I promise you that I will share EXACTLY what I did to get rid of roaches for good (and insane amounts of them at that). But before I do, I have to share the backstory because it not only sets the stage for my cockroach killing approach but it is just too good of a story not to tell.
November 2015 – I was in a huge panic as I had to find a new place to live and move by December 26th. No one would rent to me which was not a surprise. After all, my life was pretty upside down since Moldagddon the year before. I was getting desperate which is why I pounced on a less-than-ideal situation when it was offered to me.
A neighbor in the condo complex I was living in offered to rent me her unit. She wanted to sell it but was waiting until summer. She knew I was in a tight spot and I was grateful to have a place to go – plus I would get a little more time with my awesome neighbors! This might sound all well and good however there was one huge downside to making the move to this particular condo…
I would be sharing a wall that spanned the kitchen, dining area, bathroom, and master bedroom with a condo full of hoarders.
It was bad. Beyond bad. It was something out of a horror movie.
I knew about the hoarders. In fact, I interacted with them fairly regularly during the 8 months I had already lived in the complex. While I was repulsed by the state of their living conditions, I also felt sorry for them as clearly, they were inflicted with a mental illness.
Picture this – 4 adults, 4 large dogs, 17 cats, birds, fish, and about 50,000 cockroaches stuffed into a very hoarded 900 square foot condo. The smell – oh people the smell. It was beyond description. But even worse were the mass amounts of cockroaches. It was completely mind blowing.
You might ask why I made the crazy decision to share a wall with hoarders. Hadn’t I been through enough with mold? Well, yes, but sometimes beggers can’t be overly-choosey. Plus, I was determined to beat these roaches at their own game. And I did. In less than a month.
Yep – you read that right. I literally got rid of ALL the cockroaches that were permeating not just my condo but all the condos in our building. It took a lot of research, a lot of fortitude, and a gut of steel. But I did it. And today, I am sharing how to get rid of cockroaches for good. It is crazy easy but even better, it is inexpensive. You ready to learn my secrets?
How To Get Rid Of Roaches For Good
Let’s start with the products you will need.
Gentrol Point Source IGR Insect Growth Regulator
This is the MOST EFFECTIVE product for annihilating a roach infestation. Gentrol is basically a hormone disrupter. Over the course of 3-4 weeks, it greatly reduces each generation’s ability to reproduce. Obviously, once roaches are no longer capable of reproducing, the population will dwindle quickly. However, Gentrol will not kill roaches…it only prevents them from reproducing. You still need to take the appropriate measures to kill the live cockroaches.
Gentrol discs are easy to use. You activate them and stick them around your home. There is a handy guide that outlines placement and spacing based on your home size. I erred on the side of caution and probably used more than I needed to but I wasn’t interested in taking a slow approach to operation kill all the cockroaches.
Cockroach Bait
You can approach the roach bait from one of two ways. There is the more natural approach in the form of a cockroach food bomb. The other is a really effective (and irresistible to the roaches) commercial bait.
To make the cockroach food bomb you will need:
- 3 cups Borax (Boric Acid)
- 1 cup White Flour (or Gluten Free Flour if you have celiac and cannot risk cross contamination)
- 1 cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- Water as needed to create the right consistency
Basically, you want to mix everything together – WEAR GLOVES! You want the batter to be malleable enough that you can roll it into half-dollar sized balls. Once you have your balls made, place them in places that the roaches frequent but out of the reach of pets and children. Once the cockroaches ingest the borax, they will blow up. It sounds more exciting than it is. You won’t have cockroaches flying all over as they blow. Their stomachs sort of just pop open.
The tricky thing about this natural bait is that not all cockroaches love it. Believe it or not, cockroaches have flavor preferences. I observed this first hand. My roach population had come to love grease. They didn’t care if I was baking cookies but as soon as the bacon came out – boom! Roaches galore. So these bait balls may or may not work for your roaches. If they don’t… you need to bring out the bug guns.
Advion Syngenta Cockroach Gel Bait or Bait Stations
You all know that I prefer to live a chemical free, close to the earth lifestyle. However, I also prefer to live a cockroach free lifestyle. As such, I did end up using the Advion Bait to tackle the live roach population. Let me tell you – those roaches loved this stuff and they would be dead within hours of eating it. I liked the idea of the bait stations but the roaches were less likely to go into them as they were a strip of the gel bait placed in key locations.
The Advion bait is great to put near trash cans, inside and on top of cabinets, and on top of counters at night. There wouldn’t be a trace of it on the counter in the morning but there would be plenty of dead roaches!
Trapper Insect Traps
My condo must have looked ridiculous. I didn’t care. I placed these traps everywhere I could. And yes, I got stuck in them a few times as did our house rabbit. However, they are very effective at trapping roaches. I taped them flat to the walls and ceiling and caught plenty of roaches on the move. Once the trap had a few cockroach hitchhikers, I would take them and dunk them in water to kill any roaches clinging to life.
Why drown the roaches and not just squish them? Mama roaches hold on tightly to their egg sacks and squishing a mama roach can lead to her expelling those eggs everywhere. You don’t want that. I promise you.
Why do traditional pesticide sprays fail to kill cockroaches?
Because roaches are smart. They can hold their breath for hours which allows the fumes to dissipate. They will also go take a short vacation at the neighbor’s house and then return. Roaches have a ridiculous homing instinct. They want to live where they were born. They will go to great lengths to get back to their birthplace.
These are the products that I used exclusively and like I said in just a few weeks, the roaches were gone for good! However, there was a little more to the story than just using the right products.
- I made sure that I limited the ways that cockroaches could get in. I sealed up cracks, I put safety plugs into outlets, and I kept food sealed in glass jars.
- I cleaned up food debris immediately and never left food on the counter. I also had a super tight closing garbage can and I emptied it before bed every night.
- It is also important to remove any standing water and fix leaks. Cockroaches can go weeks without food but only a day or two without water.
Because of the hoarding situation, I decided to take action and treat not only my condo but the hoarder’s condo as well. This was one of the most harrowing things I have ever done. At one point, I found myself the victim of a cascading waterfall of roaches. I had opened a closet door and the roaches rained down on me. I was covered. It was awful. I might have gone outside and barfed. But I did it for the betterment of the community and my efforts paid off. While it took a little longer to completely rid that hoarded condo of roaches, it eventually worked. So did getting the hoarders evicted. That certainly aided in a never-ending cycle of roach killing efforts.
If you find yourself in a situation where you are the victim of a roach infestation outside of your control, just keep at it with the products I used. My way is truly the best way to get rod of roaches. Those hormone disrupters are key and will make a significant impact in keeping the population in check.
Have any cockroach stories to share? I’d love to hear them! Be sure to check out all my other great natural pest control posts as well. I will teach you how to get rid of ants, keep mosquitoes at bay, stop slugs from nibbling your garden, keep moths out of your pantry and closets, prevent a spider invasion and more!
Heat says
Super-helpful—thank you!
I was surprised not to see diatomaceous earth in this post! Why?
Jennifer says
I tried using DE numerous times, even dumping it directly on the roaches. Nothing. Nada. Those suckers survived the DE. I was shocked for sure.
David says
Jennifer,
Re: Your recipe for cockroach bait:
If you have cockroaches that like bacon grease, why don’t you add bacon grease to the recipe, and add enough so the bait has a good bacon smell to it?
Jennifer says
Oh I did. And let me tell you…the smell of those bait balls was enough to make me want to move out after they sat around in the Arizona heat for a day. 😉
Michelle says
Thank you for sharing this. It couldn’t have come at a better time, seriously.
Jennifer says
Glad I could help!
Roach killer says
Thanks admin for your informal post, hope many people benefited from this.
Emily says
Thank you so much for sharing!
We would see cockroaches maybe once or twice a year… and now that I’m staying home and my house is cleaner than it EVER has been, we got cockroaches over a period of just a couple days. I have no idea why but they’re driving me crazy!
We also tried DE and even after dumping the DE right on a cockroach, I saw the same one walking around a few days later… eeeeew!
So I am super thankful to have found this article! I will be trying this because I was close to waving the white flag and calling in the exterminator :/ which I do NOT want to do!
Jennifer says
I know how you feel! When I learned that cockroaches can hold their breath for HOURS I died a little. This is why even exterminators can’t get rid of them. They hold their breath and scatter until the fumes dissipate. Smart little buggers. I thought there was no way to win the war. But alas…there sure is!
Nash says
Good to know this. I’ll try it over the weekend. Thanks so much
Ms Kat says
I currently don’t have any (that I see), but I definitely saved this article. I prefer not to have extermination chemicals in the house if I can help it. Thank you.
L G says
If my cat eats a roach that has been affected by the Gentrol or the Advion Bait, will it harm my cat?
Jennifer says
The small amount that roaches need to eat of both products is not known for harming other animals if they get a hold of it. It can cause some gut distress for a short time if say your cat ate a LOT of roaches which it likely will not do.
Becky says
Hi Jennifer!! We are trying all your tips and tricks! We have renovated a home of a previous hoarder and the struggles have been extremely real with the roaches! So we should reapply how often? 3 months?
Jennifer says
Oh boy! That is a project for sure. I replaced the Gentrol discs monthly. Some people say that you can leave the discs for several months but I wasn’t chancing it! However, once the roaches are gone you can leave those in place for another month and then you shouldn’t need them again.
Sheron says
Did you use “boiled” or egg yolk& white for the natural bait?
Jennifer says
Hi Sheron! I used a boiled egg, not raw.
Lisa says
We have pet birds, and because of their delicate respiratory system, sprays and even some powders are dangerous, but about a year ago a group of hoarders moved in to our building. They’re gone now, but their houseguests remained…and despite the landlord having an exterminator come out regularly, they keep reappearing.
Will these tricks be safe for our birds?
Jennifer says
That is a great question Lisa! I have a houserabbit and they also have delicate respiratory systems. She did ok. But let me check on birds for you.
Denise says
Does the boiled eggs leave your house smelling awful?
Jennifer says
In warmer weather yes, it does leave a bit of an odor wafting around. But it is not horrible. Not like rotten eggs or anything. Just sort of a “cooked egg” aroma.
Luna says
Can I use rice flour?
Jennifer says
Yes, absolutely!
KaZ Cruse Akers says
Really surprised those neighbors were not reported to the board of health and evicted especially since the stench affected other neighbors, too. Hoarding IS a mental illness but cockroaches and animals I am certain were not cared for properly, are a danger to everyone. It’s very hard to get rid of the problem unless you get rid of the source.
Jennifer says
Oh they were – I didn’t share the entire story because it would have gone on forever. The person who owned the condo was taken advantage of by some people from her church. THEY were the hoarders, not the condo owner. They got kicked out eventually but it was a major process because they were VERY clever about a lot of things. The woman who owned the condo got it liveable again with the help of us neighbors.
Jessica says
I’m to the point of tears!!! First, THANK YOU, WITH EVERYTHING I AM, THROUGH GOD, FOR THIS POST!!!!🙏🛐
I moved into a HUD APT. COMPLEX in March of this year (2020), and every time that they spray for bugs, it seems as though they all come to my apt (downstairs)!!! The only place that “the bug people” spray, is in the kitchen…REALLY? Sometimes it helps, sometimes it makes it worse! I’m constantly on the verge of up-heaving every time I see a roach or “waterbug”. I can’t afford to move right now, so I know where you came from with this, terribly. I’m going to be on this immediately!!!🙏🛐
May God Bless You Tremendously,
J.g.E.
Jennifer says
I am so glad you found me! Believe me – you are going to kick those roaches out in no time!
Cheryl Visher says
When I was growing up we had a huge roach problem.we bombed several times but to no avail.but one winter this was back in 1978 it was so cold in our house the roaches all dies we had no more after that .really weird but true story
Jennifer says
Hahahaha! I actually like freezing temperatures for quite a few things. Most people just won’t go for that!
Wendy says
Thank you very much for this. I was on the verge of a cockroach induced panic attack and you have made me feel better!
Monica says
Thank you for this. I’m in an apartment where the previous tenant was a hoarder and for 3 yrs it’s been a war. Kill hundreds every week but it never seems to dwindle the population. I’m taking your advice and doing this tomorrow. I can’t stand them anymore!!
Mary says
We just moved into a rental and .. OH MY GOD!! Our first night we saw 15 cockroaches. I freaked out and started screaming and crying because I am absolutely terrified of those little disease carrying monsters. I called the landlord hysterical and he sent an exterminator out the next day. Thankfully his bomb blasting attack didn’t reveal a lot because I was afraid of the mess of dead little carcasses to clean up. There were some but… anyway it seemed to do the trick but slowly I started seeing them again. One here… One there and I’d just melt into a level 12 anxiety attack I couldn’t sleep a night fearful they would crawl on me while sleeping I wouldn’t open cabinets or drawers fearful they were on my dishes and hiding amongst the silverware. I lost 20lbs from the stress and drove my husband up a wall because nothing bothers him. So when I came across your article I cried with relief that there was more than one way to kill these things and immediately ordered all the products you recommended and put them throughout the house. Now we wait and see if they get gone once and for all. I will be reordering said products before summer begins. Thank you again for your article I feel much better.
Pam says
Where can I get this bait you used I’m infested with roaches and our landlords don’t do pest control it was like this when we moved in just didn’t know it until a few days after
Jennifer says
I mention a few different things in this post? Are you talking about the bait I made?
Brooke says
*whew* After moving from one ancient apartment with water damage and mold into a much newer apartment, we’ve been kind of hoping our bug problems were over. Alas, we’ve been here about a week and in the wee hours before my husband left for work he spotted a roach in the kitchen. No idea if it’s an old problem re-emerging or if it’s from the apartment next to us, but we will be waging war IMMEDIATELY. We also share the kitchen wall, so here’s hoping the neighbors are up for a good alliance. Actually they’re new here too. Now I’m raising suspicions about why the previous tenants left around the same time lol