Seeing your apartment infested with roaches is probably the worst situation to encounter. Besides the loathing and disgust associated with cockroaches, they are also known to trigger asthma and transmit diseases, including enteric fever. In addition, getting rid of roaches from the apartment is difficult compared to a house because, in apartments, you do not have complete control of the building.
To get rid of roaches in the apartment, first, find and remove the source of the infestation, including poor plumbing, uncovered drains, cracks, and high humidity. Next, find and destroy the cockroach nest and kill the roaches using insecticide spray or foggers, gel baits or cockroach traps. Lastly, regularly clean your apartment, cover your bins and pick litter food particles.
The main problem with an infested apartment is that the roaches keep reappearing after some time. No matter how hard you try, the roaches keep popping out. To solve this, I have dived into the depth of the problem and will be sharing my personal experience with you in the blog below.
Tired of cockroaches? Invest in only these products and follow the guide to eliminate roaches!
Use these products, and you will be roach free in less than a week.
1. Advion Cockroach Gel Bait (Review)
2. Gentrol IGR Point Source (Review)
Other Products to try:
1. Combat Roach Traps (Easy than gel baits)
2. Hot Shot Foggers (To kill in masses – 95%)
3. Pet Safe Killers (Uses Essential Oils)
4. Ortho Defence Outdoor Roach Killer (Prevent Roaches)
Getting rid of Roaches in the Apartment Permanently
Multiple apartments in a single building are usually affected by roach infestation. If you only try to get rid of roaches from your apartment, you will fail. The roaches will start reappearing within weeks. Therefore, it is crucial to work in collaboration with the whole building.
To get rid of roaches in the apartment permanently follow the steps below,
Step 1: Find and Remove the Source of Infestation
Unless you find the source of the infestation, it is nearly impossible to get rid of cockroaches in the apartment permanently. Roaches love to live in a warm and humid environment with plenty of food in the form of garbage and filth. The source of infestation might be,
- A leaking water or sanitory pipeline.
- An uncoverd sewrage hole or bathroom drains.
- Uncoverd ventilators.
- Cracks and crevices in the walls.
- Open garbage cans and bins.
- Lack of cleaniliness.
- Poor Lightning and ventilation.
Once you have found the source of the infestation, try to remove it. Collaborate with your building residents if the problem needs to be solved on a large scale, like uncovered sewerage holes, open garbage cans, and poor lighting.
Step 2: Find Cockroach Nest and Destroy it
Once you have taken control of the source of infestation next important step is to find the cockroach nest. It is important because the cockroach nest is the breeding ground for roaches. If you fail to locate and destroy it, the extermination will fail.
To find a cockroach nest and destroy it,
- Search an area with plenty of roach droppings, desquamated skin, egg cases, live or dead roaches mainly behind the fridge, under the furniture, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and warm and humid corners.
- Use a steam gun or an insectiside spary to aim at the colony and destroy it,
I have written a comprehensive article on How to find a Cockroach Nest and How it looks like? This will guide you through the complete process.
Step 3: Kill the Roaches in the Apartment
The next step is to kill the roaches roaming around the apartment. If you destroy the nest but don’t kill the free roaches, you will fail to completely eradicate roaches because the free roaches will again set up another colony.
To Kill the roaches in the apartment,
Method 1: Using Cockroach Baits
Bait is the material that cockroaches eat and get killed. The good thing about using bait is that cockroaches usually share the bait with other fellows of the colony hence killing them. Several baits are effective against roaches, but Advion Cockroach Gel Bait is the best one.
Bait is set up at different locations around the apartment, and all you have to do is wait over the next 3 to 4 days. Once the waiting period is over, search the apartment for dead roaches.
You can also make your bait using boric acid and sugar. I have written a complete article Does boric acid kill palmetto bugs and roaches? Please read it to know how to make yours at home. Cockroach chalk is also a type of bait used to kill roaches.
Method 2: Using Cockroach Traps and Gels
Using cockroach traps and gels to kill roaches in the apartments is another exciting and effective method. The good thing about using this method is that it’s mess-free, unlike baits.
Several traps are available, but I prefer Combat Max 12 Month Roach Killing Bait and Hot Shot Liquid Cockroach Trapper and Killer. All you have to do is place these traps around multiple locations at the apartment and wait for a few days to get your results.
Method 3: Using Insecticide Spray or Fogger
Insecticide spray and fogger are probably the fastest and easiest method to kill roaches in the apartment. The modern insecticide sprays are safe for humans and are devoid of a strong, pungent smell. They are also very effective at instantaneously killing roaches.
The market is flooded with many insecticide spray and foggers, but I recommend Bengal Roach Killer spray because it’s very effective and economical.
To use insecticide spray, all you have to do is,
- Wear a safety mask and close the doors.
- Spray around the roach-infested areas mainly around the corners, inside the cabinets, under the carpet and behind the fridge and furniture.
- Ventilate the room after 1 hour.
Method 4: Asking Help from Professionals
Suppose you have Katsaridaphobia, An Extreme Fear of Roaches! Or you don’t have time to kill roaches yourself, don’t be shy to hire an exterminator. They have probably the best and latest equipment to solve your roach-related problem.
Step 4: Clean your Apartment Regularly to Keep Roaches Out
If your apartment is not kept orderly with food lying around, open garbage bins, and leaky sewerage lines, you will probably fail to exterminate roaches from your apartment.
Therefore to keep roaches out of your apartment,
- Clean your apartment meticulously at least once in a week.
- If your floor is carpeted vaccum clean it regularly and if tiled mope it with phenol.
- Cover drains properly when not in use.
- Fix leaking water and sewrage lines.
- Cover crevices and gaps in doors and windows with masking tape.
- Use Natural Palmetto Bug Repellents to keep roaches at bay.
- Ventilate your apartment well.
- Fix lightning problems.
- Pick up clutter
- Maintain your wardroab and cabinets orderly.
Recently Insect Growth Regulators, also known as IGRs, have been developed with promising results at preventing new infestations. The IGRs acts by preventing larvae and nymphs from transforming into adults. I have been using ZOECON Gentrol Spray with excellent results.
Signs of Roach Infestation
If you have seen one or two roaches roaming around your apartments, it’s time to wake up. First, try to analyze the situation and see whether you are heavily infested or is just the start of a heavy infestation.
Look around the apartment for signs of roach infestation. It includes finding plenty of,
- Roach droppings.
- Desquamated exoskeleton.
- Egg cases.
- Live or dead roaches.
The places to be looked at include behind the fridge, under the furniture, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and warm and humid corners.
The electronic devices emit heat, and that’s why they attract roaches towards themselves. Cockroaches in a Microwave Oven: All you need to know is an interesting article.
What Causes Roaches in Your Apartment?
There can be multiple causes of roaches in your apartment. Once a roach finds its way in, it will try to turn your apartment into a breeding ground. Soon your place will turn into havoc. Therefore, identifying and eliminating the causes of infestation is very important.
Cockroaches are attracted to unsanitary conditions, including uncovered garbage bins, filth, dispersed food items. They love to live inside old shoe boxes, closed cabinets, and hidden places. Cockroaches lay eggs in crevices and corners and old worn-out clothes.
One important and mostly ignored cause of roaches in your apartment is a heavy infestation in your neighbor. You might fail to exterminate cockroaches if you fail to talk with your neighbor about infestation.
Therefore, before you embark on roach extermination, exterminate roaches in your neighbor. Also, try contacting the building owner if it’s a widespread infestation. In such cases, professional help is the need of the hour.
