How to get rid of Cockroaches and Roach Control

Roaches can't help the fact that to most humans, they are unwanted company. It's funny, though, how these pesky insects can often make a grown man or woman scream, tremble and run for cover. If you have a roach problem and the Raid TM just isn't working, and if you want to get rid of roaches in your house,

Step 1: Cut down on their food supply

You will leave less food for the roaches if you:

Vacuum or sweep the floor after every meal. Wash dishes in soapy, hot water to eliminate all traces of grease. Keep trash in a tight-lidded container. Keep compost as far from the house as possible. Cover each new "deposit" with a fresh layer of sand or soil. Store unused portions of chips, cereal, cookies, flour, sugar, rice, etc. in tightly sealed plastic containers or large glass jars with screw-on lids. After a pet has eaten, remove their food bowl and sweep the floor. Don't walk through the house eating: contain crumbs in one room (less cleaning for you). Don't forget to clean crumbs from under appliances daily.

Step 2: Hit'em Where They Hide !

Treatment for roaches involves more than using Raid. Use what the Pros use and you will get results.

Use Demon WP or Suspend SC and spray the outside perimeter. (2 feet out and 2 feet up) Also spray around the windows, doors, eaves and any cracks or crevices that lead into the structure. You have to stop them from getting in. Use Borid (Boric Acid) and put it into the nooks and crannies where roaches hide. They is easily accomplished by looking for small cracks and crevices along counters, behind and under cabinets, etc. For a "SUPER" cockroach treatment, remove all the switch plates and plumbing covers throughout the structure and puff Borid into the switches or into the walls. This usually requires about 2 lbs of Borid for an average size structure. Sub areas under houses and attics may also need a light dusting of Borid. Put the boric acid in a clean, dry duster such as the Centrobulb mini hand duster. Using a flashlight, inspect cracks in areas where you have spied roaches. Remember to check cracks between walls and floors, behind sinks and under appliances. Where you can see them hiding, puff the boric acid into the cracks. Place Maxfoce roach gel in small pea size placements in cabinets, along counters, etc.. Maxfoce Roach Gel can also be placed under and behind appliances, furniture etc. Maxfoce Roach Bait Stations can be used for TV's, computers and sensitive electronic equipment. Use an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) such as Gentrol or Point Source in really heavy roach infestations. If you are seeing more than 4 or 5 roaches on a regular basis, then using a growth regulator will give you much faster control. IGR's stop baby cockroaches from maturing into fertile adults, thereby interrupting the egg laying process.

Step 3: Monitor, Monitor, Monitor !

If you don't know where they are, how can you kill all of them ?

Use roach monitors (sticky traps) such as the Victor Roach Monitor or the Trapper LTD and place them wherever you think roaches are. By using monitors, you can easily find "pockets" of roach hiding places, you may even find them in places you never thought of. Use lots of monitors and check them every 2 weeks or until the problem is gone. Monitors do not contain any pesticides, are safe and allow for a professional style inspection. 3 or more monitors per room is what is recommended. Place them under furniture, cabinets, behind appliances, inside dressers, nightstands, be creative. When you find roaches in a monitor check to see if they are baby roaches, or adults. Finding baby roaches could lead you closer to the hiding spot. Check everything within a 10 foot radius of the trap. If roaches are found, treat as described in step 2. Put out a new monitor and check it again in a couple of weeks.

Step 4: Dry Up Their Water Supply

Like humans, roaches can go much longer without food than without water. To keep roaches away, keep them thirsty.

Fix dripping faucets. Pour some Lysol into toilets at night to make the water undrinkable. Keep sink plugs over drains. Don't over water house plants. Soggy soil is a delicious cockroach cocktail.

Step 5: Keep Them Out !

To prevent roaches from migrating from your neighbor's place to yours, seal up common roach entryways.

Fill holes where pipes disappear into walls with Stuffit copper wool or caulk. Cracks around windows, eaves, doors, etc, need to be caulked. Doors need to have door sweeps so that roaches can't crawl under them. On slab foundations, seal the weep holes with Stuffit copper wool. On pier and beam foundations, make sure that all the vents are screened or sealed.

Cockroach control usually requires an ongoing treatment program. Many pest control companies will require a monthly or quarterly treatment to guarantee that roaches will not come back. Why not setup your own program ? Like the old saying goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and in this case that saying is 100% correct ! It only takes a few ounces of the right pesticides placed into strategic places like those listed above every few months to get good cockroach control. Don't expect to treat only 1 time and the cockroaches to be gone forever. Mark your calendar and treat your home or structure at least on a quarterly basis. If you do, you will get good control, you will be happy with the results, and most of all, you will have saved yourself several hundred dollars in the process !