How To Get Rid Of Roaches In South Africa
What are Roaches?
Cockroach, (order Blattodea), also called roach, any of about 4,600 species of insects that are among the most primitive living winged insects, appearing today much like they do in fossils that are more than 320 million years old. The word cockroach is a corruption of the Spanish cucaracha.
The cockroach is characterized by a flattened oval body, long threadlike antennae, and a shining black or brown leathery integument. The head is bent downward, and the mouthparts point backward instead of forward or downward as is the case in most other insects. Male cockroaches usually have two pairs of wings, whereas females, in some species, are wingless or have vestigial wings.
The female produces eggs in egg cases (called oothecae). These are sometimes held protruding from her body or may be glued in protected areas. After the female deposits an egg case, the soft white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton hardens, it turns brown in colour.
How To Get Rid Of Roaches In South Africa
If you want to get rid of roaches without chemicals such as bombing, foggers, or sprays you’re in luck. There are a handful of effective home remedies that will send these nasty critters packing and many of them are not harmful to children or pets.
Here are a few we recommend:
1. 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 roaches come into contact with DE, it damages their exoskeletons and dehydrates them to death.
Purchase some food-grade DE and sprinkle a light coating on any surface where you’ve noticed roach activity.
Pros: Effective, affordable, safe for kids and pets
Cons: Messy, requires re-application, you will have to locate and dispose of dead roaches after each DE treatment
2. Baking Soda
Baking soda is one of the fastest, easiest ways to get rid of roaches – and it’s probably something you already have in your pantry. To make a DIY roach bait, dice a handful of onions and sprinkle them with baking soda.
Place this appetizer in a shallow dish anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity. When the roaches consume the baking soda, it creates gasses in the roaches’ stomachs, causing them to burst.
Pros: Effective, non-toxic, affordable
Cons: Pets may consume the onion mixture (onions are toxic for dogs), messy, requires you to locate and dispose of dead roaches
3. Boric Acid
Boric acid is a naturally-occurring compound. A mixture of water and boron, it shows up in fruits and plants.
And while it’s harmless to people and pets, it’s deadly for roaches. When cockroaches come into contact with boric acid, it sticks to their legs and wings. When they ingest the powder, it acts on the roach’s nervous and digestive systems – killing it rapidly.
To use boric acid to get rid of roaches, sprinkle a light dusting onto a paper plate. Put an orange peel or spoonful of peanut butter in the middle of the plate and place the whole thing anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity.
Pros: Effective, affordable, natural, non-toxic, easy
Cons: Can be messy, requires several applications or treatments, may not be ideal for homes with pets or young kids, requires you to track down and dispose of dead roaches
4. Borax
Borax is a readily-available laundry product that’s excellent for killing roaches. For best results, combine equal parts borax and white table sugar. Dust the mixture any place you’ve seen roach activity. When the roaches consume the borax, it will dehydrate them and kill them rapidly.
Pros: Effective, affordable, kills both adult and baby roaches
Cons: Can be messy, requires re-application, requires you to track down and remove dead roach bodies
5. Citrus
Citrus is a tasty treat for humans, but it’s a repellent to cockroaches. The smell of lemons, specifically, deters roaches. Add a few drops of lemon oil to the water you use to mop your floors. The scent won’t be detectable to people, but it will send roaches packing.
Pros: Effective, affordable, ideal for homes with kids and pets
Cons: Does not kill roaches – only deters them
6. Essential Oils
Essential oils are a great natural roach repellant. For best results, purchase peppermint or lemongrass essential oil and mix it with a bit of water. Spray the mixture anywhere you’ve seen roaches.
Pros: Effective, affordable, safe for kids and pets, non-toxic
Cons: Does not kill roaches
How to Get Rid of Roaches Inside the Home: 5 Conventional Methods
Looking for more conventional options to solve your roach problem? Here are some of the fastest ways to get rid of roaches:
1. Use Glue Traps to Identify Problem Areas
Glue traps are an effective way to identify roach problem areas and resolve infestations.
The smell of the trap lures roaches 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 roach activity, including behind the refrigerator or under the sink.
Pros: Effective, safe for kids and pets (as long as the strips are hidden), fast-acting
Cons: You must monitor strips for a few days or weeks and change and replace them when they become filled with dead roaches
2. Set Bait Stations
What kills cockroaches almost instantly? Bait stations. Typically, these bait stations come in a long tube and can be placed anywhere you’ve noticed roach activity.
The smell of the bait attracts roaches who then eat the poison. When the roach travels back to its home location and dies, the other roaches will eat it, passing the poison through the group.
Pros: Effective, fast-acting
Cons: Bait stations look unattractive around a home, can be toxic to kids and pets, will leave dead roaches around the home, dead roaches may be consumed by non-target species like birds and other animals – poisoning them as well
3. Caulk all Entry Points
While glue strips and bait stations can be effective to get rid of roaches, they won’t do much good if new roaches are constantly entering your home. With this in mind, use caulk to seal gaps and possible entry points. Pay close attention to gaps between walls or tile, worn-out weather stripping, or gaps in door and window seals.
Pros: Effective, safe, affordable
Cons: Caulk wears out over time, so you must check and recheck access points routinely
4. Use a Liquid Concentrate
Purchase a liquid roach deterrent concentrate at your local home improvement store. This concentrated liquid is designed to be diluted and sprayed into cracks and crevices where roaches like to hide.
If you need a more comprehensive solution, you can also add a bit of the concentrate to a mop bucket and mop your floors with the solution. This option will deter roaches overnight and keep them from coming back.
Pros: Effective, fast-acting, affordable.
Cons: Contains toxic ingredients, not ideal for homes with kids and pets.
5. Hire a Pest Management Professional
For best results, hire a professional roach management team like Smith’s to get rid of your infestation once and for all.
Professional teams know how to locate and eradicate roach infestations safely and effectively, without putting your kids, pets, or household at risk.
Pros: Effective, safe, long-lasting, can deal with roach infestations both indoors and outside the home
Cons: Requires a larger upfront investment than DIY options
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What gets rid of roaches permanently?
Boric acid: Used correctly, boric acid is one of the most effective roach killers. It’s odorless, has low toxicity to pets, and since it isn’t repellent to roaches, they will not seek to avoid it, crawling through it repeatedly until it kills them.
Are roaches harmful?
Cockroaches are considered to be dangerous as an allergen source and asthma trigger. They may also carry certain bacteria that can cause illnesses if left on food. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , cockroaches are “unhygienic scavengers in human settlements.”
What do cockroaches do to humans?
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that roaches can carry pathogens that cause a variety of diseases including gastroenteritis (with diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting), dysentery, cholera, leprosy, typhoid fever, plague, poliomyelitis, and salmonellosis.
What attracts cockroaches in your home?
- Dirty dishes in the sink.
- Crumbs in the floors or counters.
- Garbage.
- Pet food on the floor.
- Excess moisture.
Where do the roaches come from?
Roaches are also very good hitchhikers and are easily transported from one place to another. They can get into your home in grocery bags, cardboard boxes, luggage, furniture, or appliances. They can also get in through the plumbing, sewers or drains. They can travel over from your neighbor’s home into yours, too.
How do I permanently get rid of roaches in my house?
Mix baking soda with sugar to make a killer combination
A concoction of baking soda and sugar is an effective cockroach killer and controls the multiplication of these pests. Sugar acts as a bait to attract cockroaches and the baking soda kills them
What happens if a cockroach bites you?
They have been recorded to eat human flesh of both the living and the dead, although they are more likely to take a bite of fingernails, eyelashes, feet and hands. The bites may cause irritation, lesions and swelling. Some have suffered from minor wound infections.
Do cockroaches bite humans in their sleep?
Roaches tend to go out during the night because they are cautious of humans. But, when the night falls, it is also the time for them to bite humans because their targets are asleep. Because of this, it will be harder for you to monitor the pest and might as well wake up with bites on your body.
Does killing a cockroach attract more?
Do dead cockroaches attract more cockroaches? Yes, they absolutely do! A dead cockroach releases oleic acid when they die. This has a pungent smell which intern attracts other cockroaches.
How do you find a cockroach nest?
Finding a cockroach nest means finding several (or several dozen) cockroaches and, probably, a few dead ones. You’ll also see plenty of roach droppings and old egg cases lying around. Cockroach droppings are tiny and look like coffee grounds or black pepper. Droppings start to collect in areas with high activity
Can roaches live in a clean house?
Cockroaches prefer to shelter in narrow cracks and crevices. Check behind refrigerators, under sinks, and in dark drawers or cabinets. They forage for food at night, eating a wide variety of foods and non-food materials. This allows them to survive even in clean homes.
Can you get rid of roaches on your own?
While roaches can be especially hard pests to get rid of, with a few tries, you can successfully get rid of them without calling out an exterminator. The best home remedies to get rid of roaches without an exterminator are boric acid, diatomaceous earth, and baking soda
How hard is it to get rid of roaches?
While cockroaches are one of the most common pest problems, they are also one of the most stubborn. Infestations are hard to get rid of because the insects hide in a host of areas, breed quickly, have a very high reproductive potential and may develop resistance to pesticides.
How long does it take to get rid of roach infestation?
Depending on the level of cockroach infestation in your home, it can take anywhere from three weeks to six months to eliminate cockroaches. Unfortunately, a roach infestation will not go away overnight.
How do I know roaches are gone?
Seeing roach feces or droppings.
Seeing an unusual number of droppings in a specific area will also help you track where the roach shelters are. Best to cut off any water or food source near this location so prevent further infestation
How do you lure a cockroach out of hiding?
Coat the inner walls of the jar with petroleum jelly. Place the jar near known cockroach hiding spots. Before you leave your trap, place food (such as bread or baby food) inside the jar. You can also pick a used jar with leftover peanut butter, jelly, or flavored spread inside
Are roaches worse in summer or winter?
And when the weather outside gets too hot even for cockroaches, they’ll enter your home in search of more hospitable temperatures. All of these factors combined means that you’re likely to encounter far more cockroaches in your home during the summer than you would in the colder months.