The stigma attached to cockroaches makes them the nemesis of all apartment dwellers. Seeing roaches inside an apartment causes all kinds of issues, which is why nobody wants them around. Fortunately, there are concrete steps for how to get rid of roaches in your apartment.
Are roaches common in apartments?
The awful truth is that roaches are common everywhere. According to Pegasus Pest Control, cleanliness does play a role in what attracts roaches to a particular residence though. “There are living conditions that will suit cockroaches more. Like us, they need food and water to survive.”
Having a home where food gets left out or a kitchen with crumb-covered counters is a definite welcome sign for roaches. Things like dirty dishes left in the skink too long and even pet food sitting out in your dog’s bowl can both contribute to a roach problem. Especially in an apartment building where another tenant is on the messy side, if you’re not keeping things clean, the roaches already in the building may pay you a visit.
It’s best to assume all apartment buildings have roaches, maybe even a few different kinds. Whether it’s only a few or a larger population, behave proactively in your own space to keep them at bay.
What’s causing the roach issue?
You may lump all roaches into one category of creepy crawlies, but there are actually different types that can cause a cockroach infestation.
The most visible type are German cockroaches. These are small and light brown and don’t get longer than about 3/4 of an inch. You can identify German roaches by the two stripes visible on the plate behind their head. A German cockroach will live anywhere but prefers inner-city environments. These guys are pretty resilient to insecticides, so you may have to think outside the box when it comes to pest control tips. Making your own traps is your best bet.
Other roaches you may see in your apartment include the:
- Brown-banded cockroach
- American cockroach
- Smoky brown cockroach
- Oriental cockroach
Of course, the only kind of cockroaches you want to see are dead ones, but it’s never a bad thing to know more about what you’re dealing with.
Why do you have a roach infestation in your clean apartment?
Even if you’ve put all your food away and meticulously cleaned your kitchen, you can still end up seeing a roach or two. A clean apartment is a great way to deter roaches, but there’s something else they’re looking for that your apartment has no matter what — water. “Roaches need moisture to survive and this search for water will bring them into even the cleanest of homes,” according to Northwest Exterminating.
Leaky pipes or a drippy faucet, things you don’t associate with dirt at all, call out to roaches. It’s why you often see them in bathrooms in addition to the kitchen. Roaches eat a lot, but they also get thirsty. They can hide under refrigerators or air conditioning units to drink the condensation or even try to sneak a sip from a pet’s water bowl. Roaches may like dirt, but their needs are much bigger than grabbing a quick snack off your dirty dishes.
How to get rid of roaches in your apartment
Cockroaches are quick, sneaky and adaptable pests that are very hard to eliminate. They are also harmful to have around, as carriers of bacteria and other infectious agents, with the potential to contaminate food. Because of this, it’s important to address the issue immediately after you spot one of these unwelcome house guests. And yes, we’re talking about how to kill cockroaches.
While these are some of the most common methods to get rid of cockroaches in an apartment, you’ll most likely end up needing a combination of them in order to get a roach-free home.
1. Attract roaches using bait
Often the safest and most effective, baits work over an extended period of time to kill roaches. They’ll either kill on contact or use an unlucky few to carry the poison back to their buddies. Gels, bait stations and bait traps are available at most hardware stores, drug stores or supermarkets. Since roaches love nearby food sources, giving them bait to snack on instead of your own food can help prevent future infestations.
After you identify where the roaches are hiding, based on where you usually see them, place the bait, in containers, as close as possible. If you want the roaches to carry the bait back, make the container easy to escape. If you want them to stay put, consider jar traps. You can also target areas where food and moisture are most readily available. For any cracks or small areas, use gel bait. Change out the bait every three to six months.
2. Do a little dusting
Roach traps that use dust come in three different types — silica, diatomaceous earth and boric acid. The first two damage and desiccate a roach’s exoskeleton while the boric acid is toxic when ingested. This strategy is useful since they can get rid of roaches that simply walk through the dust.
The safest option is diatomaceous earth, which is a completely organic insecticide that actually kills roaches, fleas, ticks and bed bugs. It’s a great preventive option, as well, if you want to avoid a cockroach infestation.
To use, sprinkle a light dusting where roaches like to hide — inside cabinets, behind appliances and around cracks in kitchens and bathrooms. Reapply every three to four months.
Boric acid, while one way to get rid of roaches, shouldn’t necessarily be your go-to choice. Since it’s toxic, you don’t want to use boric acid in an apartment with pets or young children. Cockroaches must eat boric acid for it to do any damage, as well, so it might take longer to kick in.
3. Set a trap
Traps are for the brave souls who don’t mind dealing with the disposal of live roaches. You can buy them or make them at home. Sticky traps will stop a roach in its tracks and you can usually find them at your local hardware or drug store.
One homemade option requires a jar and some tempting food. Put a moist piece of bread and some slices of raw potato in an open jar. Then, line the inside walls of the jar with petroleum jelly and set in an area you’ve seen at least one roach. You’ll attract cockroaches with the food but they can’t climb back out. To dispose of the roaches you catch, fill the jar with soapy water and screw on a lid.
4. Use what’s in your pantry
It may surprise you how many ingredients you already have at home that will deal with cockroaches. Incorporating staple items from your pantry can make dealing with these pests quicker, cheaper and faster.
- To really attract roaches to your bait stations, mix brown sugar and baking soda. The sugar will tempt the cockroaches to visit the bait and the baking soda will kill them when it’s ingested.
- Although you’ll still need a shopping trip for this one, you can make your own dry bait stations around your apartment by mixing equal parts powdered sugar, yellow cornmeal and borax. Cockroaches will walk through the bait and then clean themselves, ingesting the poison. This bait is also toxic to humans and pets, so use it with care.
- If you’re looking to repel these pests, think citrus. Roaches hate the smell. If you don’t have citrus-scented cleaners on hand to spray, strategically place citrus peel or even citrus pulp around your home. You’ll not only repel roaches but make your home smell sweet.
Using your own pantry ingredients to create effective bait stations for roaches is as simple as pulling out those staple items just about everyone keeps on hand.
5. Hire a professional exterminator to treat an infestation
This is an extreme solution ideally meant for an actual roach infestation. You should contact your property manager before going this route since your lease may include this type of maintenance. To be effective, an exterminator should spray the entire building, which is why you should loop in your property manager to handle the bigger picture.
If you’re wondering what your exterminator is spraying around your home, chances are it’s a combination of insecticide and insect growth regulators. This second ingredient works by disrupting how roaches grow and produce. It may not kill the adults, but it will stop new roaches from joining their parents. The insecticide will take care of the older guys.
What can I do to get rid of roaches forever?
While there’s no guarantee you won’t see a roach again, once you’ve gotten rid of them, there are a few tips to make sure you’ve gotten rid of roaches for good.
- Alert your property manager that you’ve taken steps to deal with roaches in your own apartment. Since it’s most likely a building-wide problem, your property manager should take steps to have the whole building treated. If they don’t already have an exterminator coming in to get rid of roaches, it might be time.
- Keep things dry, avoid clutter of any kind, even if it’s temporary and store food in plastic containers with tight seals. Sweep up crumbs, wipe down countertops and clean spills quickly. Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight and avoid having too many cardboard boxes laying around, as well. These all tempt new roaches to come exploring.
- Make sure garbage is in tightly-sealed containers which you empty regularly.
- Give your apartment a once-over for small cracks in doors, windows or walls. If you find any, ask your property manager to seal them or do it yourself if you’re able.
- Get rid of soap bars and house plants. Cockroaches like these items, too. You can replace bar soap with liquid soap where possible, like at the kitchen sink and in bathrooms. If you want to keep your house plants around, smear a little petroleum jelly on the outside of the pots so it is too slippery for the roaches to climb.
- Work in some light cleaning on a regular basis. You especially want to get out that vacuum cleaner at least once a week to remove potential food sources for cockroaches and keep your apartment clean.
Roaches are pests. They carry diseases and nobody likes them. But, you don’t need to battle to go from live bugs to dead roaches. These steps make it easier to prevent cockroaches from thinking your apartment looks like a sweet new place to call home.
Learn how to get rid of roaches in your apartment
The sad truth is, it’s not if you’ll see a roach in your apartment, but when. They’re most likely already living in the walls because they’re already everywhere. All you can do is expect a roach problem at some point and focus on keeping your home as uninviting for them as possible. And, if they do appear, be quick to get rid of anything that roaches consume or that may attract them to your apartment.
Since cockroaches aren’t the only pests that can invade your space as an apartment-dweller, practicing good habits to keep your home pest-free, in general, is always a good rule of thumb.
