I have wanted to write this Instructable for a long time but could not bear the thought of a photo of a roach. I found a plastic one; problem solved. I think you get the idea from that sentence that I am just a little bit, somewhat, sort of, come to think of it, mildly, TERRIFIED of roaches. This is the story of how I got rid of the roaches in my home and they have stayed gone for 10 months now after just the initial treatment.
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Signing UpStep 1: What you will need
Boric acid powder*
Karo syrup - you may substitute honey or maple syrup or pancake syrup
Rice flour - you may substitute any flour you have on hand
1 Popsicle stick
1 Mixing bowl
Amounts as follows:
2 parts Boric acid
1 part rice flour
enough Karo syrup to make a peanut butter like consistency mixture
Important note: Boric acid powder is not something you want to inhale (get into your eyes or swallow) so mix this up outside. Wear a dust mask too until it is mixed up. It has no oder.
For a 2800 square foot home with 4 bathrooms, I mixed 2 cups of boric acid with 1 cup rice powder and about 3/4 cup of Karo syrup. I used a plastic bowl to mix in and stuck the bowl and left over bait up into the attic/crawl space when I was done baiting.
*(available in hardware stores in the US as "Roach Prufe" (this was the only way I was able to buy it, the canister is 98% boric acid and 2% blue coloring).
Karo syrup - you may substitute honey or maple syrup or pancake syrup
Rice flour - you may substitute any flour you have on hand
1 Popsicle stick
1 Mixing bowl
Amounts as follows:
2 parts Boric acid
1 part rice flour
enough Karo syrup to make a peanut butter like consistency mixture
Important note: Boric acid powder is not something you want to inhale (get into your eyes or swallow) so mix this up outside. Wear a dust mask too until it is mixed up. It has no oder.
For a 2800 square foot home with 4 bathrooms, I mixed 2 cups of boric acid with 1 cup rice powder and about 3/4 cup of Karo syrup. I used a plastic bowl to mix in and stuck the bowl and left over bait up into the attic/crawl space when I was done baiting.
*(available in hardware stores in the US as "Roach Prufe" (this was the only way I was able to buy it, the canister is 98% boric acid and 2% blue coloring).
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(And for some reason I couldn't reply to your comment to me..so had to leave a comment this way)
I made up some of your "goo of doom", but since I didn't need as much as you made, I mixed 5-6 HEAPING tablespoons of boric acid, 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour, 2-3 tablespoons pancake syrup and some water.. Do you think this should this have enough boric acid in it to kill roaches?
Also, once I mixed everything together I did get a consistency of creamy peanut butter, but once I placed the bait out and went back to check a few hours later, it was like putty. Not rock HARD, but not peanut butter either. Is this the way it's supposed to do?
Thank you very much! I really hope this concoction kills these nasty little pests. I love my new home and really don't want a reason to despise it!
I have no idea if the roaches will still be attracted to the bait when it is that hard, I don't see why not but then again I really don't know. I personally would not take any chances and would do it again without water. It's your call though, keep me posted.
Ha ha! Would you not know this 100 year old cottage near the beach has roaches and dry wood termites? Just saw a rat crawl across the yard under the shed last week (but we have big dogs so those will definitely leave.....vermin and dogs/cats just do not mix thankfully)....... Well, we cannot rip out the cabinets and deal with tenting for termites in a rental soooo. Found out boric acid just kills all kinds of insects including drywood termites. I mixed the boric acid powder with baby oil so the baby oil would soak into the wood. I started in the areas where I could see kick out holes that drywood termites make and you see the pile of crap on the floor, window sill etc. That is where they are "active" and visible. I took a hammer and nail and made holes into all of the wood a few inches apart (and some more - might was well be thorough). Then I took a syringe (yip....needle and all - but a rubber medicine dropper that one never uses again will work) and filled it with the baby oil and boric acid and put it inside all of the holes where the kick outs were and where I saw rotten wood. The baby oil is so that the mixture will soak into the wood. NO more kickouts within an hour. (I was getting massive activity) Now drywood termites do move but I know one thing - tent this house all you want - all you are going to do is kill the ones that are there and you are right back to where one started in a month because termites are everywhere here. I did discover that if you soak/treat your wood used to construct anything in the house in a boric acid solution (so that your wood is basically also boric acid) you will never have a termite problem ever. Some guy from New Zealand says that is the only kind of wood they use there to build. Treated wood with boric acid.....sounds smart. Makes sense because on an Island - you just cannot get rid of termites. No way it is going to happen.
A side note for everyone. I did not have the attic sprayed with residual spray so will be baiting the attic; all outbuildings; and the cars. In fact, I might continue to just bait "surrounding my house" entirely also. I am on my very first week of no dead german roaches at all and it has been exactly 2 and one half months so I am pretty sure the bait is what did the trick (as well as my new love of caulk). We did not spray until a couple of weeks after we baited with the magic goo of doom. I forgot to mention that part. Now to bait the air conditioner and furnace etc.
1. Clean the house decently including vacuuming and locating all of those nice egg casings ( wiped walls and base boards decently)
2. Two days of cleaning furniture (found dead giant roach inside the wicker) outside and decontaminating it with anti-bacterial
3. Vacuuming every single day
4. No food in house for one and 1/2 weeks. Any take-out food was in plastic bags at all times sealed.
5. Made your magic paste and put it everywhere just like you said. Wish I had left the container left over in the attic but I had not found the attic opening on the first run through. Put container outside behind the house where pets cannot access near water pipe into back apt.
6. Sadly, because it was so bad, we had to also spray Spectricide with residual. Sprayed the base of the house and all windows and sills; sprayed out buildings; sprayed base boards inside house (did not do cabinets in kitchen etc. because exterminator already did that). We also had to bait the kitchen with Tat and Combat but those went on the floor. The magic paste went everywhere else.
7. Sealed up between floor and wall where there were gaps; caulked the windows as best as possible (rotten wood old house nothing we can do - we do not own)
8. Two weeks after all of that - major change: Saw dead roaches but no alive ones.
9. It is now two and half months after that and we are still seeing dead german roaches.
10. Never saw them in the coffee maker or stove and we do not have a dishwasher. Have not seen them in the microwave. We live in a place where electricity is high so might I suggest what we do. We leave all electronics unplugged when not in use. I have to figure out how to check computers, t.v., cable box, phone etc.
11. In two and a half months, still seeing one/two dead roaches every few days.
12. Have not put clothes in drawers or shoes in closet yet because want to be able to check drawers and floors etc.
13. We cook in the house but we seal the garbage bag inside the trash can before going to bed.
14. There are tons of old cars in the yard right behind our house - would that be a roach place too? We can't do anything about those cars but maybe we could spray or bait the cars?
Some questions for the Board.
When can I feel comfortable about putting our clothes away without living in fear of a roach dead/alive in the drawers? I am going to keep the shoes in baskets for now so I can "see" the floors quickly. I am really freaked about the clothes in drawers.
Also, when can I ascertain that the problem is resolved? (I know this probably does not have a real answer). We do no see anything dead or alive for a week or so, and then a dead one.
We are also going to spray the house once per month since the directions stated the bait lasts two years. I am baiting the apt. next door since it is now empty and will then put the container in the attic as I can now access it. It is not that clean but I am too disgusted cleaning this house to do that one.
Note: I mixed boric acid with baby oil and killed a small drywood termite nest so this stuff is the real deal.
The Instructable was great and after arguing with my husband about the power of bait, I truly think that the spray helped the initial barrage but that the bait helped weed out the massive problem. I sure hope it lasts two years because baiting does take forever.
Tell me more about how you used the baby oil and boric acid to kill the termites, that sounds pretty dang interesting.
You could bait the cars too you know...
My kitchen is all ripped out and a new kitchen is going in, while the insulation and drywall are gone I am going to do a bang up job of putting bait on all the wood walls and studs. You would not believe how many dead roaches I found when we ripped the drywall off. The people before me (I'm in a new house from the one I did the 'ible in) had used a system where there were small tubes that ran all around the house put in when when it was built, periodically the exterminators would spray some poison into the terminals on the outside of the house. The result was that the house was infested when I moved in. But 10 months later, the contractor and I did not find one live roach in all the de-construction we did.
OK... we are on day 7. I'm freaked out. The German roaches must be a whole other problem than what most experience on this tutorial. We are seeing many of them come out of the wood works- ones we have never seen in places we have never seen them. I'm getting so disgusted and don't know what to do!
While I think that it must be killing some, it seems to be just agitating the others and they search for moisture and food... and travel to uncommon areas. It's not like we see ten all in one place but more like one big one at a time in places we have not ever seen them. Any ideas how to battle that? All areas are fully baited and we are vacuuming and cleaning and continually killing ones that come out looking for food.
I keep seeing the babies in the kitchen area more than anything and know there must be a "nest" as you call it somewhere but can not find it. I wasn't able to get the dishwasher door off because it requires a special type of tool that I am not familiar with.
I did read that comment on the pasta water, I think I will go back and read it again... if memory serves me correctly, she "boiled pasta" more for making the mixture and as it was boiling, set out bait for the roaches to go to... since they were already out looking for food? May be worth a shot at this point.
Sealing everywhere a pipe goes in a wall is helpful. You can also dust some boric acid in the wall before sealing for good measure. That you have seen them in your appliances is not good, but that they seem to have limited themselves primarily to your kitchen is good. With a bigger infestation they spread out farther. Because they are around pipes, I set out most of the bait close to them but all the lower cupboards usually get explored by them. They travel along crevices so the bait needs to be placed there for them to find it. Bait along the back of the cabinets every 2 feet or so. Also put bait along the crevice in the toe space where the cabinets meet the floor. Because it is possible they do learn to avoid it, so use multiple bait recipes.
You want to contain them while you are killing them so they don't spread out looking for healthier surroundings. Bay leaves repel them, so, after you put the bait out, put bay leaves where you really don't want them, like on your stove, in your upper cabinets, in and under your fridge, under your microwave, etc. You may want to put them in your bathroom where ever you think they might be entering. They are not dangerous except perhaps as a choking hazard if your children are very young.
I'll post a couple of other recipes in another post.
I find using my liquid potion the best remedy but it's a pain because it keeps evaporating.
Cockroach Potion
24 ounces of very hot water
4 tablespoons of boric acid
1 cup of sugar
The boric acid tends to settle at the bottom so you have to shake the bottle. Even though it also separates a bit after pouring it is still very effective.
Cockroach Balls
1 part icing sugar
2 parts flour
2 parts boric acid
Add enough vegetable oil, butter or bacon grease to form a dough. It will no longer be effective when it dries out so you have to replace it but it keeps well in a jar.
Another recipe is:
8 ounces of boric acid
1/2 cup of flour
1/8th cup of sugar
shortening or bacon grease to form balls
optional - half a small onion chopped
Although I haven't tried it they are also attracted to flat beer so that could be used instead of water in the potion.
Only tenacity can win the war against cockroaches.
Also thank you for the other recipes too. I will for sure be keeping those at hand because I don't want roaches- and I don't want them trying to trick me either. Ack...
Day 1- lots of them seemed to come out to get the bait in the kitchen
Day 2- We still some but not as many... and we have seen a few dead
Day 3- Saw them really dying. We keep seeing babies so you are right, there are those stupid sacks somewhere. I have been able to find some of them and get rid of them but not all.
Day 4- Saw some in the bathroom which we normally don't. (I also had sick kids so no energy for blasting bugs)
Day 5- Today, finished baiting all outlets, door ways, and drawers, even into the ceiling where the fire alarm is located. Anywhere in the walls I could think of. In the bathroom where we never see them, the one plug outlet there is actually had some IN THE PLUG AREA(not just after taking the face plate off- SO NASTY) that apparently went in there to die. That freaked me out tons so I was given an extra push to get it all done. That was the worst looking outlet of the whole house which seems odd because we rarely ever saw them in there. I have vacuumed lots and will continue to do so.
None the less, I think the last place I have to conquer is the dishwasher door... like inside of it. I *think* this may be where these babies keep coming from.
I'm definitely finding dead ones and live babies. My husband said he killed two big ones in the kitchen this morning though. He says they acted weird though, going in circles. One he thought was a moth at first because the outside looked flaky- it just fell and he finished it off while I kept my distance. I think that means the boric acid did it's job on that one.
Staying hopeful that this will end. Still having the jitters when I go to the kitchen though.
AND THEN... I was so desperate I began begging for a reference for a bug man that could rid the place of them For good. Got a food reference accept they came to do a free estimate, said it would cost $200 and they could get rid of them but more than likely they will come back because we are connected to other units who must have them too. I've talked to 2 of the 3 neighbors and they say they do not have roaches... The others speak Spanish and I don't know Spanish well enough to find out if they do.
Anyway, $200 bucks and them directly saying they will come back though unless all units do it, just wasn't going to happen. I did feel slightly comforted when he said it was not what he would call an infestation and that it probably was before we took over... So we did manage to at least kill tons of them just not all. (Also, one person said they found the roaches were living in the roach bait centers... We had that happen too... So dang nasty)
I was so glad to finally run across your 'ible as I have not found anything else out there saying they can get rid of these blasted things.
So yesterday we spent a good 2 1/2 hours for our tiny condo, mainly in the kitchen area... Baiting with your goo of doom. After reading all the comments right before bed last night, btw...never do that- you'll have night mares about roaches, I need to do a bunch more in depth work through out the entire house even though we have really only seen them in the kitchen and super rare even in the bathroom area.
I can't tell if it is working though because I have seen a bunch of babies out during the day light today... I will have my husband check tonight when they are usually scurrying across the floor, and countertops.
Is it normal to see them come out more after baiting? I keep reading comments that kind of suggest no, it's not. Even during the day yesterday I saw quite a few after baiting... One was dead in the boric acid powder though. Maybe they just don't like that we found their hiding spots?
Also, we did dust some areas with the powder, places kids can not get to and places we didn't necessarily want them to be attracted to since we didn't normal see them there. We still have trimming to put up on our cabinets(I know... 15 months later and we still haven't finished) so I also filled in the cracks above the cabinets with the stuff.
As another one posted, I am also pregnant and I freak out majorly when I see the blasted things... Talk about heart burn and anxiety at it's worst. My kids have probably thought that their mom was taken over by some monster because I keep telling the roaches, "prepare to die!!!!!" I want them to die a fast and horrible death! We don't usually talk about death in our house so much- my kids are still quite young- but when it comes to these pesky things... I am very open about wanting them to die!
Anyway, I will for sure update with joy if they are gone!!!!
P.S. I found your 'ible on Pinterest... Thank you to whoever it was that pinned its!!
So anyway you are on a mission, and I know it will work. But I disagree with the tech who told you that you don't have an infestation. Granted, I was dealing with what is also know as 'palmetto bugs', which are not the German ones, but believe that if you see them in the daytime you have such an infestation that they are being crowded out.
So please keep me posted, I really care, and being that you are dealing with German ones, everyone else will be able to benefit from what you find out. Just remember to always follow the money when something does not make sense. Pest-control companies would not be in business if they were successful. That sounds strange but I think that people have been lulled into thinking that having roaches is normal.
As far as Spanish speaking neighbors go, just write what you want to ask them and do a google translate. Maybe you can translate this 'ible and hand it out to them. Something here is not making sense though, no one wants roaches and you have done so much to correct the problem... there is no cardboard in the house is there? I understand the German one's just love cardboard.
Anyway, seal everything in your pantry in ziplock bags, find out where they are coming from and half your battle will be done. And thank you for writing.
About how long before you don't see them any more? a week?
**Side note, I was once told that not just the paper grocery bags bring in roaches but the plastic ones do too and contain roach larva... i used to save them for trash can liners... to say the least, I never keep them anymore.
The 3 you found on the floor sound like good news, they seemed sick to me. Reading through the hundreds of comments really helps too. You are going to be fine, and your boyfriend deserves something special for being such a brave guy. I do not think you have a serious problem. Really.
Should i do new baits ? or moist them with water? will that make them ineffective tough?
thanks!
Thank you for your info and all your work
You need to be vacuuming your place every day for awhile too. You have a colony living there, that is harder than just a few coming in from outside. This is major. I think that the roaches may already be inside your electronics.
Remember, they like heat, water, height. But you may have to start with a bug bomb. Then move to the goo of death. I'm really sorry for you, this will be a big job, but I am sure in about 10 days you will be roach free. But don't stop the constant vacuuming, you want to get those egg cases. Throw out the vacuum cleaner bags after ever major vacuuming if you are not sure that the vacuum kills them. Or store the vacuum outside. Keep me posted, I really care. I know how it is.