Seeing cockroaches in your kitchen cabinets is usually a wake-up call that means you are not cleaning the kitchen well.
But how can you get rid of these awful, creeping, crawling, and even flying pests?
Do you buy a chemical pesticide and call it a day?
Or hire expensive pest control companies to do your job for you?
Thankfully, there are a lot of natural and store-bought cockroach repellents that can quickly evict these menaces of the kitchen.
The quickest method is by using traps. If I were dealing with an infestation, your kitchen is one of the places where I would lay cockroach traps.
In this article, you will see how to naturally get rid of cockroaches in kitchen cabinets.
Let’s get down to it:
Why Are Cockroaches in Your Kitchen?
First, you need to understand what attracts these cockroaches before getting rid of them. These insects are known to multiply incredibly fast, and it won’t be any good to get rid of some if they keep coming back anyway.
A cockroach’s ideal habitat is a filthy, humid one. There is a good chance that cockroaches in your house are drawn to leftover food or drink.
The most common reasons your kitchen can be infested are:
1. Leftover Food
If you keep leftovers and crumbs open on the kitchen counter or do not sweep the floors after you spill some, you are the best friend of cockroaches.
In almost all cases, these pests will come to your house looking for food crumbs.
And for that reason, you should always wipe your floors, clean the counter, and put leftovers inside the fridge or throw them away.
2. Dirty Sink
We all have the bad habit of leaving dirty dishes in the sink cause they need to “soak.” Sure we won’t give you a hard time if you have long days from time to time, but do not let this become a routine.
Cockroaches are often attracted to a sink full of filthy dishes. The sooner you wash your dishes after a meal, the better. Always ensure you don’t leave them in the sink all night long.
3. Old Garbage
The third and final most common reason is weeks-old garbage. Cockroaches thrive in the garbage, and if you let your waste can overflow, be ready to meet one of these little “friends” sooner or later.
Use trash cans with lids, clean them out daily, and wash the bins at least once a week to keep things clean.
How To Get Rid of Cockroaches In Kitchen Cabinets Naturally – 6 Ways
So, by now, you already should have isolated the reason for the infestation and remedied it. But what do you do with the cockroaches that are already there?
Here are a few of the everyday household items or items readily available on any super shop shelves that can help you kill a cockroach nest:
1. Sodium Tetraborate or Borax
You probably already have some borax lying around your kitchen somewhere. This widely used house cleaning product eliminates mold and mildew and cleans your cabinets.
Surprisingly, borax works wonders in eliminating dangerous pests, especially cockroaches. The steps here are straightforward, and you must clear out all the cabinets and crevices in your kitchen with borax.
**Before using borax, click here to read how to use it safely**
2. Sugar and Baking Soda Mixture
Equal parts sugar and baking soda can help you kill cockroaches. There are two parts to this: sugar works as food that attracts the roaches, while soda eliminates them.
Find out where the nests are, and just put some of this mixture inside.
You can also put some in the corners of your room, counters, and cabinets to be extra cautious.
3. Bay Leaves
This fantastic Mediterranean spice is known for its beautiful aroma, and it is precisely this aroma that will help you clear your house.
Bay leaves are not strong enough to kill the roaches, but they will certainly drive them away.
You can either crush some leaves and put them around your kitchen. Or boil a few in water and use a spray bottle to use the liquid as a natural repellent.
4. Fabric Softener and Water
It is another mix of two everyday household items; it becomes a potent pest killer when mixed.
The biggest caveat here is that you can only kill a roach in this method when you spray the liquid directly on them.
So, it might not be the best method if you are a victim of infestation on a larger scale.
5. Cimexa Powder
Moving on to products that you need to pick up from a store shelf, Cimexa dust (with Silicon Dioxide as the active ingredient) works wonders. It is a physical solution, not a chemical one, and will not harm you or any of your family members unless you breathe in significant amounts of it.
It should be spread liberally around your house, particularly around the kitchen sink and cupboards.
To prevent roaches from avoiding it, ensure it’s uniformly applied to all your cracks and crevices.
6. Salt Water and Peppermint Oil
Many essential oils are known for their pest-killing characteristics, but the peppermint oil is the one that tops that chart.
Mixed with saltwater, peppermint oil will create a fantastic cockroach repellent spray.
As a bonus, it will keep your kitchen smelling amazing.
Other Methods to Stop Cockroach Infestation
Like anything else, prevention is always better than after-the-fact steps. Here are a few of the most helpful tips to keep your kitchen cockroach free:
- Leakage in your plumbing system creates damp spots and excess moisture. Fix those leaks.
- Always use an airtight container to store dry and wet food, regardless of their storage place.
- Small cracks and crevices are where roaches live, seal them up.
- Inspect your kitchen regularly to look for any small cockroaches.
- Every once in a while, call pest control.
Conclusion
It’s vital to remember that eradicating a roach infestation with a single kill isn’t always the ideal strategy.
Once the roaches have been exterminated by following our guide on how to get rid of cockroaches in kitchen cabinets naturally, employ a systematic approach to prevent them from returning.
The best thing you can do is find any cockroach entry points into your kitchen and seal them straight away. That will stop them from coming in. Cockroach control 101!
Good luck.
