In times of an organic food shortage, cockroaches will eat household items, such as book bindings, cardboard, toothpaste, leather, glue, paper scraps, solid soaps, starch-based paints and wallpaper, dried human skin flakes and nylon clothing.
They can taint your food-prep surfaces, dishes, food packages, foods; and in your bathroom, contaminate your toothbrush. Cockroaches are drawn to the moist bristles and the smell of toothpaste and bacteria.
Use Boric Acid Powder: Have you heard that toothpaste can kill cockroaches? Well, boric acid powder is a substance deadly to cockroaches but low in toxicity to humans that can be found in toothpaste and clothing detergent. These household items can be used to effectively kill cockroaches.
Ants are attracted to food and drink, as well as toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, perfume, soap, and detergent. Bugs are also attracted to empty pizza boxes, soda cans, and other food packaging. If any room in your suite/apartment has bugs, your room is likely to have bugs.
Cockroaches are attracted to your home by the smell of food. They are most attracted to starch, sugar, grease, meat, and cheese. Rotting fruits and vegetables can also give off a very pungent smell that will definitely attract these pests.
Left out food, waste, garbage, clutter, moisture, heat, and darkness are all things that attract roaches. As you might expect, this means they're most likely to be found in areas like kitchens, basements, and cluttered or dirty areas.
Boric acid Some people find this to be the best option to kill roaches. Boric acid can work too, the only downside is that sometimes roaches will go away as soon as they smell boric acid.
Did you know that the mint flavoring in toothpaste can actually attract bears and other critters like raccoon? So never keep your paste, brush and floss in your tent, you can pack it in with your food if it's in a tightly sealed container as you wouldn't want the scent to transfer.
Toothbrush. Cockroaches can eat toothpaste and are attracted to the bristles on toothbrushes. If roaches get into your bathroom (and it is likely that they will), they can contaminate your toothbrush with microorganisms.
Toothpaste's smell and taste repels pests from the garden. Simply draw a circle of pea-size toothpaste around the plants. This will prevent crawling insects like slugs from crossing over. Ants also find the strong smell of the toothpaste repulsive, and it also keeps them at bay.
Roach Repellents
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Keep your sleeping quarters free of food and moisture. Reduce clutter. Regularly empty your trash. Make sure all openings to the outside (windows and doors, primarily) are well sealed.
For cockroaches, window cleaner can make them temporarily unconscious so that you can squash them. This works on initial contact, but Windex will not continue to kill bugs after it has dried. Laundry Detergent – Dilute a few drops of laundry detergent or dish soap in water and use the mixture as a spray.
If your home smells like mildew, but you don't find any leaks or mold, it may be a good idea to check for termites. Cockroaches have a telltale smell that's uniquely oily and musty. Unless you've encountered an infestation before, odds are you won't recognize this odor until it's too late.
Cockroaches in food can cause second-hand poisoning
If you consume this poison second-hand through a cockroach, you could be in danger. The more so if you consume the entire pest by accident. Keep an eye out for poisoning symptoms such as dizziness, confusion, lack of concentration, and stomach pain.
By keeping a clean dwelling, you'll give roaches less of a reason to intrude upon your happy home. There is more to keeping roaches at bay than just having spotless floors, however. Let's look at potential trouble spots that you may have overlooked during your most recent cleaning spree or inspection.
The World Health Organization also advises against crushing them, for reasons of hygiene. According to the body, which classes cockroaches as “unhygienic scavengers in human settlements”, squashing them can spread bacteria into the environment that can lead to asthma, allergies and illnesses.
Cockroaches seek places where they can find ample food. Food crumbs, spills, leftovers, and pet food are the most common food sources. Kitchen trash and grease on stovetops and countertops can be inviting for roaches, and they may also get into stored food items.
Unfortunately, when you rinse immediately after brushing, you're washing away a lot of the fluoride in toothpaste before it can strengthen your tooth enamel. To maximize the beneficial cavity-fighting effect of fluoride, spit out excess toothpaste but do not rinse your mouth.
Toothpaste could kill mice, but it's not the most reliable method. Yes, you could technically kill mice with toothpaste, but it would be very difficult to get them to eat enough that it would be fatal.
Luckily, you don't have to immediately throw out your old toothpaste! Instead, you can use it to buff your fingernails, remove crayon markings from walls or gummy residue from the bottom of your iron, polish metal, or clean your bathroom sink.
It's a fact that cockroaches are afraid of humans and other mammals or animals that are bigger than them. They see us as predators and that fear triggers their instinct to scatter away. However, they dislike strong and distinctive scents such as citrus, peppermint, lavender and vinegar.
Dusts – A few insecticides used for cockroach control are applied as dusts or powders. Most familiar to householders are boric acid and diatomaceous earth. For controlling cockroaches, boric acid tends to be more effective. Roaches succumb to boric acid after crawling over treated surfaces.