Cockroaches are incredibly resilient creatures, being able to survive for months without water or food. Fortunately, there are many safe ways to kill cockroaches that are nontoxic for your home, which is perfect for households with kids or pets. However, if you see roaches on a regular basis, then you’ll still want to hire a professional, as this may be the only way to actually rid your home of roaches.

Live Traps

There are many live traps that can either be purchased or made using a steep bowl or container. All you’ll need to do is put petroleum jelly on the sides of the bowl so the cockroach cannot get out afterward. Place some cockroach bait on the bottom of the bowl and create a paper ramp so that the cockroaches can get into the bowl but not out. You can then flush the cockroaches down the toilet to safely get rid of them.

Boric Acid

Boric acid is an insecticide that’s much less toxic than a lot of other insecticides. Simply mix together one part boric acid, one part flour, and one part granulated sugar. The sugar attracts the roaches while the flour sticks the mixture to them and the boric acid damages the cockroach’s shell so that they die of dehydration. Be very careful where you put this, as kids and pets may choose to eat it so place it only where bugs can get it.

Cockroach Bait Station

Many stores will also sell cockroach bait that’s placed within a child and pet-proof container. The roaches should eat the poison and bring back the food to the nest, where it should kill the infestation. Other traps may contain an adhesive to trap the cockroaches.

These three methods are usually the best child and pet-proof solutions for getting rid of cockroaches. Once again, if you’re consistently seeing cockroaches, you’ll definitely want to call a pest expert to clear the infestation. You can always use TalkLocal to find a high quality pest control expert in your area to take care of your cockroach problem in just minutes!

This entry was originally posted on Monday, December 31st, 2012 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Pest Control. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.