How to deal with Cockroaches?

Remember the powder we used to use for Carrom Boards? That is the solution! Yep, it’s actually Boric Acid. This chemical works by damaging the pest’s shell cover. Cockroach’s cuticle will dry out and it will die sooner. This method is not very effective in highly-humid days in Dhaka since it will take a longer time for cockroaches to be dehydrated. Winter is the best time to do this experiment. I used Boric Acid made by ECONO Chemicals – it’s available at local medicine stores (comes in a yellow box). Try mixing it with flour to make it more appealing to the pests. This method was really cheap and effective for me.

Another way to kill cockroaches is a method called sulfur-burning. Put some sulfur on a saucepan and allow this to burn. Make sure to stay out of the house for a few hours. You can get sulfur in local chemical stores, but another common place for it is from Egg Shells! Some people also said leaving eggshells in corners. This technique keeps cockroaches away, but I’m not sure how well it kills them.

I’ve also read that cockroaches, who survive the insect sprays you buy from stores, will develop stronger immunity from this. So these won’t work as good and may make things worse. If you spray on a cockroach and if it’s half-dead, make sure you do the rest of the job. If it survives, it’ll be less immune to this spray later, and this will be passed to its offspring too! Also try using alternate brands of these chemicals to keep things effective.

Cockroaches tend to dislike the smell of popular Pandan leafs – leave some in bookshelves or in the trunk of your car.

Researchers at Purdue tell to make the places (where cockroaches used to live) clean. Cockroaches molt their skin as they go from one nymph stage to the next, and there is a lot of skin left in the areas where they live. This dead skin become airborne and causes allergies and asthma! In addition, cockroaches are attracted to places where other cockroaches are by a chemical compound, called pheromones. Therefore, deal with cockroaches regardless of the numbers.

And for any of these methods, make sure you keep the pets away while you deal with pests. Let me know what worked for you, or if you have a trick of your own. But do remember, we are at war here!