They particularly like starches, sweets, greasy foods, and meats, but roaches are not picky eaters. They'll feast on almost anything that is derived from something that was once a living organism, such as plants and animals.
While cockroaches aren't picky, there are some things they will try to avoid. For example, certain ingredients like cayenne pepper and lemon juice have been shown to repel roaches. They also avoid bay leaves, coffee grounds, and cucumber slices. Cockroaches also do not consume non-organic items like metal or plastic.
Cockroaches eat anything. Research shows that the only food a cockroach won't eat is cucumbers, simply because of the presence of the chemical trans-2- nonenal, found in cucumbers.
Cockroaches are blessed with an amazing sense of smell. This is what they use when seeking food and mate but at the same time, this is also their weakness. A cockroach's sense of smell can be used to get rid of them.
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Insects and Arachnids
Strangely enough, one of the most prevalent kind of predator that cockroaches face are fellow insects! The emerald cockroach wasp, Ampulex compressa, for example, has an unusual way of preying upon cockroaches. The wasp stings the cockroach's brain, which paralyzes the cockroach.
What smells are cockroaches afraid of? Cockroaches are repelled by the smells of peppermint, eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, and cedarwood oils. These scents can be used as natural deterrents to keep them away from your home.
A cockroach can feel the change in air current and change in the surroundings, and when they encounter us, they look in their surroundings, looks for a place from where they can escape, and then chase you, scare you, and make a run toward the escape. They use this strategy against many other predators.
Leaving the light on doesn't deter cockroaches effectively because they can navigate in low-light conditions. While they're mostly active at night, they may still come out in search of food or water. During the day, cockroaches hide in dark areas not directly exposed to light.
While cockroaches are fond of many foods, they have a strong dislike for the powerful scents of citrus, especially lemon. Leaving a cut lemon around the kitchen or in a fruit bowl can help to deter these pests.
Starving cockroaches
The truth is that cockroaches can survive weeks or over a month without food depending on the species, so reducing food access is not going to eliminate them any time soon.
BUSTED: Cucumber
Unfortunately, roaches don't hate the smell of cucumbers enough to be deterred by them. In fact, cockroaches might even be enticed by the potential meal and you could end up attracting these pests rather than repelling them. Consider this cockroach killer myth–busted.
Cockroaches are omnivorous scavengers and will consume any organic food source available to them. Although they prefer sweets, meats and starches, they are also known to consume other items such as hair, books and decaying matter.
Boric acid is a stomach poison that is picked up by cockroaches walking across dusted areas. The boric acid adheres to the cockroach cuticle so when the cockroach grooms itself it ingests the boric acid and soon dies.
Cayenne, Garlic, and Onion Powder. Try heading over to your spice rack to concoct the perfect mixture to ward off the roaches! Walk around your home and sprinkle all cockroach-prone areas with this spice mixture. Cockroaches can't stand the smell of these spices and will avoid all areas sprinkled with them.
Ways To Repel Cockroaches From Your Home
Due to their strong sense of smell, cockroaches dislike several pungent herbs and spices, including cinnamon, citrus, thyme basil, citronella, basil, mint, garlic, coffee grounds, peppermint, and bay leaves.
Seeing a cockroach crawl across a bed isn't unusual if the insects are already making a home in your bedroom or a nearby bathroom.
Myth #3: They can see me coming…
The eye of the cockroach is like a compound lens, made of over 2,000 mini lenses that are photoreceptors and allow them to see in complete darkness. If for some reason they don't see you, they might feel you first. Roaches have tiny hairs on their legs that sense and detect movement.
Citronella Oil
Its strong scent is known to deter roaches and other insects like mosquitoes and gnats. Homeowners can either directly apply the oil to areas frequented by roaches for the most effective application or dilute it with water to create a DIY repellent spray.
Commercial kitchen fans
Flies, cockroaches and other pests are attracted to the warmth and food smells of kitchens. In these environments, ceiling fans and air curtains can help keep insects away. Ceiling fans circulate air throughout the kitchen, making it difficult for insects to land and feed.
[ Pure Bops Playlist ] • Pure Bops Get rid of cockroaches using 30kHz ultrasonic waves that insects hate. If you play the sound continuously in the place where you see the roaches, they will disappear and never come back. Use an old cell phone to play it all the time. Using a good speakers makes you get a better result ...
For homemade cockroach control, you can make a simple bait using boric acid, sugar, and water. Mix equal parts of boric acid and sugar, then add a bit of water to form a paste. Place this mixture in small containers or on pieces of cardboard and put them in areas where you have seen roaches.
Pine Sol can kill roaches on contact, though it's not a practical solution for a wide-scale infestation.