by Val Martin

Cockroaches contaminate food with their excrement and secrete an unpleasant odor that can permeate an indoor environment. They are considered by most homeowners and entomologists to be one of the worst household pests. Many individuals develop allergies to these insects. Try these nontoxic methods to rid them from your household.

A list of things you need:

1. Sugar
2. Shortening
3. Flour
4. Baking soda
5. Chopped onion

Step-by-step run-through:

1. Wipe off your kitchen counters and dining room table (or any other place where you eat) after every meal.
2. Don't leave dirty dishes on the kitchen counter overnight.
3. Garbage and compost should be kept in containers with lids, and disposed of as often as possible.
4. If your bathroom has a fan, use it after every bath or shower to reduce humidity.
5. Use baited sticky traps in infested areas to catch cockroaches. You may need to get these from a pest-control company that sells pest-control supplies.
6. Sliced or crushed cucumbers keep cockroaches away from food.
7. Plant catnip in your garden. The chemical in catnip repels cockroaches.
8. Spray the cockroaches' favorite places with the mixture of 1 ounce each of tea-tree oil, rosemary oil and citronella oil.
9. Combine equal amounts of sugar, shortening, flour, and baking soda, and then add chopped onion. Add enough water to be able to make small balls of dough. Place in roach-infested areas. When eaten, the bait creates gas in the roaches and they explode.

A helpful green hint:

Go back to Green Home's Household Pests page.

© 2007 Green Home, Inc.