator or under the sink.

11. Set bait stations

Bait stations come in a long tube and can be placed anywhere you’ve noticed cockroach activity.

The smell of the bait attracts cockroaches who then eat the poison. So, when it goes back and die, other cockroaches will eat it alongside the poison. This eliminates them all.