The kitchen is the last place you want to see a roach, but it is one of the most roach-friendly locations in a home. There are several reasons that a roach might want to stay near your kitchen. For example, they may appreciate the easy access to food or water. No matter the reasons, no one wants to see a big roach crawl out of the kitchen drain. Do not fret, because there are a few things that can be done to prevent this problem.
Where Do Cockroaches Come From?
More often than not cockroaches come into a home through the drains. There are several factors that could contribute to a roach reaching your home through the drains. For one, there could be an excess of food residue within the drains. Given enough time the accumulation of food will attract insects to the area.
Water is the other reason that a roach might find its way into your drains, but there really is not much you can do about that. Cockroaches do need water from time to time. The best thing you can do is make sure you shut off the water completely and ensure that it does not drip.
What Can You Do To Keep Drains Clean and Roach-Free?
There are a few things that can be done to keep the drains as clean as possible. This can be done naturally by pouring about 1/4 of a cup of baking soda down the drain and following it with 1/2 a cup of vinegar. The chemical reaction between these two ingredients should be enough to clear the drain of any residue.
And you should also know that baking soda’s natural pH balance value will also eliminate odors. This is an important feature because the scents that could linger in the drains are usually what attracts a cockroach to the drain. The reason that this happens is because the pH balance of baking soda neutralizes the acidic pH value of the odoriferous particles in the drain.
Keeping the kitchen drains clean is just the first step in the battle to prevent your kitchen from being invaded by roaches. The next thing that should be done is to use a natural formula that might help deter any roaches that might make it through your drains.
Thankfully, the formula can be made easily by using essential oils that distress a cockroach’s sense of smell. This means that you need to purchase strong natural oils like peppermint or mint oil. These oils can be purchased online or at a local health food store.
You just need to drop about 5 to 9 drops of the oil in 1/2 a gallon of plain water. Shake up the mixture and slowly pour it into the kitchen drain. Make sure you do this after using the baking soda and vinegar mixture. You only have to do this once a month or so unless you have reason to believe that there may be cockroaches in your kitchen drain.
Remember that the formula is only meant to keep roaches from the drains and not exterminate them. If you feel that you have a problem and you want some professional advice, call us at Mr. Pest Control at 502-561-9500.
