I despise roaches. I despise them so much that I won’t even post a picture here, I don’t even like looking at the pictures. I want to share what I learned in my quest for a DIY answer to getting rid of roaches in my yard and house. This approach will also keep ants and beetles away, and wasps to some extent.
Here’s the summary of this pest control “seminar”:
- You need a good sprayer
- We are going to get supplies from a website called DoMyOwn.com
- I will share a few key products to buy and how to use them
Get a Better or Best Garden Sprayer
You’ve seen these white plastic garden sprayers. You can get them a Home Depot, ACE, Lowes, etc. I have opted for a higher quality sprayer, a stainless Longray, pictured below. These are sold at Amazon for about $115. A Longray is going to last longer and also have a valve that lets you pressurize the sprayer without pumping–if you have an air compressor.
Next, Let’s Get Some Professional Pest Control Supplies
For supplies, we head to Domyown.com. This site’s reason for living is to sell pest control to homeowners.
At Domyown.com, you can get the same pest control supplies used by any pest control company–at least in Texas. This is little-known. Really all pest control companies do that you cannot do is to know where to get pesticides.
Product: Temprid FX, for Perimeter Spraying to Keep Bugs Outside of Your Home
Temprid FX is made by Bayer. It is a liquid suspension pesticide that you mix with water and spray. It kills both on contact (knock down, as it is called in the industry) and has residual effect. What I do with this (you want to read the directions carefully), is mix up 2 gallons of solution, which will only use a few ounces of Temprid. Once the solution is made, I use it as a perimeter spray around my house. I will hit ant hills and wood piles and leave piles. I spray around doorways and windows and anywhere I have seen roaches. So roaches are my main pest, but Temprid kills 50 bugs. I use it 4 times a year if I am on top of things. In the spring in Austin, roaches start moving around and this is a very good time to put out the Temprid solution.
How Temprid works from my understanding is that the solution (it looks like heavy cream that you mix with water) is actually crystals. So when it dries, bugs walk through these microscopic crystals which attach to them. When they clean they creepy bug legs or whatever, they ingest the Temprid and die.
Keep in mind, that Temprid will also kill beetles and bees/wasps. So I try not to over do it.
I wear long pants and a covid mask when I spray and also latex gloves.
Product: Intice Bug Bait
This is powerful stuff–but works differently from a perimeter spray. Basically, InTice is a bait you broadcast around your home and in garage and bugs eat it because it is sweet, but it has poison in it. InTice is made principally of corn by-products, at least the bait is. Wasps are an unfortunate victim if you aren’t trying to kill wasps, but roaches can’t resist this stuff. Basically I just shake it around in gardens and wood piles. You can hit ant mounds with it. Eventually, though, the rain will wash InTice away. So I think of InTice as a second layer of defense against roaches & ants. Layering is a great technique for enjoying a pest-free home.
Yet Another Product: Bug Bait Stations/Arenas
Now we move inside the home. Domyown.com sells these bait arenas by Advion. Basically: it’s a plastic enclosure with a sweet but poisoned bait inside. These are sold in bags of 50. I used to buy empty stations and then buy pesticide bait and fill them myself, but these stations you just take out of the bag and lay them around. I even throw them around my attic into corners I cannot crawl to.
I like to put these stations under sinks, near doorways, in kitchen cabinets low to the ground. I also use them outside on porches where rain can’t get them wet or wash them away. Near wood piles is always a good idea for roaches.
How to know if this is all working?
You should see a lot of dead bugs around outside if your plan is working. Oh, and by the way, make sure you keep pets away from the bait stations.