Tips For DIY Roach Control
One of the best ways to keep roaches from taking over your home is to practice preventative pest control. If you can keep a colony from getting large in the first place, you can prevent an infestation. Once roaches run rampant, you will probably need to call in a professional exterminator to get rid of them quickly. Here are some DIY methods for preventing a roach infestation.
Keep Your Home Dry
Roaches are attracted to damp areas and an easy water supply. For that reason, you want to repair any damp places in your home such as the drip under the sink or behind the toilet. Also, be careful about leaving out standing water, especially water that is mixed with food, such as a sink full of dirty dishes. Even if your home is as dry as possible, roaches may still invade. They can live outdoors under damp clumps of leaves or mulch. Make sure your doors and windows are sealed tight, so they can't crawl inside at night and go back to their leaf piles during the day.
Eliminate Their Food Source
Roaches come inside your home in search of food and water. If you eliminate both, they have no reason to stick around. Try not to leave dog or cat food sitting out all night on the floor. Don't let dirty dishes set out overnight, and be sure to clean up food crumbs under the table after a meal or off the couch after a snack. Also, make sure your food is tightly sealed, so roaches can't wiggle inside of boxed food or snack on cookies you leave out on the counter.
Use DIY Pest Control Supplies
You can leave out different kinds of poisons and baits all the time to kill off any stray roaches that wander inside. You can also buy stronger pesticides to treat a small infestation if the roach colony starts to grow. When you buy pest control supplies, like those from ASE Pest & Weed Supplies, be sure to use them as instructed on the label, and choose the least toxic chemicals you can find. That way you don't have to worry about your pets or kids being harmed by them.
Food grade diatomaceous earth is a good, non-toxic choice. It kills bugs, but doesn't harm people or animals, even if it is ingested or gets on the skin. The trick is to apply a very thin layer in areas where the roaches are likely to roam, such as under the sink and behind the refrigerator. If you apply it too thick, the bugs will walk around it. When you apply a very thin powder layer, the bugs walk through it and get it on their bodies. It eventually tears up the exoskeleton, allowing the roach to die.
Boric acid is another popular roach killer that works in the same way as diatomaceous earth. It comes in powder form that you lightly powder around your kitchen floor in hidden places. It also comes in pills you can slide underneath your stove and refrigerator. Boric acid is very toxic to roaches, and it is somewhat toxic to mammals too, so you want to make sure you place it where your kids and pets can't come in contact with it.
It's probably best to buy your pest supplies from a knowledgeable seller rather than picking up something from the grocery store. That way you can get good advice about what to use and how to use it the right way.
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