There are very few reasonable sites on how to get rid of roaches. I had to combine a number of tips on the internet with my own ingenuity to succeed, after five years of numerous battles, in finally ridding my home of infestations.
Most of the tips that one can find are good, but largely insufficient. Only diligently applying the right combination can lead to success.
The first step is of course to rid the house of possible sources of food, but mostly, of possible sources of water. This means timing your dishwashing, and drying the sink before going to bed. The last step is one that is hardly stressed, and non-trivial to execute. Yet it is necessary. If you put a plate of poisoned fries next to a glass of beer, the risk exists that your plan will fail.
After having removed all other attractive items in sight, one should use a three-pronged attack.
Firstly, one uses traps (e.g. Kapo glue traps) based on bait and glue. This is ecological and will capture a large number of roaches. It is good to control the multitude of roaches crawling around the house, especially in the dark. (They do travel further then what is usually implied, moving from room to room, and from one side of the kitchen to another.) One needs to put the traps in dark or humid places, and one needs to set at least five traps simultaneously, perhaps preferably ten, such that one is forced to carefully step into the mind of the Roach to determine new plausible places to pose traps.
Secondly, I used professional poison Fipronil (0.05%) gel which is effective in killing the animals instantly, or even better, having them take poison home to poison their nests. Indeed, method number one alone will never reach the nests, and new generations of roaches will keep popping up. Put many little bait drops in the most infested areas (dishwasher, sink, toilet, door, drawers, ..) and choose the spots wisely. Whenever a single roach is spotted in an area, add a drop.
Thirdly, I used a mix recommended on a French site (that I unfortunately can no longer locate). One uses concentrated sugar milk (which you can find in the supermarket in tubes : it is milk or milk powder with a very high degree of sugar such that it becomes a paste -- apparently some people use this lethal concoction to cook), and mixes it with boric acid (easily obtained in your local pharmacy in sufficient quantities : just ask) to make a deadly paste. Roll little balls out of the paste, and place them once more in the right locations. (Along pathways, typically along walls, edges, dark areas, wet spots, ..) Again, make too many balls (e.g. 30), such as to be forced to enter in the Spirit of the Roach.
Only the combination of these three methods has convincingly worked for me, when applied simultaneously and rigorously. It has to be said that our infestation was particularly bad and that we live in a tower of appartments that is not known for its hygienic inhabitants.
Poison sprays are ridiculous but may be of some psychological help. Other common silly recommendations include using boric acid only, or glue traps only, or to concentrate on food, not water.
This post is to spread the word on how to get rid of roaches, efficiently. It took me a while to finally identify an efficient course of action. It is clear that the professional industry has no interest in being too efficient, and that amateurs usually do not have the persistence to identify a winning strategy. If you live with infestations for several years though, one may develop sufficient motivation.
Most of the tips that one can find are good, but largely insufficient. Only diligently applying the right combination can lead to success.
The first step is of course to rid the house of possible sources of food, but mostly, of possible sources of water. This means timing your dishwashing, and drying the sink before going to bed. The last step is one that is hardly stressed, and non-trivial to execute. Yet it is necessary. If you put a plate of poisoned fries next to a glass of beer, the risk exists that your plan will fail.
After having removed all other attractive items in sight, one should use a three-pronged attack.
Firstly, one uses traps (e.g. Kapo glue traps) based on bait and glue. This is ecological and will capture a large number of roaches. It is good to control the multitude of roaches crawling around the house, especially in the dark. (They do travel further then what is usually implied, moving from room to room, and from one side of the kitchen to another.) One needs to put the traps in dark or humid places, and one needs to set at least five traps simultaneously, perhaps preferably ten, such that one is forced to carefully step into the mind of the Roach to determine new plausible places to pose traps.
Secondly, I used professional poison Fipronil (0.05%) gel which is effective in killing the animals instantly, or even better, having them take poison home to poison their nests. Indeed, method number one alone will never reach the nests, and new generations of roaches will keep popping up. Put many little bait drops in the most infested areas (dishwasher, sink, toilet, door, drawers, ..) and choose the spots wisely. Whenever a single roach is spotted in an area, add a drop.
Thirdly, I used a mix recommended on a French site (that I unfortunately can no longer locate). One uses concentrated sugar milk (which you can find in the supermarket in tubes : it is milk or milk powder with a very high degree of sugar such that it becomes a paste -- apparently some people use this lethal concoction to cook), and mixes it with boric acid (easily obtained in your local pharmacy in sufficient quantities : just ask) to make a deadly paste. Roll little balls out of the paste, and place them once more in the right locations. (Along pathways, typically along walls, edges, dark areas, wet spots, ..) Again, make too many balls (e.g. 30), such as to be forced to enter in the Spirit of the Roach.
Only the combination of these three methods has convincingly worked for me, when applied simultaneously and rigorously. It has to be said that our infestation was particularly bad and that we live in a tower of appartments that is not known for its hygienic inhabitants.
Poison sprays are ridiculous but may be of some psychological help. Other common silly recommendations include using boric acid only, or glue traps only, or to concentrate on food, not water.
This post is to spread the word on how to get rid of roaches, efficiently. It took me a while to finally identify an efficient course of action. It is clear that the professional industry has no interest in being too efficient, and that amateurs usually do not have the persistence to identify a winning strategy. If you live with infestations for several years though, one may develop sufficient motivation.
