The Best Method to Kill Roaches

The Nests

• If you are intent on getting rid of roaches once and for all, you need to find the nests. Roaches are mostly nocturnal and come out in search of food at night. When the sun comes up, they go back into hiding. Roaches gather together like a swarm in a central nest in the daylight hours. At night, they radiate out from the nest. You may have one nest site or several in your home. The best place to look for a nest is in the kitchen, especially behind the refrigerator. Roaches are attracted to electrical appliances that give off even the slightest amount of heat. Pull your fridge out and look behind and under it. They also like electrical boxes and dark places like under the sink and in the back of cabinets. If you notice several roaches scatter when you pull out the fridge or open a cabinet door, you have probably found a nest. Nests will also have a large amount of roach dirt, which is made up of dead bodies, feces and egg sacks.
  
  

Extermination

• Once you have located the nest sites, concentrate your efforts there first. Use an aerosol insecticide spray that contains a minimum of 30 percent perimethrin. Aerosol spray can penetrate cracks and behind trim better than a pump spray. Thoroughly spray the nest sites and squash any roaches that try to flee. After the nest sites have been sprayed, spray the cabinets, behind the fridge, under the microwave and everywhere else a roach can hide. Roaches will often hide out behind the trim on your walls or behind baseboards. They also like to sneak behind the worn seams of wallpaper. Inspect your home for gaps or cracks in the walls and counter tops. A gap or crack that you can stick a toothpick into roaches can get through, too, so spray into them. Also spray any areas where you have seen roaches. After all the places that are infested with roaches have been sprayed, sweep each room in your home with spray.
  
  First, shut all windows and cover any exposed food and fish tanks and remove all animals. To sweep the rooms, stand in the middle of the room and direct your spray to the ceiling in the right corner and spray from the right corner to the left in a slow sweeping motion. Back up to the door and repeat the process to cover the other half of the room. Close the doors after you have each room. After all the rooms have been sprayed, go outside and leave the house closed up for at least 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, briefly reenter the house to open the windows and let the house air out for another 15 minutes before you or your pets reenter.
  
  

Follow Up

• When you have sprayed all the roaches, follow-up is important to kill any survivors and prevent re-infestation. There will always be a few roaches that manage to get away or have a resistance to spray. Take great care not to leave any exposed food on the counter overnight. Use borate powder to kill any roaches that escaped the spray. Borate powder comes in a plastic bottle with a cone-shaped spout. Borate needs to be applied lightly in the areas you had roach activity. Never apply it directly onto food preparation areas or where a child or pet can reach it. Apply it in a thin line under the refrigerator and sink and in the back of cabinets. Borate works when roaches walk through it. The powder sticks to their legs, and when they lick it off it poisons them. A small amount of borate will keep working for years.
  
  

Warnings

• Always use caution when handling and spraying insecticide. Wear a medical mask or handkerchief over your mouth and nose. Avoid breathing the vapors. Remove all pets and cover fish tanks before spraying. Never allow children to handle borate powder. Do not apply borate powder with in reach of children or pets.