Use roach glue traps to locate large infestations. Based on your flashlight inspection, decide on the most strategic areas to place glue traps or monitors. Monitor those areas for a few days to a week. With most cockroaches, traps or monitors can indicate a high-traffic area, which indicates places where treatments should occur.
Traps can help you identify where roaches are traveling and capture some of the population, but they won't get rid of roaches on the outside trying to break in. To prevent roaches from getting in, use caulk or another sealant to fill possible entry points, including gaps between walls or tile, small crevices and openings around faucets or utility penetrations.
It will also help to use weather stripping on doors and window seals. Gel bait can be an effective roach killer. Gel bait usually comes in the form of a tube and can be applied under baseboards, in cracks and crevices, and near areas that are most likely to attract roaches. Boric acid dust is often added to gel baits for effectiveness, but it's important that it's used correctly and the label instructions are followed, or it will likely be ineffective in reducing cockroach populations.
While gel bait can be effective in getting rid of roaches, it can also result in a number of dead roaches lying around your home. Another popular method when deciding how to kill cockroaches is the use of bait stations.
Bait stations are placed in high traffic areas where roaches are likely to run across them and interact with the insecticide. The roach then travels back to its home location, dies and is eaten by the other roaches, further passing on the insecticide. Accessing areas behind dishwashers, stoves, etc. Never apply boric acid onto countertops or other exposed surfaces, especially those used to prepare food. Traces of powder should be wiped off with a damp cloth.
Boric acid should not be injected into electronic equipment as the dust could damage the components. Baits — Most householders will achieve better results against cockroaches with insecticides formulated as baits.
Used correctly, it is possible to achieve results comparable to professional extermination. Cockroach baits contain a slow-acting insecticide combined with a food attractant. Pests find and ingest the bait and crawl away to die. Non-exposed roaches may succumb as well after indirectly ingesting trace amounts of toxicant expelled in the sputum and feces of exposed individuals. Several excellent cockroach baits are sold in stores and online. Some come in ready-to-use plastic stations usually 12 to a box , while others come in a large plastic syringe.
Popular consumer brands include Combat, Raid, Ortho, and Hotshot. Professional versions of the products sold online include Maxforce, Advion, Advance, Avert and Alpine. Effective ingredients in such products include fipronil, indoxycarb, dinotefuron, abamectin, and hydramethylnon. The key to success with baits is proper placement. When using the plastic-style bait stations, it is important to place them flush against corners and edges of cabinets, countertops, etc.
Installing stations away from edges and corners will be far less effective. Use a broom handle to slide stations back into hard-to-reach areas, such as the wall-floor juncture behind stoves and refrigerators. Placing a bait station behind or beneath the infested appliance will entice cockroaches living inside to emerge, feed, and be killed. While ready-to-use plastic bait stations are convenient, gel-type baits applied with a syringe often are more versatile and efficient. The syringe makes it possible to inject many small pea-sized dabs of bait into cracks, corners, edges and other places where roaches reside.
Cockroaches are not drawn to baits from long distances; they come upon them during their foraging activities. Therefore, the more dabs of bait put out, the more likely they are to be found and eaten. More than a dozen placements alone may be necessary to treat corners and edges in cabinets under a kitchen sink the equivalent of an entire box of ready-to-use plastic stations. The larger the infestation the more placements that will be needed.
Large infestations may also require periodic replenishment of bait consumed by the roaches. When using syringe-type applicators, avoid putting out large globs or lines of bait— many, smaller-sized placements are better. Besides treating cracks, corners and edges, be sure to bait wherever you see fecal spotting or cockroaches themselves. Do not spray around your bait placements with cleaning agents or other insecticides, as this could discourage cockroaches from taking the bait.
In some respects, this is helpful because it allows exposed individuals to return to harborages and potentially infect others. Once a roach has found and consumed bait, it typically dies within days.
A substantial reduction in the infestation overall should be apparent within a few weeks. With cockroach baits, it usually is not necessary to empty kitchen cabinets or cover food preparation surfaces before treatment.
Another advantage is that they have virtually no odor and are of minimal hazard to children or pets. While foggers require little effort or knowledge to use, they seldom are effective against household pests. The insecticide canister is placed in the center of a room and activated by depressing a tab at the top of the can.
The entire contents are released upwards, into the air, where the aerosol droplets remain suspended and then gradually settle onto floors, counter tops and other surfaces.
Very little insecticide actually penetrates into cracks, voids, and other hidden locations where cockroaches and other pests congregate and spend most of their time. The ingredients in foggers also tend to be repellent, causing insects to scatter and move deeper into wall voids and other hard-to-reach areas. Besides their lack of effectiveness, the ingredients in total-release insect foggers may be flammable when dispensed near open flame. Over the years, there have been many injuries and house fires when individuals neglected to extinguish pilot lights, cigarettes, etc.
For more information about products that are not recommended for use, see University of Kentucky Entomology Entfact, Limitations of Home Insect Foggers. Householders can often eliminate their cockroach problem by following the suggestions outlined in this publication. However, some people may wish to call in a professional. Pest control companies approach cockroach control in different ways. Some are willing to perform a limited number of treatments with the option to cancel after the infestation appears eliminated.
Other companies require that customers purchase a full year of general pest control service for ants, spiders, etc. While some clients wish to have ongoing service, it should not take a full year to eliminate cockroaches especially from single-family homes if treatment is performed correctly.
The technician should perform a thorough inspection on each service visit. When insecticides are used, they should be applied into cracks and secluded areas where cockroaches are likely to be living, rather than along baseboards other exposed surfaces. Many of the insecticides professionals use to control cockroaches remain effective for months. Once an infestation is eliminated, there is seldom a need to reapply them month after month in order to maintain control.
If in doubt, please consult your local cooperative extension service or regulatory agency. Cockroach Elimination in Homes and Apartments. Potter, Extension Entomologist University of Kentucky Cockroaches are among the most common pests infesting homes and apartments. Description and Habits Cockroaches are flattened, brownish, fast-running insects, with long, slender antennae.
Types of Cockroaches There are 69 species of cockroaches in North America, but only a handful infest structures. Cockroaches need moisture and water to thrive. They love living in places that are moist, which is why you will often find them in humid environment. Something as simple as a leaking water pipe is enough to attract them. Make sure you do not keep standing water in the vicinity of your home for very long.
Trust us, these remedies are tried and tested. You cannot go wrong with these. So what are you waiting for? Try these and stay in a cockroach-free and clean home. Do you want some easy tips on removing turmeric stains? Send in your comments and suggestions at editor livspace.
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