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Cockroaches are hardy, but they have simple needs: food, water and tight hiding places. Take those away and add a slow-acting bait or dust where they hide, and you can knock down most home infestations without fogging your house.
Step 1: Cut off food and water
- Wipe counters and stovetops nightly. Degrease behind and beside the stove.
- Store food, including pet food, in sealed containers.
- Take trash out nightly and use a lidded can.
- Fix dripping faucets and leaky pipes under sinks. Roaches can live longer without food than without water.
- Don’t leave pet water out overnight in heavy infestations.
Step 2: Seal hiding spots
German cockroaches, the common indoor species, hide in warm, tight cracks near the kitchen and bathroom. Caulk gaps around backsplashes, cabinet edges, baseboards and pipe penetrations. Use foam or steel wool around larger plumbing openings.
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Step 3: Use boric acid the right way
Boric acid is a low-cost, long-lasting roach dust. Roaches walk through it and ingest it when grooming. The mistake most people make is using too much. Roaches avoid visible piles.
- Use a product labeled as an insecticide for roaches, and follow the label.
- Apply with a bulb duster or the bottle’s applicator tip to puff a barely visible film.
- Target hidden places: under and behind the fridge and stove, under the sink, inside cabinet hinge gaps, in wall voids behind outlet covers (power off) and along the back edges of cabinets.
- Keep it out of open areas, food-prep surfaces and anywhere kids or pets can reach.
- Give it one to two weeks.
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Step 4: Add bait stations
Enclosed roach bait stations put a small amount of insecticide in a food attractant inside a child-resistant housing. Place several near hiding spots, such as corners under the sink and behind appliances, and don’t spray cleaners on or around them. Some baits use borates; others use conventional actives. Read the label to see what you’re getting.
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Monitor with sticky traps
Glue traps don’t solve an infestation, but they show where roaches are concentrated and whether numbers are dropping. Put them flat against walls and in corners, and check them weekly.
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When to call a professional
If you still see roaches in daylight after four to six weeks of steady effort, or if you live in a multi-unit building where roaches move between apartments, a professional using integrated pest management (IPM) is usually worth it. Ask companies whether they offer gel baits, inspections and sealing rather than routine spraying.
Always read and follow the product label. Store pesticides in their original containers, out of reach of children and pets.