# How to get rid of roaches



## Jlabruno (6 mo ago)

So my wife and I have lived in Florida over 10 years. For the first 10 years despite never hiring a bug guy we never had roaches ever. We keep the house very clean

Fast forward to three weeks ago we had a brand new house built. Now ever day or two we find a roach roaming around the house . We hired a bug guy who said he only needs to spray every 3 months . The house is brand new everything top to bottom and clean as a house can be and we can not under why we have them and where they are coming from. All the pipes are sealed under the sinks. We just are baffled . Seems like every 48 hours we find one roaming and kill it 

Any advice this place is 100% cleaning then the last place being brand new


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

I don't know about Florida, but, not to alarm you, in Hawaii there are caves of roaches. Even mansions have roaches there.

Maybe from a neighbor?


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

*Copied : *_A number of pyrethroids and permethrin-based insecticides can be used to substitute for diazinon ._
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For roaches , Diazinon was the standard for nearly 40 years until it was phased out but any product containing _pyrethroids and permethrin has taken its place and should do well ._


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## Steve2444 (Sep 28, 2020)

Strays will get in from time to time, if there is no infestation a general 3-month spraying is all that's needed.
Easily done without a pest control company.


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## ScottPabon (7 mo ago)

Just buy any random beetle spray; I had left my house for two weeks and when going back, I saw the same situation. I bought that spray and over 30 minutes I swept and gathered all the dead roaches.


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## Elmer-Dallas Texas (9 mo ago)

All you need is boric acid. It is powder. And best of all, it is non toxic, odorless and cheap. You can put it anywhere but I prefer under sinks. You can place it in lids or trays or just sprinkle it.
It works by destroying their digestive tract. You may see a few small brown streaks which is like their diarrhea. The adults will die within a few days. But the eggs they layed will hatch and you will see that generation. After a few days that generation will die. That should take care of it. Of course, there may be a few others eventually due to migration or they arrive by transport in something brought onto the property like dog food bag.
I would never spray insecticide in my home. Too dangerous imo.
You can buy a quart bottle of boric acid for less than $8 at HD. Should last for years.
Google boric acid roaches


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I agree with the boric acid. We even sprinkled 20 Mule Team Borax behind our refrigerator and in the back of our base cabinets once and it works well. It doesn't "kill" the roaches, it just makes it uninhabitable for them, and they move to your neighbor's house.

In Florida, you are most likely seeing Palmetto Bugs, not roaches.


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## Jlabruno (6 mo ago)

Thank you all for the responses. I do have a cat so something safe is important. I just can not figure out how they are getting in and some of them are huge. I mean all under the sink piping has been sealed with foam so there are no cracks or ways in under any sinks We rarely open windows as we use the AC due to the heat. I can not figure out where they are coming in.


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## snic (Sep 16, 2018)

Roaches can get in through the tiniest cracks, or their eggs can come in with you (e.g., boxes and bags from the supermarket). Once they're in, their offspring are in.

I seem to have gotten rid of them by dusting with boric acid. I also have cats, so I had to be very careful about where to put it. Two tips: figure out where the roaches like to hang out, and put the boric acid there, not where you _think_ a roach would like to hang out. The trick is to watch and not freak out: turn the light on, see where they scurry to. After a few days you will figure out where their favorite hiding places are, and that tells you where to put the boric aid. The good news is that they like to hide in nooks and crannies where cats can't go. The second tip is to be _extremely_ sparing with the boric acid. You need just the lightest coating - otherwise roaches just walk around it (do you like walking through sand when you instead have a nice boardwalk to walk on?). I wasn't able to get this right until I bought a bulb duster and learned to use it to get the absolute lightest dusting.

In my case, the roaches seemed to love hiding on top of the dishwasher door, where it's warm and humid while we run the dishwasher at night. So for a few weeks I dusted that area every evening before running the dishwasher. I also noticed some crevices between the counter and cabinets etc where they liked to run to, so I spritzed some dust in there as well occasionally. Haven't seen a roach in months.


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## Elmer-Dallas Texas (9 mo ago)

Good idea. However if you sprinkle boric acid on chocolate chip cookies, roaches will find it.
Boric acid powder costs about $4 quart...a lifetime supply at HD.
Mama roaches will die in a few days. Then their babies hatch. So takes about 2 weeks for them all to be gone.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

I have great success with readily availabe "Ortho Home Defense" or Spectrside "Bug B Gone".


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## snic (Sep 16, 2018)

Elmer-Dallas Texas said:


> Good idea. However if you sprinkle boric acid on chocolate chip cookies, roaches will find it.
> Boric acid powder costs about $4 quart...a lifetime supply at HD.
> Mama roaches will die in a few days. Then their babies hatch. So takes about 2 weeks for them all to be gone.


You do have to be persistent.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

A combination of bait and growth inhibitor works great.

The bait kills the adults, and the growth inhibitor kills the nymphs, even with slight exposure.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

chandler48 said:


> I agree with the boric acid. We even sprinkled 20 Mule Team Borax behind our refrigerator and in the back of our base cabinets once and it works well. It doesn't "kill" the roaches, it just makes it uninhabitable for them, and they move to your neighbor's house.
> 
> In Florida, you are most likely seeing Palmetto Bugs, not roaches.


Palmetto bugs are a kind of roach, just big ones. They're not as interested in living inside as regular German roaches are.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Jlabruno said:


> So my wife and I have lived in Florida over 10 years. For the first 10 years despite never hiring a bug guy we never had roaches ever. We keep the house very clean
> 
> Fast forward to three weeks ago we had a brand new house built. Now ever day or two we find a roach roaming around the house . We hired a bug guy who said he only needs to spray every 3 months . The house is brand new everything top to bottom and clean as a house can be and we can not under why we have them and where they are coming from. All the pipes are sealed under the sinks. We just are baffled . Seems like every 48 hours we find one roaming and kill it
> 
> Any advice this place is 100% cleaning then the last place being brand new


Hmm. Sounds like you're getting palmetto bugs wandering inside from outside. Maybe get a picture of one, with your hand for comparison?


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