Household Remedies for a Cockroach Problem

It's happened to most of us at least once in our lives. You enter the dark bathroom, turn on the light, and freeze in your tracks, as does the bug on the wall. You both calculate your next move. Its antennae quiver, while your heartbeat quickens. You scan the room for an object to hurl at the fiend, while it takes one taunting step towards the towel closet. Never taking your eyes from the brute, your fingers find the aerosol Lysol spray. In the nanoseconds it takes to remove the cap from the can, turn, and spray at the pest, it darts into the nether regions of the closet. You feel uneasy the remainder of the night, knowing that it is still in your house—and it is not alone.

Because, as we all know, for each cockroach that we can see, there are more that we cannot see.

Cockroaches, also known as roaches, are a common household pest. They feed on pet and human food, find sources of water inside and around homes, and are exceptionally resilient. They have been known to live a month without water, and up to three months without food. A home can quickly become infested by roaches, if you don't take steps to control them. Follow these household remedies to conquer your cockroach problems at home:

• Since roaches thrive in dank, dark, cluttered places, clean your living environment, inside and out. Make sure that your garbage cans are covered at all times, and keep food sealed in containers and bags.
• Kitchen and bathroom areas are base camp for roaches, since they have easy access to your home through the holes bored for water pipes. Eliminate their egress and ingress by caulking around all of your water pipes.
• Dry your tubs and sinks, and pour bleach down the drains to discourage roaches using pipes as their highways.
• Construct a Las Vegas Roach Trap, using coffee grounds and water. Fill a canning jar halfway with water, with double-faced tape on the outside of the jar, and then add coffee grounds. Roaches love the scent of the coffee, and climb the jar to get to it, only to fall inside and then drown.
• Make sachets of bay leaves inside of a length of pantyhose, and place the sachets in cupboards and drawers. Roaches dislike the scent of bay leaves.

If home remedies do not completely rid your home of roaches, you may need to apply chemicals. Boric acid powder has proven to be quite effective in eradicating roaches in homes. Sprinkle and dust it into tight areas, and places where you've seen roaches. You may also choose to sprinkle it around and under the foundation of your home.