Sanitation measures can rid your home of cockroaches.
Cockroaches can become pests in your home, as well as in homes, offices and anywhere with food preparation or storage areas. Roaches can transmit the bacteria associated with salmonella and shigella as well as other bacteria and viruses. Indoor infestations can become a source of allergens that increase asthma, notes the University of California in its online Integrated Pest Management database. It behooves you to manage these pests so they do not return, allowing two to three weeks for your measures to take effect. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Figure out where the roaches are entering your home. Look for holes around pipes and potential paths to outdoors. Seal cracks and add weather stripping to doors and windows. Look under your kitchen sinks and in other dark places for a clue to where they congregate. Remove trash, newspapers, and piles of paper bags, rags and boxes that might harbor roaches.
2. Cover up your food and clean up. Roaches are attracted to the smallest crumbs, and they can squeeze into packages that you think are sealed. Store food in insect-proof containers, including resealable plastic containers and glass jars. Eliminate plumbing leaks and humidity that provide moisture to the roaches.
3. Place roach baits near roach hiding places, on wall perimeters, under appliances and near cockroach droppings. Place them under sinks and toilets, as well as next to trash containers and inside cabinets and pantries. You can use filled bait stations, refillable bait stations or gel bait, which needs to be reapplied every few days. Place at least 10 baits in the kitchen and two in the bathroom, recommends the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. Do not spray near the baits.
4. Blow boric acid dust into cracks and crevices and apply to the area under refrigerators and stoves. Apply a thin layer, which is more effective than a thick layer, advises the University of California IPM. Make the powder so thin that is barely visible to the naked eye, the University of Kentucky stresses. Visually inspect your home, especially the kitchen, or distribute traps to see how well your eradication program is going.
Tags: your home, bait stations, University California, University Kentucky