Bleach has a strong smell that roaches find offensive. As a disinfectant, it can be used to remove bacteria left behind from an infestation. If roaches come into contact with bleach, the chemical reaction may kill them with time.
While bleach is ineffective when it comes to killing cockroaches, it does repel them. But, bleach should only be used with extreme caution, as it is toxic when ingested, and has the potential to bleach or damage anything it touches. When it comes to deterring roaches with smells, bleach may not be the best option.
Cockroaches have an incredible sense of smell that they use to find food. You can take advantage of this fact by using scents they dislike such as thyme, citrus, basil, mint, and citronella to repel them from your home.
Cockroaches are attracted to your home by the smell of food. They are most attracted to starch, sugar, grease, meat, and cheese. Rotting fruits and vegetables can also give off a very pungent smell that will definitely attract these pests.
This citric fruit might do wonders for your health, but it certainly isn't a friend of the cockroach clan. The smell of lemons repels cockroaches to a great extent, keeping them away from areas that reek of the fruit. Hence, it is advisable to mop floors with water that has a few lemon drops in it.
The most common places for a roach nest in the house are in kitchens or bathrooms, particularly behind refrigerators, in cracks and crevices, and under furniture. Roaches prefer a warm, humid environment, so these places should be considered first, especially if they are close to a food source and water supply.
Pine-Sol and Fabuloso are strong, all-purpose household cleaners. Similar to bleach, these products kill roaches on contact. Some homeowners suggest spraying Pine-Sol around the outside of your house to keep cockroaches away.
Boric acid
Boric acid is a powerful natural home remedy for getting rid of roaches overnight. Mix equal amounts of boric acid, flour, and sugar until it becomes a dough-like consistency. Place small pieces where the roaches can feed on them.
Household bleach is commonly used as a cleaning agent and gives off a strong smell that cockroaches hate. Filth and cleanliness don't mix at all, which makes the physical act of killing cockroaches with bleach very hard.
Vinegar has a strong scent that roaches are not fond of.
However, it's not the best cockroach deterrent. If used alone, roaches may ignore the smell of vinegar. If you mix vinegar with essential oils, you can boost the strength of your repellent spray.
The myth that killing a cockroach will spread its eggs isn't true, but killing a cockroach with force can attract more. But that can be used to your advantage if it brings bugs out of hiding to be eliminated.
Fogging systems are great at killing roaches on contact, but foggers can actually push the majority of them further into their safer hiding places. Fogging or bombing roaches creates a long-term problem for you and your loved ones that will not go away.
Add some food like a small piece of meat or some sweet stuff like chocolate on the roach bait in the bowl. Keep the bowl near one of the hiding places of roaches. To cover all the hiding places, you'll need multiple bowls with sticky roach trap and food. The smell of the food will draw the roaches out.
Lavender. Cockroaches hate the smell of lavender, and that is good news for you. If you love to grow lavender in your yard and garden, you are more than halfway to a roach-free home.
Roaches are repelled by ground coffee. In fact, putting some ground coffee down in the corners or windowsills of your kitchen can actually help keep them insects away.
Seeing roach feces or droppings.
Seeing an unusual number of droppings in a specific area will also help you track where the roach shelters are. Best to cut off any water or food source near this location so prevent further infestation.
Most of the time, when someone “suddenly” sees a cockroach, it's not quite as sudden as it seems. In other words, they've probably been in the home for a while, and you seeing them is more related to luck than anything else. Maybe you moved whatever they've been hiding under for the last several weeks.
Linen closets, bedroom closets, bathroom cabinets, and so on are often places where you will be surprised by a roach or two. The most common spot they are found inside these tight spaces is in the upper inside corners, where you might spot them hanging upside down.
Cockroaches are drawn to warm, dark, and humid places. The warmer and darker, the better. However, they can adapt to cold temperatures if given enough time.
Why Do Flying Cockroaches Fly Toward You? If you think flying cockroaches are flying right toward you, they actually aren't. Most cockroach species aren't good "flyers," and what you take as them flying toward you is actually just them being startled and gliding uncontrollably in a certain direction.
Can Cockroaches Play Dead? Cockroaches can, indeed, play dead. Many have reported seeing cockroaches stay completely still (sometimes even roll onto their backs) until a human presence or threat has gone away. Once they detect the coast is clear, the cockroach will flip back onto its feet and scuttle away to safety.
Cockroach Giving Birth While Dying
The idea that pregnant roaches lay their eggs when killed is a myth. It's been around for decades. It likely developed because of a misunderstanding about how the cockroach's egg sac (or ootheca) operates.
Not only is peppermint oil a natural cockroach repellent—it's also toxic to roaches (and for the record, to bed bugs, too). The same Auburn University study found that mint oil killed both German and American cockroaches when they came into contact with it for an extended period.