Yes, Lysol does kill roaches! It does this by suffocating them. Roaches breathe through openings on their back called spiracles.
Lysol spray is intended to kill bacteria. It is not designed to be an insecticide. However, cockroaches like all insects with a carapace, breath through that carapace. Their bodies are filled with an intricate network of tubes that bring oxygen in from around their whole body and into its deeper organs.
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.
Listerine and Washing up Liquid. Using listerine (or other mouthwash) with a bit of washing up liquid will help repel the roaches away. Mix equal parts listerine and water and add a few drops of washing up liquid. Give it a good shake in the spray bottle and either spray around the house or directly at the cockroaches.
Many of these ingredients are disinfectants and sanitizing agents. While they are effective against bacteria and germs, they are not good at attracting and killing insects like bed bugs. They are toxic when ingested, but bed bugs would never be enticed enough to try and eat it therefore it would be ineffective.
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.
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.
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.
The Natural Predators of Roaches
Toads and frogs. Lizards, such as leopard geckos, bearded dragons, monitor lizards, iguanas and even panther chameleons. Certain large species of beetles. Certain kinds of parasitoid wasps.
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.
Distilled vinegar does not kill or repel roaches, making it completely ineffective. Distilled vinegar will help keep your kitchen clean, giving cockroaches less to snack on. However, roaches can live for months at a time without any food at all, and they will eat almost anything to survive.
Citrus. You may love the smell of fresh citrus, but cockroaches hate the scent. That means you can use citrus scented cleaners in your kitchen and bathroom to chase any lingering roaches away. You can also keep a few citrus peels around your home in strategic places.
Raid Ant & Roach Killer Insecticide Spray was found to be one of the most effective at killing cockroaches. A can is helpful for the times when you spot a roach in your home and you don't want to get too close. A roach spray should kill the bug almost instantly.
Even if you manage to catch up to the roach, the larger species may be able to take squirt after squirt before they start to slow down. To summarize, you might kill a roach or two, but isopropyl alcohol is dangerous and not terribly effective for an 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.
Baby roaches – in kitchens or bathrooms – are usually an indication of a German cockroach infestation. These roaches are commonly found in kitchen and bathroom areas because they offer a warm, humid environment with plenty of moisture and access to food.
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.
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.
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.
Getting into your home
Crawling inside through small holes and cracks in the building. Hitching a ride on bags, backpacks, suitcases and other containers. Finding openings around doors and windows. Moving from one apartment to another through pipes and other holes in shared walls.