Cockroach Pest Solutions

Written and verified by the lawyer Francisco María García

Last update: 27 December, 2022

Originally, cockroaches used to live outside and even avoided contact with humans in order to protect themselves. However, easy access to food, warmth, and shelter attracted them into our homes. Below, we summarize the best simple cockroach pest solutions and home remedies for fighting and preventing cockroaches at home. They’re easy to carry out and very effective in most cases.

Cockroach pest solutions: improving hygiene and home care

Cockroaches often enter our homes because it’s easy to access food and to find a safe and quiet hiding place. They usually settle in the darkest, warmest corners where there’s plenty of food available.

These nasty creatures can reproduce quickly and adapt well to different environments. It’s wise to tackle the problem immediately to avoid them.

It’s vital to have excellent hygiene habits to avoid cockroaches coming into your home. Thoroughly cleaning your home two to three times per week will help prevent a build-up of food debris. It’s also important to keep all rooms well ventilated and lit.

If you have a small food store at home, make sure all food is well stored in containers with an airtight lid. You can often find cockroaches in pantries, food stores, etc.

You should also sanitize inside your kitchen furniture and cupboards at least twice a month. Regularly checking for signs of cockroaches or nests is important for avoiding an infestation. If you get an infestation, ideally you need to hire a professional fumigator to eliminate them.

Cockroach pest solutions: sealing your home

Cockroaches usually enter our homes through small cracks or holes in doors, walls, or windows. Some species are so small that they can make their nests in the smallest of spaces.

To prevent cockroaches from entering our homes, we need to make sure that our homes are properly sealed. We can fill cracks and holes with filler, as well as sealing windows and doors. Installing mosquito nets on the chimney, windows, and exterior doors will also prove helpful.

Finally, we recommend avoiding a build-up of debris, wood, paper, or firewood in and around the fireplace. These build ups can attract pests.

Home remedies to avoid cockroaches in your home

Frequently using pesticides can damage our health and the environment. There are other methods we can use to exterminate or prevent cockroaches that are safe and simple to make at home.

Here are some simple and inexpensive home solutions to combat unwanted visitors:

Bay leaves

By placing chopped bay leaves in corners, closets, doors, and windows we can prevent cockroaches from entering our homes. This will prevent them from entering as they don’t like the smell of bay leaves.

Onion and boric acid paste

This onion and boric acid paste is a very efficient and economical home remedy for keeping out cockroaches. To prepare it, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Half an onion chopped into very small pieces
• Four tablespoons of powdered boric acid
• Half a cup of flour
• A pinch of sugar
• Beer or water in the necessary quantity to give the paste consistency

To prepare it, mix the dry ingredients and add to the beer or water in the last few seconds until you get the consistency that you want. The mixture can’t be too liquidy. Then, distribute the paste in small amounts around your house.

However, don’t use this home remedy if you have pets. The formula of the paste isn’t edible and can be toxic when ingested by our pets.

Fresh lavender, oil, or fragrance

Despite being highly appreciated by humans, the aroma of lavender acts as a repellent to cockroaches. Ideally, place fresh lavender pieces in corners and other places where there are traces of cockroaches. Lavender oils or fragrances can also be applied to keep these insects away.

Sugar and baking soda mixture

Cockroaches’ stomachs contain acid to allow the digestion of the food they eat. For example, sodium bicarbonate is a salt with alkaline properties that can neutralize some acidic pH’s. Mixing sugar with baking soda is an excellent homemade ‘trap’ for cockroaches.

Sprinkle some around your home, especially places where cockroaches might hide. They’ll be attracted by the sugar and won’t be able to resist eating the mixture. However, the baking soda will act quickly in their bodies and have a lethal effect.