How do I get rid of the humongous, gargantuan roaches that are getting into my house? I have kitties in the house and dogs outdoors and need something that is totally non-toxic to my pets. I have covered everything that I can think of where a roach could get in. They're still here, yuck!
By michele from Texas
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Fill a jar with a some old coffee grounds and then fill about a third of the way with water. Tilt the jar so it can be easily accessed by the roaches. They will crawl in to get to the sweet coffee grounds but they cannot get out. You may have to refill the jar on a daily basis and emptying it is pretty gross, but it works.
One other thing, look around the area where the roaches are coming in. Do you have a lot of items stacked against your house? If you do, move them away. You know those roaches love to hide in just about anything so move as much stuff as you can.
What do you mean lean it over so the roaches can in? Do I keep the jar in up standing position
They call those 'water bugs' here, and usually come into the house if it is wet under my house or porch, as in after several days of rain. They don't actually infest your house like small roaches do, but they are nasty looking!
One good way is to use Sevin Dust. According to its' package, it is safe to use around cats and dogs. This is placed in areas accessed by pets. It's been used for 20-30 years w/o any problems.
For areas pets cannot reach, plain ol' borax works very well. Don't forget to place it on top of your kitchen cabinets. Once I learned that 20 Mule Team Borax was just as effective as Roach Proof (years ago) it's been used ever since.
Recently learned their appearance these past several months was also due to their coming in w/the potatoes! I was told that some can even hide in the potato 'eyes' so they can escape detection; so far I've not seen that but I've no reason not to believe it.
After finding 5 or 6 large ones, mostly the ones that cannot fly, the Ortho's Home Defense was sprayed in the rooms they were seen. Note, the bug spray selections come in the dark green or white 'jugs' and are equally effective here.
Since I like 'over-kill' in the fight against roaches, also added in each room were roach bait covered 'trays' w/holes large enough for all size roaches. One 'tray' was placed right next to the potatoes.
Usually the Sevin Dust and borax does the trick but last couple weeks also added was the Ortho bug spray then the bait 'trays'. So far, w/this many-pronged fight against roaches, none have been seen for a couple days. So far so good :o)
Using a recycled qt-sized yogurt or cottage cheese container 'n lid, poke 5-8 holes close together in the lid; fill w/Sevin. When you squeeze the container's sides, it comes out in a fine, uh, dust. You can use other recycled containers like empty plastic spice or herb bottles.
Recycled Parmesan cheese bottles, with the larger holes work well w/borax, baking soda and other powdered basic cleaning products.
From WalMart several of the squeeze bottles used for condiments have been filled w/ borax and Sevin Dust. Actually you could re-use many of the 'squeeze' bottles to hold various cleaning supplies. Hope this helps.
Hello Texas - I remember the costume contest for roaches in Fort Myers FL. Review your landscaping and consider having a 36" wide no-plant zone with sand or gravel around your whole house.
LOL! To me, any bug bigger than a gnat is humongous and gargantuan! But having lived in Texas before and also living in the Southeast most of my life. I know what you mean!
And Fatboyslim: these aren't water bugs she's talking about! The ones she means make our water bugs look like gnats! I'm getting the chills just thinking of them!
I do my own exterminating though. I get the Malathion that is designed to be used outdoors only. I look at it this way. If it'll work outdoors then it should work indoors too. But I make it up stronger than the label says and I go through the entire house.
I do this monthly in the "bug" season, and once every 3 months in cold months. Just remember, in some parts of the country there's just no getting rid of them completely so don't pull your hair out. All you can do is control them and keep them at bay. Good luck!
Malathion will kill your pets
My aunt used peppermint oil and in a old dish and it got rid of hers she put the dish behind the microwave so her animals couldnt get into it.
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