Finding roaches is one of the worst nightmares for people living in apartments or flats. A small roach problem can quickly turn into a significant roach infestation, and getting rid of these pests can be inconvenient and expensive if you call in the professionals. It’s essential to learn the best way to get rid of roaches in an apartment, with or without an exterminator.
Having a roach infestation in an apartment is especially tricky if you don’t own your place. The landlord or management office for your rented apartment might be slow to respond to your concerns, which poses a risk of the roach population growing while you wait.
Additionally, the issues might spread to other areas in your apartment building, which makes it harder to get rid of cockroaches permanently. These quick tips teach you how to kill these pests and how to keep roaches away from an apartment.
Getting Rid of Roaches
Cockroaches are prevalent household pests, with over 4,000 species in the world, approximately 70 of which live in the United States. If you find these insects in your home, they’re most likely German roaches, though it may be any one of these species:
Most Common Cockroach Species
- American cockroaches
- German cockroaches
- Brown-banded cockroaches
- Oriental cockroaches
- Smoky brown cockroaches
Roach-Proof Your Apartment
The best answer to how to get rid of roaches in an apartment is to stop them from getting in the first place. Though cockroaches are completely different insects from water bugs, they are attracted to water. That means that one of the best methods of roach control is to manage all water sources.
If you have a leaky faucet or dripping pipes, then the first step to preventing a cockroach infestation is to fix those. Eliminating the insects’ food sources is another vital step to roach control and means no leaving a sink full of dishes or crumbs on the counter. Additionally, transfer food from open food containers into air-tight Tupperware.
If you have any pets, place their food in sealed containers and make sure you have a lid for your trash can. These natural cleaning steps are the best solution when it comes to how to get rid of cockroaches in the kitchen.
Best Roach Killer for Apartments
The best roach killer for apartments is diatomaceous earth powder. This powder is a great natural way to kill cockroaches and many other insects. It works by cutting tiny incisions into the bodies of the bug and then slowly drying them out.
You can pick up food grade diatomaceous earth from most hardware stores. Apply a thin layer of the powder near cracks in the floor, under sinks, on countertops, or in any other hiding places the cockroaches may inhabit.
It takes a day or two for the powder to do its job, but soon enough, you’ll have a pile of dead roaches. As diatomaceous earth is natural, it is safe for apartments with kids and pets.
Getting Rid of Roaches in an Apartment Using Boric Acid
One of the best ways for how to prevent cockroaches in apartments is boric acid. Boric acid is used in a lot of commercial pesticides because of its effectiveness at killing most insects.
Boric Acid Roach Bait
- 6 parts boric acid
- 2 parts sugar
Mix boric acid with sugar to attract cockroaches with sweetness. Place the mixture under appliances, near pipes and other water sources, and around cracks in the room. Cockroaches eat the mix because of the sugar, and then the boric acid does the work of killing them.
The best part about this bait recipe is that it takes some time for the roaches to die. That means that once the bug returns to the nest to die, the other insects eat the dead body and eat the boric acid themselves.
To keep the bait powder contained, rip up cardboard boxes and sprinkle it onto small pieces and place bait stations around your kitchen, bathroom, and other areas where cockroaches roam.
Get Rid of Roaches in an Apartment
This powerful homemade roach spray combines some of the most potent ingredients for killing and repelling cockroaches. It is simple and inexpensive to make and is one of the best ways to not only get rid of roaches but to keep them away from your apartment.
DIY Roach Spray
- 1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon baking soda or boric acid
- 15 to 20 drops peppermint essential oil
Mix the water, dish soap, and peppermint oil in a spray bottle. Add the baking soda or boric acid and gently shake it to mix the ingredients.
If you see a cockroach crawling around, spray this mixture directly on it. The dish soap and baking soda help to kill it. The peppermint oil makes this a great spray to use around the house in all areas, as it helps repel the bugs without the need for direct application.
Set Homemade Roach Traps
Roach traps are another excellent method of ridding your apartment of nasty pests. Unlike bait traps that are designed to let the roaches eat and then return to the nest to die, traps keep the insects in one spot. They are cut off from food and water and eventually starve to death.
Homemade Jar Roach Trap
- Glass jar
- Painters tape
- Petroleum jelly
- Sugar
Cover the outside of a glass jar with painters tape. The tape provides a surface that the cockroaches can grip onto to get into the container. Place some sugar as bait in the bottom of the jar, so the cockroaches want to get inside.
Coat the inside of the glass with petroleum jelly, paying extra attention to the rim. Once the roaches climb inside to get the bait, they won’t be able to climb back out because of the slippery jelly. Place the roach traps in high traffic areas.
How to Repel Roaches with Essential Oils
If you want a solution for how to keep roaches away from the apartment that doesn’t disrupt your life, essential oil is a great option. Unfortunately, essential oils aren’t the best option for killing roaches, but they are great to use once you’ve cleared your infestation.
Essential Oils for Repelling Cockroaches
- Peppermint oil
- Lavender oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Tea tree oil
- Citronella oil
- Clove oil
Soak cotton balls in essential oil and leave them along baseboards, on countertops, or any other spot you think cockroaches are getting into your apartment. Alternatively, you can mix 15 drops of any essential oil with ten ounces of water in a spray bottle and squirt some of your mixture in the same areas.
Replace the cotton balls or re-apply your spray every week or two. The oils of citrus fruits are particularly useful, and citronella oil is the one we recommend most highly. As a bonus, it also keeps flies away and repels gnats, so your apartment will be pest-free in no time.
Kill Roaches with Commercial Cockroach Bait
If you’ve tried all of these DIY methods of getting rid of roaches and have had little success, it might be time to resort to something harsher. Cockroach gel bait products like Invict Gold Gel Bait or Advion are easy to apply to cracks and crevices.
They have active ingredients that kill even the most stubborn cockroaches. Alternatively, you could purchase commercial insect growth regulators, which eliminate infestations by controlling the birth population.
Insect growth regulators disrupt the roach’s ability to grow to adulthood, making it unable to procreate and create more cockroaches. It doesn’t wipe out your nest immediately, but over time, no new roaches appear.
Dealing with a cockroach infestation is one of the most annoying issues that can happen while living in an apartment. However, it can happen to anyone. One thing to keep in mind about roaches is that they don’t discriminate.
Whether you live in a penthouse or a ground-level apartment, cockroaches could appear at any time. However, by following our advice, you can attack the issue before it becomes a problem and work to prevent it from happening again.
If our advice helped you learn the best way to get rid of roaches in an apartment, then share our pest control tips and tricks with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook.
