How to get rid of cockroaches from your home without chemicals

There’s nothing worse than the scuttling noise of creepy-crawlies in your kitchen when you turn on the lights. Ugh, cockroaches. You might not ever see them, but you know they are there.

They’ve survived for thousands of years and you might not be able to get rid of them forever but you can still make sure they find a better place to live than in your pantry.

Rather than use the harsh chemicals you can buy, why don’t you try a few old-fashioned home remedies to clear them out?

This may sound unpleasant but filling cockies with gas will result in their rapid death, and baking soda (bi-carb soda) is perfect to do that job.

The mash

What you need is some cold mashed potato and baking soda. Mix about half a tablespoon of the powder to a cup of mash potato and roll the mixture into marble-sized balls. Scatter them around where you’ve seen the dirty critters and wait.

Makin’ bacon

Mix together a concoction of baking soda, sugar, flour, minced onion and bacon grease. Sound delightful, I know. Roll the mixture into balls, like above, and place around the house.

It’s a trap

If you’re not keen on finding dead cockies all over the house you can try to trap them in one spot instead.

Keep your old margarine containers for this one. The bonus is you don’t even need to clean them. Put something inside that will attract the little blighters (a splash of beer or wine will do the trick, but you can try a slice of banana too). Leave the container somewhere overnight. Hopefully they’ll climb in but they won’t be able get out again. 

What’s that smell?

If you’re still not keen on a face-to-face encounter you might be happier with a method that will just have them on their way somewhere else. Try placing bay leaves or even cucumber peel in your cupboards. The roaches don’t like the smell and they’ll move on. Hopefully they’ll move far far on. 

What have you tried to get rid of cockroaches that has worked for you?