How to get rid of cockroaches

[snopes]

[QUOTE]You've had questions on how to get rid of cockroaches. A simple way to get rid of them and other insects is to place a few fabric-softener sheets around your home in the corners, on the floors and on the kitchen counters behind appliances. Some chemical in these dryer sheets really irritates and kills bugs. This is easy and cheap. I use off-brand fabric-softener sheets.[/QOUTE]

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan...rmacy-20110110

[WildaBeast]

I thought the only way to get rid of cockroaches was to detonate an atomic bomb.

[Avril]

Hot Shot Liquid Roach Bait seems to work for me. I hate the creatures.

You can also freeze them out, if you live far enough north and can go away for a while when it's cold (but not when your pipes would freeze)--you have to be gone a few weeks in about 40 degree weather.

If the internet is to be believed, a mixture of sugar and Borax, spread liberally over one's floors, will do the job, too, but then one is left to clean up the carnage (it kills them, but they'll all die where they encounter it, rather than back at the nest as with commercial poisons), and one has to repeat this process to kill whatever roach babies hatch in the next few weeks.

Catnip has been shown to repel roaches in some studies.

Me, I'd just get an exterminator if I could, but I'm in an apartment for which the management has a policy against spraying because of "allergies." But the Hot Shot stuff really does work.

[Four Kitties]

Originally Posted by Avril

Catnip has been shown to repel roaches in some studies.

It's true -- they run whenever they see him coming. Haven't seen one since we got married.

Four Kitties

I've seen exterminators on TV use baited sticky boards, probably not too hard to mock up DIY style. (Double back plastic?..)

[Nick Theodorakis]

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Nick

[DemonWolf]

Originally Posted by Four Kitties

It's true -- they run whenever they see him coming. Haven't seen one since we got married.

Four Kitties

I declare you the winner of this thread.

[BoKu]

Funny, I was sure this thread was going to be about this article...

[boogers]

One of my college roomies told me that roaches liked to eat cucumbers but couldn't digest them, so if you left cucumber slices around the house you could kill them. Not only that, but they would be considerate enough to go back to their nests and die there.

He tried this but as far as I could tell it didn't work. The kill-mice-by-leaving-beer-out-for-them remedy didn't work either, but that was because we always drank all the beer ourselves.

[putitinwriting]

Originally Posted by Avril

If the internet is to be believed, a mixture of sugar and Borax, spread liberally over one's floors, will do the job, too, but then one is left to clean up the carnage (it kills them, but they'll all die where they encounter it, rather than back at the nest as with commercial poisons), and one has to repeat this process to kill whatever roach babies hatch in the next few weeks.

I live in Florida in a wood frame house built in the 30s, so roaches are a constant worry. I don't know how well it would work on the little German kind, but the Borax/sugar mix knocked out a serious infestation of palmetto bugs for me a few years ago and I haven't had a problem since. I'd had a major influx of them and didn't want to pull out the big chemical guns due to my cat. Just keep everything clean, food only in the fridge, and the sink dry wasn't working. I mixed up a box of Borax in a big jar with a few handfuls of powdered sugar and I spread that stuff at the base of every door and the crack of every window, plus all down and around my kitchen sink (ground zero on the attack). Within 5 days, I was roach free. I see one every now and then now, but I just rehit the sink area with the powder (I keep it premixed) and no more problems. I was honestly amazed. Sure, there was some cleanup involved, but it worked so well that I didn't even mind.

[CSGirl]

Is the Borax/sugar mix safe for cats?

[boogers]

My father went to college in Florida in the 50's so he is familiar with palmetto bugs. Unfortunately the only solution he and his roomies had to the infestation was to consider the bugs pets and start giving them names.

[RavenWaift]

No, it is not safe for cats. They will ingest the borax, and they can die.

The borax trick does work on german cockroaches. They do not have nests, unlike other cockroaches, so borax is one of the few things that work on them. However, it does cause the cockroach to twitch and seizure and die, which is kinda disturbing to see.

[CSGirl]

Originally Posted by RavenWaift

No, it is not safe for cats. They will ingest the borax, and they can die.

That's what I thought- I was confused since putitinwriting seemed to be saying she used that because she couldn't use the chemicals with her cats.

[llewtrah]

Originally Posted by redspider

I've seen exterminators on TV use baited sticky boards, probably not too hard to mock up DIY style. (Double back plastic?..)

Have to be careful with these though. Several kittens have died as a result of becoming stuck (and often seriously injured as they struggle or get their muzzles trapped) on such things. The RSPCA seem to issue regular warnings about sticky traps.

[putitinwriting]

No, it's not safe for cats to eat, but it's not something my cat's interested in eating. She leaves it completely alone - I've never even seen a paw print in it.

[DemonWolf]

You could try pyrethrins. It's made from chrysanthemum oils and I've heard it's pretty safe. Personally, I'd be careful with any chemical around pets, but this should be useful.

Depending on how bad the infestation is, you may need an exterminator. The exterminator will know the places to put the stuff for maximum effect.

[CSGirl]

I actually am not sure what we have are roaches- they're very small, unless we're seeing only babies. We started seeing them when the people moved in next door and were total slobs (moved out with no notice and left the manager to clean out the place... it was nasty)- they're gone now. We only see a few. They've had an exterminator spray outside, but nothing for inside- problems coordinating everyone getting their pets out of the building. We have a few things we're going to try, hopefully take care of the problem before it gets bad.

[Brad from Georgia]

Leaving beer out for mice will kill them, but not if you leave just the beer. You also have to leave a lot of tiny little shivs and Saturday Night Specials.

[Avril]

If you have cats you could always try the catnip tea method (you basically make a lot of catnip tea, dilute it a little, and then spray it on the baseboards and such), but you might drive your cats crazy that way.