Can You Get Rid Of Cockroaches With Bleach? – DIY Pest Control

Why Bleach Is Not The Most Effective Way To Kill Roaches

We get asked all the time, “can you get rid of cockroaches with bleach?”. It’s possible but first… I think we can both agree roaches are filthy bugs. They can contaminate food and walk all over the kitchen spreading diseases that can make us sick. Roaches scurrying around the house at night and run away as soon as the lights get turned on.

When you see roaches it’s only natural that you want to get rid of them. I’m always on the lookout for new and better ways to kill roaches. The other day I was watching an interesting video. In the video, the homeowner said the best way to kill roaches was to use bleach.

Bleach?

I by no means would have imagined I could use bleach to kill roaches in my home. But the video did spark my imagination and it got me to thinking.

You may also be wondering can you get rid of roaches with bleach too? Bleach can be used to kill roaches but it’s not easy to do. To get the roaches to die they would either have to drink the bleach or you would have to drown them in the bleach. Yes, these are two ways to kill roaches with bleach however both options are ineffective and not practical unless you only have a few roaches to kill. This is never the case because for every one roach you see out in the open there could be hundreds more hidden away throughout your house.

Instead of using bleach there are many better ways to kill roaches. If you’d like to know more look below to see what we recommend you do to get rid of roaches forever.

Why Do I Have Cockroaches In My House?

Most people mistakenly believe the reason they have roaches is that they keep an untidy home. But this is not always the case. Let me tell you why I think this way.

If you continue to live, eat, and breathe chances are at some point in time you will see a cockroach in your house. You can keep the cleanest house but still have roach problems. So seeing a cockroach does not necessarily mean your house is dirty.

I know plenty of people who keep a very clean house. They clean up regularly and their houses appear to be in immaculate condition. But from time to time they all still see roaches they have to deal with too. Considering the cleanliness of these homes, how is this possible?

Roaches can survive even in the most well taken care of home because they can live off a variety of food and non-food materials.

What Attracts Cockroaches To Your Home?

Before you can deal with your problem you must know how and why cockroaches are getting into your home. What is it about your home that is attracting the roaches in the first place?

Is it because you keep a dirty home? This can be part of the problem but is not always the case. However, I have another theory that is backed by indisputable evidence. This is something you’ll have no choice but to agree with.

Your problem is not a dirty home, the issue is food.

Food just happens to be the biggest enticement that is attracting cockroaches to your house like iron is drawn to a magnet. Roaches do not need an abundant food source to thrive and they will happily feed on bread crumbs and other small pieces of food you drop or spill and don’t clean up immediately. They will even eat your pet’s food if you leave it out overnight.

So now you know for sure, it is indeed food that is attracting those roaches. Roaches can live for a few months without food, but there are other things they need that they cannot live without — water and warm shelter. In addition to food and water, your house is providing the water and warm shelter roaches need to for survival.

If you cut off and eliminate the roach’s capability to get food, water, and warm shelter your undesirable and uninvited visitor will want to leave. You just might get up in the middle of the night, turn on the lights and see that your cockroaches have packed their bags and are leaving for good.

Knowing the reason why you have roaches in your home can go a long way toward helping you understand how to get rid of them.

How Do Roaches Get Into Homes?

Roaches are always an uninvited guest. It would be nice if they walked up to the front door, rang the doorbell and asked if it was okay to move in. At least then the decision would be in our hands. More than likely we would tell them no and to go away. Just a little humor.

So if roaches are not walking through the front door how are they getting inside?

Roaches can gain access to your house in various ways. They can walk right in through your plumbing. They will travel along your plumbing pipes looking for any crack or crevice they can find to enter your home. Sometime you will see roaches climb up right out of sink or tub drain. So sewers and drains are also convenient entry points for roaches.

However, in most cases, cockroaches use simpler means to get inside. Without much effort, they can hitchhike in grocery bags, luggage, cardboard boxes, and furniture. Since this is the case you need to check these items for roaches before bringing them inside the house. All it really takes is one or two roaches to enter this way and in a few months, you can have thousands of roaches running around your home.

What Is The Best Way To Get Rid Of Cockroaches

Roaches are resilient creatures and you’ll have to force them out of your house. Once they get inside your home it can be hard to eradicate them and send them away with their bags packed. There are many treatment options and my most favorite is boric acid powder.

When used correctly boric acid is one of the most effective roach killing products you can buy. This all-natural solution was first introduced in the United States in 1948 and to this date, it still works. Unlike many pesticides and insecticides in use today, roaches still have not developed an immunity to boric acid. So you can expect to get some get results.

The most popular DIY method is to mix boric acid with an equal part of powdered sugar. Cockroaches are drawn to the sugar and will eat this solution like crazy. Sudden death can be expected within a few hours of eating boric acid. They will even carry traces of boric acid back to the nest and more roaches will die.

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What Kills Cockroaches Instantly?

People are always asking me what kills cockroaches instantly. Apparently, some people are obsessed with killing roaches immediately on the first contact. My response is always the same.

If you must kill roaches on contract, get yourself a can of Raid roach spray.

The spray can is easy to use but you can only kill what you see. Yes, you may be able to spray and kill a few roaches but you can not get them all. Raid leaves behind chemical residue other cockroaches smell and stay away from. That said it will be increasingly harder to kill roaches after spray Raid a few times.

If you have roach problem killing the roaches you can visibly see is only the tip of the iceberg. For every roach, you see there are one hundred others hiding out in your house in nests.

Where Do Cockroaches Nest In Your House?

The only way to get rid of cockroaches is to eliminate their nest. Do get to the roaches nest you have to know where to look. Once you find the nest you can attack it with pesticides or natural solutions. Once the nest is destroyed you roach problems will go away.

Roach gather and nest where there is food, water, and in places where they can remain out of sight.  Ideal spots for nests include:

  • In kitchens, bathrooms, and basements
  • In crawl spaces
  • Behind appliances
  • Near drains and plumbing

If you decide to kill roaches yourself you should look in all of these places and find the nest. Treat these areas first and it will be much easier to get rid of cockroaches.

How Does Boric Acid Kill Roaches?

Boric acid is touted by many do it yourself homeowners as the most effective cockroach killer. I have to agree. This chemical was first introduced in 1948 specifically to deal with growing roach populations in households. It is as effective now as it was then when it was first introduced. We can’t say the same for many of the pesticides and insecticides in use today, because roaches have developed an immunity to many of these.

So how exactly does boric acid kill roaches?

Boric acid is best placed in areas where roaches are likely to walk. The powder should be lightly applied, use too much the roaches will avoid the boric acid. The boric acid powder will get all over the cockroaches when they crawl through. The powder will stick to the roach’s body parts — head, legs, and antennae and exoskeleton.

The boric acid powder is ingested when the roach cleans itself. Once inside the roaches digestive system the boric acid causes death.

Related Questions

Does cleaning with bleach keep roaches away? Cockroaches cannot stand the smell of bleach. They will stay away from an area that smells like bleach. However, using bleach alone will not solve your roach problem because the smell of bleach easily dissipates after a while. When the smell is gone the roaches will return to business as usual.

What cleaning products kill cockroaches? Baking soda is a cleaning powder that you can combine with sugar to kill cockroaches. Mix together equal parts baking soda and sugar. The sugar attracts and the baking soda affects the stomach acid of roaches causing them to die. Place this anywhere you have seen roaches.

Does vinegar kill roaches? No vinegar does not kill or repel roaches. However, vinegar is an effective cleaning and sanitizing agent for your kitchen cabinets, sinks, and appliances.

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Lynn Edwards

I founded DIY Pest Control Guide with the intention of sharing practical, user-friendly pest control strategies. If you need assistance, reach out to me at lynn@diypestcontrolguide.com - I'm here to help you reclaim your peace of mind.


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