I saw a solution that uses baking soda, powdered sugar, and boric acid. I have cats and I want to make sure I don't kill my cats while killing the cockroaches.
By d
You don't need sugar just the boric acid power that's it. It gets on their legs they drag it back to their nest & it kills them all by dehydrating them. But I agree with the other people who answered your question it's not good to use this around pets. Call an exterminator or drill holes in the wall and pour it behind the wall - the cats can't get there. And oh yes, they travel through the plumbing pipes.
I agree completely with the other posters-boric acid is a great way to kill roaches AND make your cats sick as they've ever been!
I lived in the American South for over thirty years (before moving to the UK to marry again) and the roach problem there is terrible! I always had cats, dogs, and children, so I had to find something effective that didn't hurt my fur and non-fur babies.
I had an exterminator for several years and when he retired he gave me the greatest tip-DIY!
He advised me to buy a sprayer tank (last time I checked, you could buy a high-quality sprayer for under $50USD) and a big bottle of a product called Liquid Sevin concentrate (for more economical use, per ounce it does cost less than the pre-mix; buy either concentrate or pre-mix in any garden centre including WalMart).
READ and FOLLOW the directions CAREFULLY, mix according to directions, and apply liberally using the 'stream' setting on the sprayer nozzele to exterior AND interior perimeter walls, along all baseboards include (maybe especially) inside cabinets and under the sinks, and after adjusting to the 'fan' setting on the nozzle, apply a good coating to carpet and upholstered areas-be sure to stick the sprayer wand down into the crevices of sofa and chairs for best results.
I used to put the dogs in their outside pen, and the cats into their 'Prisoner Transport Device' (lol, the cat carrier, hat tip to Cammie's Kittys blog:) on the front porch. Leave everyone safely contained until the sprayed areas are completely dry, and you'll see a huge improvement in your roach population problem within hours.
Repeat monthly ALL YEAR ROUND for best control. And remember, NEVER apply until the furbabies are safely contained.
Used properly in strict accordance to label directions, LS is the safest and most effective pest control there is. It is expensive, and worth every penny. Growing up in the Desert SouthWest on a cattle ranch we used the dust version in our cattle hoops-load the herd into the chute and run them through the hoops to keep them vermin free.
Great stuff, I highly recommend the liquid version for keeping your home pest free-it even keeps the fleas and ticks out, and is licensed for vegetable garden applications, too.
We had problems with eeky roaches in our rental house! Of course the landlord did notta, so it was up to us. But we had a kitty & was told to put out boric acid, but it can be harmful if ingested by animals. We used Eucalyptis oil mixed with water or alcohol, or peppermint oil mixed with the same. Can use about equal parts of each. Just spray around to make the roaches run away!
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How do I get rid of the humongous, gargantuan roaches that are getting into my house? I have kitties in the house and dogs outdoors and need something that is totally non-toxic to my pets. I have covered everything that I can think of where a roach could get in. They're still here, yuck!
By michele from Texas
Fill a jar with a some old coffee grounds and then fill about a third of the way with water. Tilt the jar so it can be easily accessed by the roaches. They will crawl in to get to the sweet coffee grounds but they cannot get out. You may have to refill the jar on a daily basis and emptying it is pretty gross, but it works.
They call those 'water bugs' here, and usually come into the house if it is wet under my house or porch, as in after several days of rain. They don't actually infest your house like small roaches do, but they are nasty looking!
One good way is to use Sevin Dust. According to its' package, it is safe to use around cats and dogs. This is placed in areas accessed by pets. It's been used for 20-30 years w/o any problems.
For areas pets cannot reach, plain ol' borax works very well. Don't forget to place it on top of your kitchen cabinets. Once I learned that 20 Mule Team Borax was just as effective as Roach Proof (years ago) it's been used ever since.
Recently learned their appearance these past several months was also due to their coming in w/the potatoes! I was told that some can even hide in the potato 'eyes' so they can escape detection; so far I've not seen that but I've no reason not to believe it.
After finding 5 or 6 large ones, mostly the ones that cannot fly, the Ortho's Home Defense was sprayed in the rooms they were seen. Note, the bug spray selections come in the dark green or white 'jugs' and are equally effective here.
Since I like 'over-kill' in the fight against roaches, also added in each room were roach bait covered 'trays' w/holes large enough for all size roaches. One 'tray' was placed right next to the potatoes.
Usually the Sevin Dust and borax does the trick but last couple weeks also added was the Ortho bug spray then the bait 'trays'. So far, w/this many-pronged fight against roaches, none have been seen for a couple days. So far so good :o)
Using a recycled qt-sized yogurt or cottage cheese container 'n lid, poke 5-8 holes close together in the lid; fill w/Sevin. When you squeeze the container's sides, it comes out in a fine, uh, dust. You can use other recycled containers like empty plastic spice or herb bottles.
Recycled Parmesan cheese bottles, with the larger holes work well w/borax, baking soda and other powdered basic cleaning products.
From WalMart several of the squeeze bottles used for condiments have been filled w/ borax and Sevin Dust. Actually you could re-use many of the 'squeeze' bottles to hold various cleaning supplies. Hope this helps.
Hello Texas - I remember the costume contest for roaches in Fort Myers FL. Review your landscaping and consider having a 36" wide no-plant zone with sand or gravel around your whole house. Then you can put diatomaceous earth into the no-plant zone and they'll never get into anything but an open window. God bless you!
LOL! To me, any bug bigger than a gnat is humongous and gargantuan! But having lived in Texas before and also living in the Southeast most of my life. I know what you mean!
And Fatboyslim: these aren't water bugs she's talking about! The ones she means make our water bugs look like gnats! I'm getting the chills just thinking of them!
I do my own exterminating though. I get the Malathion that is designed to be used outdoors only. I look at it this way. If it'll work outdoors then it should work indoors too. But I make it up stronger than the label says and I go through the entire house. Every nook, cranny, around the crown molding and baseboards, around each window and door, under all the drawers and in all the cabinets. Then I tackle the outside and do the same thing. I also spray about 2 feet out from the house.
I do this monthly in the "bug" season, and once every 3 months in cold months. Just remember, in some parts of the country there's just no getting rid of them completely so don't pull your hair out. All you can do is control them and keep them at bay. Good luck!
Malathion will kill your pets
My aunt used peppermint oil and in a old dish and it got rid of hers she put the dish behind the microwave so her animals couldnt get into it.
What do you mean lean it over so the roaches can in? Do I keep the jar in up standing position
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I have just seen a couple of roaches in my kitchen and 1 in my bathroom. Actually, my cats pointed them out to me. What can I use that won't be harmful to my cats?
