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Even the cleanest houses can sometimes have cockroaches. They could come in from the street or from a neighbouring property, through cracks or along utility lines.
Or, horrors, you could even have unknowingly brought them inside yourself, in e.g. a bag or box containing food.
Cockroaches thrive where they have food, water and places to hide, so the first step is to reduce their supplies of these. Remember these insects are generally nocturnal, and like hiding in dark cracks and crevices during the day.
Check through these tips to see what you should do to get rid of these crawling and unwanted home invaders:
- Wipe down surfaces where you prepare food or eat after every meal or snack. Clean up all food spills promptly.
- Don't leave dirty dishes out overnight. If you do, then rather give them a quick rinse or leave them to soak in soapy water. Don't leave dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
- Wash pet food dishes daily, and don’t leave food out overnight. It’s better to also empty pet water bowls at night and fill them again in the morning.
- Wipe down the stove top every night after cooking. Clean the inside of the oven and the stove hood regularly.
- Store non-refrigerated food in glass or plastic containers with well-fitting lids. Clean food storage cupboards/ shelves regularly.
- Keep rubbish and compost in closed bins, and dispose of rubbish and recycled materials as often as possible.
- Vacuum and sweep regularly to remove food debris. Use the vacuum cleaner’s tube attachment to remove debris and cockroaches from cracks in the wall and floor and behind furniture and appliances. Don’t forget the dusty areas around motors, like the back of the fridge.
- Regularly clean hard-to-reach areas e.g. behind and under fridges and stoves.
- Check for leaks in taps and plumbing e.g. underneath sinks and basins, and get these repaired.
- Get rid of clutter. Keep kitchen cupboards as spare and tidy as possible.
- Seal up cracks and crevices in e.g. walls and cupboards and around water pipes and electrical lines.
Only when you’ve done all of the above, and the problem persists, should you consider using chemical pest control.
Calling in the big guns
Traps containing glue or bait have the advantage of not spreading toxic chemicals around your home, but the problem with these is that they might trap rodents as well as cockroaches. Glue traps particularly can lead to painful injuries and deaths in small mammals, so try to find out from the manufacturers first if their traps are designed to catch insects only.
There are also pastes and powders available that you can apply to cracks and likely areas such as under the stove. These substances are all toxic (though generally less harmful than aerosol sprays) and should only be used in hard-to-reach places where small children and pets won’t ingest them. Again, you have to consider that you might be killing rodents too. Wear a dust mask if you handle any powders.
Using insect sprays, or calling in professional pest control, should only be used as a last resort. Pesticide sprays are damaging to the environment and your health, and you preferably don’t want them used in your home. Besides which, although these methods may solve your immediate cockroach problem, they won’t necessarily prevent it from happening again in future. - (Olivia Rose-Innes, Health24, updated October 2010)
