Saturday, May 23, 2009

Kill Roaches Without Killing Your Family!

1. Cockroaches are vile, disgusting creatures that are nearly impossible to kick out of your house or apartment. Cockroaches live all over the world, but they like to live in homes with people where they can snack on your food, damage wallpaper and books, and spread germs to you and your family.

2. If you HAVE cockroaches, follow them and find out where they go. This is easier said than done, however, so you might need to do a little sleuthing. Check all around the house for cracks and holes through which roaches may enter. Roaches may enter through drains or vents. If they do, fill the sink with a bit of water at night. Use caulking to seal cracks and joints around pipes and around cabinetry.

3. Cockroaches will eat almost anything!!!. BE AWARE that tiny particles of food that you may leave on your counter tops will become a banquet for cockroaches and their rapidly multiplying families.

4. Pull the stove and the fridge away from the walls and clean under them regularly.

5. Keep all of your food in sealed containers. Use glass or plastic containers for cereals, sugar, flour and other foods. Put all food away. Keep food containers sealed, and don't leave food out for extended periods -- don't even leave dirty dishes overnight.

6 Keep the kitchen clean. Clean up crumbs and spills promptly, and generally keep the area clean. Clean your range top carefully as cockroaches love grease.

7. Empty trash regularly, and keep trash away from the house.

8. Fix dripping faucets or leaks as cockroaches are attracted to water

9 Prevent bugs from coming up the drain. If you believe that the cockroaches are coming up your drains, pour regular, cheap bleach down the drains before leaving the house in the morning. For a stronger solution, mix 1 part Borax with 3 parts bleach.

10. A simple and effective homemade way to lure and trap roaches is with a jar placed next to a wall, allowing the roaches to get in, but not escape. Any bait can be placed in the jar, including coffee grounds and water, but it also works with just plain water in dryer climates.

11. Move logs, garbage cans, and other debris away from your house. Cockroaches love wood piles and other hiding places. During cold weather they will come inside.

12. Seal any cracks in exterior walls as well as cracks everywhere you can inside your house. This will takes time, but it is worth it because you eliminate most of their favorite hiding/breeding places. You'll need a lot of low toxicity caulking, so use the big tubes with a caulking gun. Fill every crack inside every cabinet; fill the cracks on both sides of floor, door, and window moldings; fill all openings around pipes in bathrooms and kitchens. This makes a big difference and makes the whole house feel cleaner. THIS WILL ALSO HELP SAVE ENERGY!

IF YOUR COCKROACH PROBLEM CANNOT BE SOLVED BY CUTTING OFF THEIR FOOD SUPPLY AND MEANS OF ENTERING YOUR HOME AND YOU DECIDE TO POISON THEM, DO IT WITHOUT POISONING YOUR FAMILY!

13. Hydramethylnon and many other commercial chemicals used to kill cockroaches and other insects are toxic, potentially carcinogenic, persistent in your home environment and JUST SIMPLY MAKE ME NERVOUS TO HAVE AROUND!! THEY ARE VERY TOXIC. These chemicals have so many potential size effects that I believe their risks outweigh their benefits.

14. I believe that Borax is the best solution for controlling insects inside my home when it is a problem. Borax is a POISON!!! USE IT CAREFULLY; KEEP IT AWAY FROM KIDS AND PETS. If you have crawling babies, do not use bromide or borax along baseboards, dust inside the walls.

15. Borax, although a poison, is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. Borax, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, is not acutely toxic. This does not mean that it is safe!! It means that a significant dose is needed to cause severe symptoms or death. Simple exposure can cause respiratory and skin irritation. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal distress including nausea, persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Effects on the vascular system and brain include headaches and lethargy, but are less frequent. "In severe poisonings, a beefy red skin rash affecting palms, soles, buttocks and scrotum has been described. With severe poisoning, erythematous and exfoliative rash, unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and renal failure."

16. A reassessment of boric acid/borax by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs found potential developmental toxicity (especially effects on the testes).

MY COMMON SENSE PRECAUTIONS TO HANDLE BORAX INCLUDE WEARING GLOVES, GOGGLES AND AN N95 DUST MASK ON. DO NOT BREATHE IT IN! DO NOT EAT IT! Wash hands after handling.

17.. Borax does not evaporate like many commercial insecticides and pesticides which makes it a better choice to kill cockroaches, ants and fleas than other more volatile materials which will expose all of the members of your household to their chemical vapors.

18. I take a small disposable plastic food container (like Tupperware) and I drill some one quarter inch diameter holes in it. I put about 20g of a mixture of 5g borax, 10g Flour and 5 g cocoa into the Tupperware and I hot glue it closed in case the kids or animals do get at it. I put this "cockroach bait" into cupboards and drawers where there is evidence of cockroaches after I attach child proof locks. This provides an extra precaution I think makes sense.

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