Getting rid of them involves cutting of their food sources, getting rid of places where they can nest, and blocking their ability to move in and out of your walls.

Based on your comment on their small size, they may be oriental roaches or recently hatched (or both.) That means they can squeeze through incredibly small cracks. So, the first thing you have to do is fill every single gap and crack in your kitchen.

Most kitchens have huge gaps around the plumbing pipes under the sink. Check yours. There might be a metal ring around the pipes to visually cover the holes – pull them back and see of there are cracks and gaps around the pipes. Get some expanding foam insulation from the store and fill the cracks and gaps around the pipes.

Next, get some clear silicon caulk and fill every single crack along the baseboards in the kitchen. Then, get some insulating pads to go behind the switch plates and wall outlet covers (these are designed to keep out drafts, but they work for roaches too.

Finally, get some glue traps and place them along the walls on the floors and along the cabinets too. These will trap the roaches as they move around and help you to find out where they are coming from.

I’m sorry to hear about your problem, but I know you can stop those nasty critters. Good luck,

Andrew

Put plenty of the glue traps along the edges of the walls (roaches mostly travel along the walls.) This will catch them and also help you find out where they are coming from. Then you can focus on finding the cracks and gaps.

Sounds like you put down a LOT of DE. I just use it under cabinets/stoves/refrigerators and other out-of-the-way places where the roaches might walk through. Since you are seeing a change in the pattern of where the roaches are moving, you are disrupting their ability to survive in your home – that’s good news.

Spend more time filling cracks and holes. Tiny cracks are enough for them to get through, so caulk everything. Focus first on filling the gaps around water and drain pipes under your sinks and then fill gaps along the baseboards. This can be tough to do if you have carpet, so start with rooms that have tile or wood floors. Then, go to the hardware store and ask for switch plate and wall outlet insulation pads. These go under the covers of your wall outlets and switches to seal up cracks.

Before you fill in any large gaps or cracks, you can dust a little DE into the wall cavity. This will help to kill the roaches in the wall before the find a way inside.

Good luck,

Andrew

I just bought this product today and used it, Diatomaceous Earth, I layered my entire kitchen floor and under my refrigerator. But before I did that, I cault the open holes ( I thought), I was surprised to see one stumbling out. I cant figure out where they are coming from. I also layered my entire bathroom. Was that too much? I did my kitchen floor the same way…I layered the entire floor? Now I see them running out intomy livingroom. I will take your advice and go by some of those sticky padds to catch them. Do you know how long it will take for the Diatomaceous to start working? I really want toget rid of them permanently. I just moved here four weeks ago (condo apt) and never had any roach issues but my new neighbors are college boys and DJ’s and are filthy. Please answer my questions or tell me if I did anythiing wrong. Thanks

The pool filter DE is NOT the same. It has been processed in a way that alters it significantly. Only use food grade DE or DE that is labeled for pest control purposes.

Andrew

Great tip. Thanks.

Andrew

You are correct, thanks for sharing this information. I actually didn’t come across the availability of pool grade DE until long after I wrote this (not too many people have pools to maintain in Manhattan – at least not in the circles I traveled in, anyway.)

Andrew

You are correct. I use food grade DE or grades specifically labeled for pest control use.

Thanks for adding this clarification.

Andrew

There are a few things that I have not seen on your terrific blog: heat and cold, and some other tricks also. You do not need to throw out small affected appliances… put them in a completely sealed plastic bag and place them in the freezer. It is my understanding that about 5 days will do it. Based upon my microbiological experience, my guess is that temperature cycling, while kept sealed in the bag (most of the day in, a few hours out, continued for a few days, or even two hours in two hours out, cycled a number of times over a period of days) may even be more effective. The freeze-thaw cycle is more effective at rupturing cell walls than is freezing alone. On the other side of the temperature coin, I know heat is effective with bed bugs. At some high temperature (exactly what temp I do not know) it must also kill off the roaches. Sealing in an oven bag with a hair dryer as a source of heat, or sealing in a black plastic bag and placing in direct sunlight for a few days should be effective (it is with bed bugs). For pet food, I place my cat’s food in the freezer every night. I place her water in tall a tall glass vase, not a shallow bowl, on the counter top. The critters cannot get a grip on the glass, and thus cannot get a drink. For a reverse of this, place stale beer in a very clean tall glass container (a jar) with a couple of strips of masking tape up the outside (not the inside). Roaches check-in via the tape but cannot crawl out via the smooth inner surface and thus drown. Some people have placed a thin layer of Vaseline on the inside to make escape even harder. I place 20-Mule Team Borax in the evaporator tray under my refrigerator (about ¼ to ½ cup), spread around evenly. It is sodium borate and is very inhospitable to cockroaches. As an alternative to bleach, for each sink drain in the house, mix about ¼ cup of 20-Mule Team Borax in a cup of hot water, mix it for about a minute (it will not all dissolve) and pour it down each and every drain in the house every night. Pour more in your toilet and mix. I also surround the toilet with a boric acid barrier of dust to prevent access to the toilet water. Also note that, even though you should treat it with respect, as for all chemicals, and minimize exposure, borates (boric acid, sodium borate, etc.) have a toxicity approximating table salt. Best of luck… Dr. Lou