This household pest is hard to get rid of, unless you are willing to go to extreme measures. Cockroaches feed on just about anything. When it's dark and quiet they forage for food especially while you are sleeping. During the day, they hide in cracks, under baseboards behind cabinets, any where they can get into the darkness. They usually have an unpleasant odor. Adult cockroaches live approximately 200 days, the egg stage is 23 days, the nymph stage is anywhere from 30 to 100 days. The female produces around four egg cases containing 30 to 50 eggs each. The first thing you must do is to clean the entire house thoroughly with a good disinfectant soap and water. Chlorine bleach in your water also helps to disinfect the house and kill any eggs or larvae it contacts.
Next you should vacuum every crack to pick up any hiding roaches. But first put a three inch piece of flea collar in the sweeper bag, this kills the roaches and nymphs you vacuum up. Once this is done, you must fill every crack, nook or cranny with a good silicone caulk, to eliminate places for the roaches to hide and lay eggs. If you use a clear caulk, it's not noticeable unless you are looking for it. Spread diatomaceous earth or agricultural boric acid under free standing cabinets, behind, in and under the kitchen cabinets, and under your appliances. Drill holes ¾ inch in diameter in the kick plate of the kitchen cabinets and squirt some of the powder in there. Then use fascia board plugs to seal the holes while allowing for ventilation. Put some in the walls by removing the outlet and switch plates and squirting the powder into the wall with an old mustard squeeze bottle.
The squeeze bottle is made by removing the funnel top on the mustard bottle and cutting off the plug that seals the bottle when the nozzle is screwed down, then putting the nozzle top back on and screwing it down tight. You can then screw the top off and fill the bottle with the powder. To apply, simply squeeze the bottle quickly.
Some good killer cockroach baits can be made as follows:
Formula #1
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 tablespoon alum
1 tablespoon white flour
1 tablespoon boric acid
the juice of one small onion
Mix all of the ingredients together with just enough cooking oil to make a stiff dough. Roll into balls about half the size of a BB and put them where the roaches can get to them.
Formula #2
1 oz. Trisodium Phosphate
1 oz. Salicylic Acid
6 oz. Borax
4 oz. Sugar
8 oz. White Flour
Mix thoroughly and dust where you think the roaches will get into the powder. Keep this dry, if it gets wet or cakes, throw it away and make a new batch.
A good cockroach trap can be made using a small jar, a piece of banana and some Vaseline. Place the banana in the center, bottom of the jar and then using the Vaseline, coat the inside of the jar mouth and down inside the jar as far as you can.
