DIY Cockroach Control in the Metro
In this article, I will teach you how to tackle German cockroach (Blatella germanica), an extreme home nuisance, in a practical and inexpensive way.
To be able to effectively conduct DIY cockroach control at home, it is important to understand some vital information.
German roaches are present in highly urbanized areas, including houses, condo, restaurants and pantries in the city. New homes are less likely to be infested with roaches. But as a house gets older, like 6 months and more, like the pest that they are which thrive where humans thrive. they start their population.
"German roaches feed on all sorts of things like chocolate, meat, nuts. beer, softdrinks, breads and even paper products."
"Each egg capsule contains 30 to 48 eggs produced by a female mature cockroach every 6 weeks. On the average, each mother cockroach can deliver 270 more small cockroaches. A pregnant
German cockroach carries its egg until 1 day before the egg capsule hatches. And this mum
prevents all types of egg mortality by minimal to no eating and hiding on hard to reach cracks."
This is a practical, and usually asked question, how can a cockroach enter a house?
First, you can unknowingly carry roaches into your house through store bought items like food, groceries, packaged goods, or by bringing into your house an infested furniture, appliances or packed items.
Second, you are new tenant in a house and you did not know that roaches live in this house before you even arrive. Areas they usually live without our knowledge are built-in cabinet, kitchen cabinet, restroom strainers, floor drain and in between tiles.
Third, your neighbors have an infestation. One day the roaches are looking for food. They entered under your door. And found an expansion of their shelter in your home.
These are the 3 possibilities why you have roaches at your house. But don't lose hope. It can be resolved. To effectively conduct DIY cockroach control at home, you need to do a combination of a few things:
DIY Cockroach control. Practical Steps #1. Clean regularly.
Roaches live even in sanitary condition. How much more in a filthy one. Roaches thrive in water alone.
For your kitchen, practice CLAYGO (Clean as You Go). No dirty dishes are staying overnight or your roaches are kept well-nourished.
Wipe stove after you cook. Oil is cockroach food.
Clean dining table and dining floor. Food crumbs on top and below are cockroach food.
Allot a budget for tightly sealed trash bags or trash bins. A loosely open trash bin or trash bag is available food enough to nourish a nation of roaches.
Dispose of trash on a daily basis or twice a day if you can. Dispose of used cartons and egg trays. Cockroach love them. In short, reduce your clutter.
DIY Cockroach control. Practical Steps #2. Seal gaps. Roaches hide there.
To seal gaps, you can use cement, silicone sealant, or other sanitary sealant available in the market. Applying this is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Instruction is available at the sealant tube cover. Or of course, just check Youtube. This link is easy to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vjTxTFL-k0
Below are sample gaps which usually serve as hiding and breeding site of roaches:
Gap in between tiles.
A gap created by a broken tile
Gap between sink and cement or tile.
Seal gap under door with a mohair or weather strip also available at the hardware.
Sample of sealants that can be used.
DIY Cockroach control. Practical Steps #3. Control them.
Baygon is bygone. The same with other aerosol products available in the market. They are effective, at first, because all you hit with this pesticide will die, but in the long run, they are not.
Use gel baits instead. Cockroach gel baits are available in any huge hardware stores like Ace Hardware, True Value or Handyman. Cockroach gel baits are very potent. You don't need an expert to use this. It also doesn't expose you to harmful chemicals. Your DIY cockroach control will be highly successful if you use gel baits. Like any other DIY cockroach control effort however, it will require you some patience and focus.
An effective DIY cockroach control at your house lies in the secret of doing thorough inspection. DIY Cockroach control and elimination is fastest when you are able to apply the gel bait in the cockroach harborage area. You have found the cockroach harborage area when you see 3-4 roaches gathered around, with some small specs which are their urine and feces altogether.
Back of panel board as cockroach harborage area.
How to do the DIY cockroach control treatment with the use of cockroach gel bait?
The harborage area is the best spot to apply gel bait with a size of gel pen ball point. Slightly press the plunger of the gel bait to release gel. It takes repetitive actions as all roaches need to eat for them to die. The good news however is that this gel has an effect in which its taste and smell are in the limbs of the roaches which ate it. The roaches which directly consumed the gel bait is spreading small amounts of the ingredient of the gel bait, which once eaten by other roaches, will still be lethal for them.
The effectiveness of this DIY cockroach control method however is highly jeopardized if there are other available food readily available for pests. It will be difficult for you to lure them to feed on the gel baits, if there are breads, rice, or any other food easily available for them anytime. Proven and tested brand in the market is Bayer's Blattanex.
Below is a link of how to use the cockroach gel bait like a pro, although I haven't personally tried Advion, all cockroach gel baits are applied and used this way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9zE7RuNcq0
No insecticide can exterminate the eggs of roaches. Some may claim that their product can do this but I assure you, anyone can claim anything. However, after you think you have eliminated everything, yet another batch will appear after a month or 2. Just do the same 3 things. It will be an on-going thing. It is a part of human living.
