Cockroaches are perhaps the most detested household pest. Regardles how clean your home is, know that cockroaches are always on the lookout for food, water and a place to live. Here’s how to get rid of cockroaches in kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets double as a food source and a place for hiding eggs. On top of that, apart from pulling out pantry items for cooking, kitchen cabinets are relatively undisturbed. This makes it a prime spot for cockroaches.
You know the saying, for every 1 cockroach you see, you don’t see 10. For those who have a roach problem in their kitchen cabinets, here’s how to get rid of them.
Clear Your Cabinets
The moment you see a cockroach in your kitchen cabinet or within the vicinity of one, assume that there are ten more hiding inside. The first thing to do is to make visible all the nooks and crannies they could be hiding in. That could be behind that old bag of flour you’ve forgotten about or in a crevice at the back of the cabinet.
Take out every single item from your kitchen cabinets. Inspect item packaging for any cockroach activity. This could be chewed up labels and holes in plastic. Inspect for leaks on caps of your bottled or jarred products. For example, a honey jar lid could have some excess honey oozing out of it. The perfect attraction for a hungry cockroach.
Throw out any items that are expired and have holes in them. This especially goes for products in thin plastic packaging. Assume that they have been contaminated if there are holes in them.
Once your cabinets are clear, you should be able to determine where cockroaches are hiding more easily. Look for eggs and roach poop. These are little black grains that look like coffee grounds. Where there’s plenty of cockroach feces, that’s usually where they’re most concentrated.
Look around for crevices in the cabinets where they could be hiding behind. This is important to note as you go about cleaning your kitchen cabinets.
Clean Your Cabinets and Cabinet Items
The next step is to clean your cabinets. Vacuum up roach poop, dust, crumbs, and any build up of dirt and grime. Next, give the cabinets a thorough wipe down with a damp microfiber cloth and dish soap.
When your cabinets are clean, clean the items that you’ll be placing back in your kitchen cabinet. Give them a thorough wipe down with a microfiber cloth and your choice of cleaner as well. Make sure to wipe off excess product from caps and lids to help attract less roaches.
Allow your cabinets to dry thoroughly. If your cabinet still smells even after you’ve cleaned them, assume you have a large infestation. Cockroaches evoke a musty smell. In that case, book an exterminator asap.
Eliminate The Cockroaches
Now comes the time to eliminate the cockroaches. You’ll likely have run into one or several at this point. In that case, deal with them how you see fit. Cockroach spray is highly effective. Just make sure you wear a mask and gloves as you handle the spray and dispose of dead roaches.
After eliminating all the visible cockroaches you came across while clearing out your cabinet, it’s time to lay out diatomaceous earth and gel bait.
Diatomaceous earth is a natural powder derived from sedimentary rock. It’s non-toxic which makes it ideal for your kitchen cabinets. Sprinkle the diatomaceous earth into cracks and crevices. Once cockroaches come into contact with it, the powder will dry out their exoskeletons and kill them.
Next, apply cockroach gel bait. Gel bait is a fantastic method to eliminate cockroaches and are safer to deal with than sprays. Concentrate the gel along roach hot spots. This can be over cracks and areas where you spotted plenty of poop. As cockroaches come into contact with the gel bait, they’ll spread it to other cockroaches and steadily poison most or all of them.
Using a two fold method of diatomaceous earth and gel bait should eliminate cockroaches. At the very least, it will greatly reduce their numbers.
Call An Exterminator
The most effective way to eliminate your kitchen cabinets from cockroaches is to hire an exterminator. This is especially beneficial for the kitchen as a whole. Professionals can identify other spots where cockroaches may be hiding. Their methods are also more effective and long-lasting than home remedies.
You can expect to shell out an average of $175 per extermination session. This saves you from dealing with the roaches yourself, which is understandably appealing for many.
If you’re on the fence of spending on an exterminator, we highly recommend booking one if you have a big infestation. Whether you spot them or not, you’ll know you have a lot of roaches in your kitchen cabinet if you spot any or all of the following:
- Egg pods
- Plenty of fecal matter and smears
- Rotting wood. This especially goes for any leaky sink cabinets. Cockroaches will chew on rotting wood.
Safeguarding
The most ideal way to get rid of cockroaches in kitchen cabinets is to create an environment that doesn’t encourage them to infest it at all. Keep food in airtight containers and avoid liquid products oozing out from their packaging.
Identify areas where there are leaks as well. Address the leaks immediately. The kitchen sink cabinet is one place where cockroaches like to hide as there is a water source. The main goal is here is to create an environment that is inhospitable to cockroaches so you don’t have an infestation to begin with
Another way to safeguard your kitchen cabinets is to add caulk to crevices. This seals up any entry and exit points where cockroaches scurry off and hide in. The less hiding spaces, the better.
Ofcourse, safeguarding your kitchen cabinets from cockroaches isn’t always going to be 100% effective, it’s still worth doing. Even if you can’t keep all cockroaches away, you can definitely lessen how many there are. The less cockroaches, the better!
The thought of a cockroach infestation is enough to make any home-owner’s skin crawl. Keep in mind though that no matter how clean you keep your home, cockroaches don’t discriminate from clean and dirty homes alike. Other than food, they are also attracted to dark and damp spaces. As long as you have food, water, and small spaces, a cockroach infestation can happen in any home.
