12 Household Products That Help Get Rid Of Roaches

Nobody wants cockroaches in their home, but these gross insects are one of the toughest pests to get rid of. You can hire a professional exterminator and try an array of chemicals or traps to kill these pests, but these methods can be toxic and don’t always work. There are, however, several products you may already own that can help get rid of your roach problem.

Some household products that can help you kill or deter roaches include dish soap, rubbing alcohol, WD-40, fabric softener, petroleum jelly, and baking soda. Some herbs, including lavender and bay leaves, have strong smells that can effectively keep roaches away. You can also use lemon juice, garlic, and diatomaceous earth as natural ways to rid your home of these pests.

If you’ve had a roach problem before, you know how difficult it can be to get rid of them once they’ve found a way into your home. Whether you are sick of spending a fortune on roach sprays and traps or prefer a more holistic approach to roach mitigation, this article is for you. Below is a list of many common household products that can help you get rid of roaches in your home.

12 Household Products That Can Help Get Rid Of Roaches

1. Dish Soap 

If there’s one kitchen cleaning product almost everyone keeps in stock, it’s dish soap. Dish soap not only cleans and disinfects your dishes, but it can also help get rid of roaches in your home. Roaches and soap make for a surprisingly deadly combination. 

To use dish soap as a roach deterrent, combine it with water. Spray roaches as you see them, and spray any potential nesting area. This soapy water blocks the pores that cockroaches use to breathe, suffocating them from the outside quite quickly. 

Not only is dish soap readily available and cheap, but it’s also usually non-toxic. This makes it a great roach-killing spray for those who have pets and small children.

2. Baking Soda

Baking soda has seemingly endless uses around the home, from getting rid of funky smells to helping whiten your teeth. It can even be used as the main ingredient in a natural roach poison. This is because baking soda makes roaches very gassy. 

This isn’t a normal amount of gas that humans experience, but a deadly buildup of gas that will eventually kill the bugs. The key is to entice the roaches to eat the baking soda. To do so, mix baking soda with some granulated sugar. 

This will attract the bugs to the baking soda poison and trick them into consuming lethal amounts.

3. Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is a product many gardeners keep in stock, as it can add many benefits to your soil. It can also help get rid of ants, and it can even kill cockroaches. Diatomaceous earth doesn’t hurt when humans touch it, but its tiny, sharp edges can slice holes into the exoskeletons of many bugs, including cockroaches. 

Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in any part of your home where you have recently seen roaches, especially in cabinets and underneath sinks. It will kill just about any roach that comes in contact with it, and will inspire these bugs to relocate.

4. WD-40

WD-40 is a handy lubricating product that most people have in a toolbox somewhere in the house. It’s great at removing rust, loosening up nuts and screws, and you can even use it to fix squeaky floorboards.

This penetrating oil can also be an effective tool for fighting off roaches. If you spray a roach with WD-40, it can kill it almost instantly. The slippery quality can also make it impossible for roaches to crawl away, which will also kill them if they walk into a small pool of it.

5. Essential Oils

If you want to take a nice-smelling and natural approach to getting rid of cockroaches, try essential oils. Unlike potent and toxic roach sprays, essential oils smell great and are therapeutic for humans, but they can help keep roaches away.

Tea tree, peppermint, and eucalyptus oils are all very good at deterring roaches. The strong smells and drying qualities make these oils helpful at getting rid of a small roach issue. Keep in mind, however, essential oils are no match for a larger infestation.

6. Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol should be kept in just about every first aid kit, as it’s great at disinfecting wounds. This harsh alcohol is also effective at stopping cockroaches dead in their tracks. Rubbing alcohol will dry out and kill these bugs as long as you spray them down with this substance.

Add rubbing alcohol to a spray bottle and spray any area you know has roaches. This will work to kill the bugs, and it will also help you clean and disinfect the area where you spray. Use a rag to wipe away the excess.

7. Bay Leaves

Bay leaves are found in all sorts of sauces and broths, most notably pasta sauce, and are a great herb to grow fresh in your garden. They are strong in flair and rich in aroma. These potent little leaves can also be effective at keeping roaches out of your kitchen.

Roaches hate the strong smell and oils released from bay leaves, so crushing them up and putting them in sachets, or in a small open container in a cabinet, can help keep these bugs away.

This works great in cabinets with open food like potatoes, as you don’t want to spray toxic chemicals near your food.

8. Lemon Juice

If you have a citrus tree in your yard, specifically a lemon tree, consider squeezing a few fresh lemons to fight your cockroach problem. Not only is the high acid content in lemons effective as a cleaning and disinfecting agent, but lemon juice can also repel roaches.

Lemons contain limonene, which is a component that is known to repel roaches. So, consider adding lemon juice to your cleaning routine to help keep your kitchen roach-free and smelling great.

9. Petroleum Jelly

Petroleum jelly is a lubricant that can be a lifesaver for those with severely chapped lips and burns. It is cheap and found in most medicine cabinets. While most of its uses are to treat skin issues, petroleum jelly can also be used to get rid of roaches in your home.

Place petroleum jelly at the bottom of a jar, and add a bit of sugar for bait. The jelly will trap the roaches and make it impossible for them to reach the top of the jar, and they will eventually die.

10. Fabric Softener

Fabric softener in a spray bottle is used to get wrinkles out of clothing. This same spray bottle can be used to kill cockroaches. Just like soap, fabric softener will block the pores that these insects use to breathe, and in turn, they will suffocate.

This is a less toxic and a far better-smelling spray than many roach-killing options you find in stores.

11. Lavender

Another herb from your garden you can use to help keep roaches out of your kitchen cabinets naturally is lavender. This herb can be used as a mosquito repellent, and also helps keep roaches away. 

Lavender has a strong scent, which many insects hate, and it also confuses them around food. Furthermore, lavender has some natural insect repellent chemicals in it, including compounds like linalool.

12. Fabuloso

Fabuloso is a cleaning product that comes in bright colors, has a fun name, and a distinct smell. If you use this common cleaner to mop your floors and do general cleaning, consider using it to help keep roaches out of your home. 

Fabuloso not only has a strong smell that roaches hate, but it also has other roach-repelling ingredients like lactic acid and citric acid. This makes it an ideal cleaning product to use when you have spotted roaches in your house.

Summing Up Household Products That Help Get Rid Of Roaches

If you have roaches in your home but are sick of buying expensive traps and horrible-smelling and toxic sprays, then use items you already have. Spraying rubbing alcohol, fabric softener, a mixture of dish soap and water, and even WD-40 can all kill roaches on the spot. You can make traps using baking soda or petroleum jelly. Essential oils, lavender, bay leaves, and lemon juice are all natural products with smells and compounds that can help repel roaches.

Related Guides:

• Should My Landlord Pay For Pest Control?
• How To Prevent Termites In Your Home
• Does Citronella Actually Help Keep Bugs Away?