Content
- Why do cockroaches appear?
- how to scare away cockroaches
- Home Remedies for Cockroaches
- 1. How to ward off cockroaches with catnip
- 2. Lavender to ward off cockroaches
- 3. How to ward off cockroaches with bay leaf
- 4. Vinegar scares cockroach
- 5. Cinnamon to keep cockroaches out of the garden
It's a fact: nobody likes having cockroaches in their homes. These insects not only carry dirt and disease into homes, they also transmit parasites and cause allergies with their residues, but they can also give you a good scare when they suddenly come out of a closet or run under a piece of furniture.
On the market, there are numerous products against cockroaches, but most of them are toxic for you, your pets and the invasive insects themselves, since practically all of them are focused on exterminating cockroaches. However, in PeritoAnimal, we consider that all living beings deserve to live; therefore, we share a number of effective remedies that will allow you to frighten them without the need to exterminate them. Do you want to know how to fend off cockroaches without killing them or putting your family at risk? So keep reading this article about how to scare away cockroaches.
Why do cockroaches appear?
Before you see how to chase away cockroaches, you need to understand why there are cockroaches in your home. Like any other animal, cockroaches invade the places that provide them with necessary conditions to reproduce and develop, such as food, shelter and protection. Now what are you doing to make your home the best place for them? Pay attention to the following:
- leave food on kitchen surfaces for several hours;
- Store food in loosely sealed bags or containers that are not airtight;
- Forgetting to clean under furniture and behind the appliances;
- Keep cardboard boxes to store objects and forget to check them for several months;
- Presence of objects (furniture, doors, trunks, parquet) of Rotten wood or in poor condition;
- Plenty of cracks and openings in walls, drains and pipes;
- permanence of garbage for several days in the house;
- Problems with the local waste collection company (when several days go by before they take it out);
- Problems with hygiene and general cleaning of the house (low cleaning frequency, superficial cleaning, among others).
Do you identify some of these points as common in your environment? Time to understand how to keep cockroaches away.
how to scare away cockroaches
As you can imagine, the first thing to scare away cockroaches is to make a deep house cleaning, which also helps prevent them from appearing again. To avoid cockroaches, we recommend:
- Aspire behind and under all furniture and appliances. Don't forget about rugs and corners.
- Empty and clean drawers, cupboards, shelves, libraries, attics and any other closed and dark places, as these characteristics make them ideal places for cockroaches to nest.
- do not leave food on tables or kitchen surfaces, not even fruit.
- Replace all food bags and packaging with airtight containers.
- Check that there are no cracks and fissures in plumbing, pipes, bathtubs, sinks, showers, faucets, etc., as they can be access points for cockroaches or places to hide. If there are cracks, repair them immediately.
- Do not leave dirty dishes, pans or utensils for many hours, especially overnight.
- Keep bathrooms, kitchen and gardens dry, moisture attracts cockroaches.
- Review your belongings and dispose of objects (clothes, books, magazines, etc.) piled up that you won't use again. For those you want to keep, do a good check and store them in covered boxes.
- Eliminate debris, leaves and dry firewood from your garden.
- Take out the trash every day and make sure it's tightly closed.
- Put metal grates in sewers and drains to prevent them from getting into these places.
These are the first steps to scaring away cockroaches. It may be necessary to perform several deep cleanings during the process and then repeat them sporadically for prevention. After cleaning, you should apply one or more of the methods discussed below.
Home Remedies for Cockroaches
There are several products on the market to kill cockroaches, but they can be toxic to you, your children and your pets. With that in mind, we present the following home remedies to scare away cockroaches, which are safe for the whole family and prevent you from having to kill cockroaches, only allowing you to chase them away from your home.
Remember that cockroach extermination products are harmful and cruel, because despite being inconvenient, they deserve to live like any other animal. For this reason, see how scare away cockroaches naturally and without killing them is the best option for everyone as it allows you to get rid of them without harming them.
1. How to ward off cockroaches with catnip
Catnip or catnip is an irresistible plant for domestic cats and, on the other hand, a good ally when it comes to scaring away cockroaches. You just need to take some of this plant, fresh or dried, and place it in strategic places in the house, such as near doors and windows, in the kitchen, and around sewers and drains.
How effective is gateira or catnip to scare away cockroaches? At nepetalactone, the same substance that is so attractive to some cats. It is an organic compound formed with cyclopentane and lactone, and its aroma effect is easily captured by the smell of some species with different results: although it is sedative for humans and stimulant for cats, cockroaches are repelled by it.
2. Lavender to ward off cockroaches
Lavender leaves the house with a delicious aroma, but this is unpleasant for cockroaches, so it is a good option in this case. You can use it in several ways:
- Soak some cottons in lavender oil, place them in open containers and dispose of them by the problematic points of the house;
- spread dry or fresh lavender in different parts of the house;
- Place lavender plants inside and outside the house.
Where does the power of this home remedy against cockroaches come from? This aromatic herb has essential oils in its flowers. These oils are formed by carbon and other organic compounds responsible for the smell that these plants emit, and it is precisely in this smell that their repellent power resides, since for many insects, including cockroaches, their fungicidal action is uncomfortable.
3. How to ward off cockroaches with bay leaf
The intense smell of laurel, so appreciated in cooking, is unbearable for cockroaches. Grind several bay leaves and spread their remains near windows, doors and places where cockroaches enter to deter them from entering your home.
Laurel also acts as a fungicide against irritating cockroaches, but without the need to kill them. Like lavender, the components that allow essential oils to distill, and that are primarily responsible for the smell that makes it a popular cooking ingredient, are irritating to cockroaches.
4. Vinegar scares cockroach
Vinegar is an excellent natural insect repellent. There are different types of vinegar, but they are all formed by the fermentation of bacteria. Acetoknock, responsible for transforming alcohol, the main ingredient in vinegar, into acetic acid. This acid is what gives it its bitter taste and its disinfectant and repellent properties.
It is very simple to use this home remedy to scare away cockroaches: just mix one part vinegar with one part water, put in a spray container and use to clean kitchen shelves, countertops, tables and all spaces in the bathroom. The pungent smell of vinegar will convince these insects not to enter your home. And if you are afraid to use this remedy because you live with dogs or cats, don't worry, because vinegar is not harmful to them, quite the opposite! As we said, this remedy is excellent not only for keeping cockroaches at bay, but also for preventing possible flea or tick infestations. You can even eliminate your dog's fleas with vinegar.
5. Cinnamon to keep cockroaches out of the garden
O Melia azedarach or chinaberry is a tree with a dark trunk and deciduous leaves that serves as a homemade method to keep cockroaches out of the garden. It has fruits that appear in winter and violet flowers. Despite its effectiveness as a repellent, care should be taken with its leaves, as they are toxic to humans and cattle.
This plant has fungicidal, insecticidal and nematicidal properties, being an excellent option against these small insects. It can be used in several ways:
- Macerate 200 grams of seeds in 1 liter of alcohol for 10 days. After this period, the alcohol must be diluted in 10 parts of water and the mixture will be ready to be used as a surface and floor cleaner. Furthermore, it is safe to apply it to plants as well;
- Take several dry or fresh leaves and place them whole or crushed inside cupboards and between clothes.
- Sowing a chinaberry in the garden will help to ward off cockroaches naturally.
If you want to read more articles similar to how to scare away cockroaches, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.