How to Get Rid of Roaches in Your Apartment: 4 Tips

Wherever you live, roaches can be a problem for any household. These pests are annoying and may cause some shrieks and screams if they surprise you. Roaches are notorious for being resilient, but you can still find ways to send them packing. After all, they’re not helping you pay rent. Follow these four tips to see how to get rid of roaches in your apartment.

1. Contact Management

One of the first things you should do is contact your landlord to see your options. Some rent agreements include pest control in the contract, so management could call a professional to do an inspection. They’ll be able to search the perimeter and interior of your home to look for vulnerabilities. 

If your rental contract doesn’t include pest control, ask if the apartment’s maintenance team can take preventative measures around your apartment. These methods could include caulking to close cracks and holes where roaches can enter. If the landlord doesn’t comply, consider your legal options because state laws may require your landlord to keep the apartment safe. 

2. Clean the Apartment

If you’re wondering how to get rid of roaches in your apartment, one of the best preventative methods is to clean the entire space. Cockroaches love crumbs and any other food item they can find in your kitchen and other rooms in the apartment. Washing the dishes and the countertops is an excellent start, but you may need to dig deeper. 

Roaches love dark and damp areas of your apartment. Small pieces of food could end up under your fridge and dishwasher or inside your cabinets. Pets can sometimes make a mess of their food and accidentally spread bits of kibble where you can’t see it. Try doing a deep cleaning once a week. If roaches end up in your bathroom, you may need to wipe down your bathtub after you use it. 

3. Set Bait and Trap in Problem Areas

Sometimes, you have to go beyond preventative measures. If cleaning doesn’t work, try setting roach traps in your apartment. There are numerous ways you can do this method. Though, you should be mindful of pets or children on the premises. Using bait or traps could kill the roaches immediately, or they may bring the lethal toxins back to their fellow pests. Some traps you can try are:

• Borax: You may already have borax for laundry, but it’s an effective tool for those wondering how to get rid of roaches in apartments using home remedies. Mix white sugar and borax in equal parts to attract these bugs. When they eat it, they’ll dehydrate and die relatively quickly. Remember where you put the traps so you can clean them later.
  
• Baking soda: Baking soda is something else you likely have in your apartment already.  The only other item you need for this bait is an onion. Chop the onion and set it in a shallow container and sprinkle baking soda on top. When they eat the bait, the cockroaches will get sick quickly and die because their stomachs can’t handle the pressure.
  
• Roach traps: If you don’t want to make a mess, one option you could take is a roach trap. These bait stations are similar to a conventional mouse trap but smaller. These baits typically contain food mixed with poison. They don’t kill the roaches immediately, but they could also pass the poisonous mixture to their friends and kill them.

4. Spray Insecticide 

Another effective method you could try is spraying insecticide in the house. This technique is one of the most potent ways to kill roaches and prevent them from entering your apartment. Novacide is an excellent option because its residual effects last a long time. Spray this product along the baseboards of your apartment and wherever you suspect the roaches could enter. For best practice, don’t let your pets around when you spray Novacide.

How to Get Rid of Roaches in Your Apartment

Roaches are one of the most annoying parts of any living space. Unfortunately, they’re common everywhere you go. Try these four methods if you’re wondering how to get rid of roaches in apartments. Cockroaches can withstand radioactive material, but they’ll succumb to your borax and sugar mixture.