Why do many people use table vinegar against cockroaches? What effect does acetic acid have? Is vinegar dangerous for humans? In what form is it used? Recipes for preparing solutions and sprays. Tips and recommendations for use. Preventive actions.
The owners of apartments and houses are trying in every possible way to create ideal, comfortable conditions in their homes. But there are situations when the peace of the family is disturbed by “uninvited guests”, whom you least want to see at home. To get rid of cockroaches and other insects, we use a variety of means and folk methods, wanting to achieve maximum effect.
One of the ways to fight insects is vinegar, a handy and affordable remedy that can be found in every home. Let’s take a closer look at how effective this method is and why vinegar against cockroaches is so popular.
Fighting cockroaches in an apartment
What cockroaches look like
There are a lot of ways to fight cockroaches, and each has its own disadvantages and advantages. It is also important to consider how long ago pests appeared in the house, whether there are pets, and whether it is possible to leave your home for a while.
The most famous ones that will help make domestic cockroaches go away and how to get rid of them forever:
Crayons
The method is quite effective, but has one big drawback - the toxicity of this product /
If there are animals or children in the house, then you need to use the product with extreme caution.
Gels
They are convenient because they can be applied to the most inaccessible places, into which a child or animal is unlikely to be able to climb, they also have an “infection effect”, an insect that comes into contact with the gel will poison everyone else when it returns to the flock.
Sprays
The spray will destroy pests.
Aerosols effectively kill insects that come under their influence.
However, it does not affect well-hidden cockroaches and is dangerous for animals and children.
Sticky traps
They act on the principle of bait, have a delicacy smell, thanks to which insects crawl onto the sticky surface and stick tightly.
Important! The product is ineffective, because it only works on those insects that have climbed into the trap, and does not neutralize insect eggs and their larvae
How effective is it?
It is worth talking about effectiveness only taking into account all the accompanying factors. For example, if you notice a cockroach running around in your kitchen, you need to immediately treat the surfaces, it will definitely come back and more than once, and the smell of acid will signal danger, they will not come back again.
Let's consider another option, when the situation is not very simple and you have a large number of baleen insects. You have to look at things realistically; it is almost impossible to treat absolutely the entire room, which means that it is quite possible that they will sit in a secluded corner and not leave the home. After all, the sour smell will not kill them, but will simply scare them at the moment. Another disadvantage is that the scent fades and will have to be renewed regularly, which is also almost impossible. Therefore, in this case, the use of stronger chemicals will be required.
Vinegar for home pest control
Everyone wants a cockroach repellent that is cheap, effective, and has no toxic effect on pets and small children. Vinegar may well be such a remedy. Many people have already tested whether cockroaches are afraid of vinegar, and the effectiveness of vinegar against domestic cockroaches has already been proven. The principle of its action against cockroaches is quite simple: these insects are very afraid of an acidic environment, this smell causes them significant harm and the likelihood that they will escape is quite high.
You should not expect that immediately after pouring vinegar, cockroaches will immediately fall into piles; it is quite difficult to kill them in this way, but it is possible to eradicate them.
Vinegar
A homemade vinegar-based spray is especially popular in the fight against Prussians. It’s quite simple to prepare, you will need:
- one teaspoon of vinegar;
- a few drops of essential oils;
- approximately 500 ml of water.
Note! All components for the spray are thoroughly mixed and poured into a spray bottle for more convenient and precise use. Treatment must be carried out primarily in places where insects build nests and in those where they feed. These could be ventilation grilles, baseboards, hidden areas of furniture where the Prussians could easily settle down.
The second available method of using vinegar against cockroaches is to place small bowls filled with vinegar in places where cockroaches may accumulate and feed. Thus, the Prussians will not be able to get to their favorite places, they will be left without food, and most likely they will go to get food for themselves in other places. This method is only suitable for those who do not have pets or children at home, who can easily get to the saucers with vinegar.
Using acetic acid against cockroaches has both its pros and cons. Among the advantages are the low cost of such a product, the effectiveness of the effect, provided that the treatment is carried out regularly, as well as the lack of toxicity for people and animals.
The most common disadvantages include the need for daily treatment of the apartment for several weeks, a constant unpleasant smell in the apartment, as well as the fact that cockroaches do not die from vinegar, but simply change their habitat. And often, as soon as the treatment of the apartment is stopped, the insects return to their former habitat, and even in greater numbers than before.
Mode of application
One of the new products among folk remedies for fighting cockroaches is a vinegar-based spray . To prepare such a solution you will need:
- a teaspoon of vinegar;
- 3 drops of essential oil (ideally cedar or eucalyptus);
- half a liter of water (less possible).
All ingredients thoroughly mixed , the solution is poured into a spray bottle . First of all, you need to treat roaches make nests and look for food . Such areas include the back walls of furniture, baseboards, trash cans, and ventilation grilles.
Another method is even simpler, although in theory it may pose some danger to humans and pets. Vinegar should be poured into a flat cup or saucer , and left overnight near the most popular place among cockroaches - the area of the trash can and kitchen sink. Having smelled this, they will not be able to approach the source of food, which means they will have to leave .
At one time, of course, it will have a weak effect, but within a couple of weeks the number of cockroaches will begin to fall rapidly .
What other folk remedies can you use against Prussians in an apartment?
Turpentine
Boric acid is rightfully considered the most effective folk remedy against insects in residential areas. Its method of exposure is quite aggressive for insects; it is best to treat your home with acid while wearing seals and a medical mask on your face.
An equally effective method is to use ammonia. It works on the same principle as boric acid. A significant disadvantage is that ammonia quickly dissipates, so the treatment will have to be done quite often, daily and several times a day.
You can also scare away insects using bay leaves, geranium, and pyrethrum. Prussians are extremely sensitive to pungent odors, and such methods can force insects to leave their homes in search of a new one. The action is quite mild, but if there are not a whole horde of cockroaches in the house yet, then it is possible to get the desired effect.
On a note! Kerosene and turpentine also have extremely unpleasant odors, but you need to be prepared for the fact that you yourself will also have to constantly inhale the unpleasant odor. It is better to move to another home during the treatment; such strong odors can cause at least constant headaches in a person.
Instructions for use
To get rid of cockroaches in an apartment (if there are only a small number of them), it is enough to regularly treat the room with a vinegar solution. They should wipe the floors and places where there is a concentration of insects, baseboards around the entire perimeter of the room, cabinets in the kitchen and their back walls, the area near the trash can, ventilation grilles and even upholstered furniture in living areas.
Important!
Particular attention should be paid to places with high humidity that cockroaches are sure to visit: the kitchen sink and the floor under it, drainage points in the toilet and bathtub. It is recommended to pour undiluted table vinegar directly into sink and bathtub drains, which will encourage insects to look elsewhere for moisture.
Due to the fact that the unpleasant odor quickly disappears, treatment should be carried out regularly and as often as possible. The ideal option is to wipe all these surfaces daily for 1-2 months. This method will allow you to drive out parasites without the use of chemicals and insecticides.
Ventilation of the room after treatment
After treating the apartment with vinegar against cockroaches, all windows should be closed for a while and not ventilated. This method of fighting Prussians is based precisely on their intolerance to the vinegar smell. It is better to leave the home for a short time, leaving it completely clogged, since such a concentrated smell can negatively affect the residents of the apartment. It should also be remembered that some furniture may deteriorate from constant exposure to acetic acid.
Preventive measures
When moving into a new apartment or undertaking renovation of an old home, it is necessary to immediately take preventive measures to prevent the appearance of cockroaches. So it follows:
Anyone who wants to live in a clean apartment and not see cockroaches in their living space will adhere to the above recommendations. The main thing is to maintain cleanliness and maintain order in everything, preventing the appearance of “uninvited guests”.
Source
How to remove cockroaches if they won't go away
Treatment of an apartment to destroy cockroaches
If ancient insects refuse to leave the premises they have owned, and all attempts to exterminate them only end in a decrease in the population, then the issue should be approached more globally and seriously. Most likely, you will have to turn to the services of a pest control service. Before such a procedure, it is necessary to remove all food products from the house and move to other housing for a while.
As soon as the exterminators have finished their work and the cockroaches have been eradicated, it is necessary to wash the entire apartment, wash all the dishes and kitchen furniture, and thoroughly wash the furniture. If we are talking about an apartment building, then the problem may lie in the fact that cockroaches live in several apartments at once and to get rid of them you need to join forces and carry out a global disinfestation of all nearby apartments. Sometimes the scale of the situation is so large that all the apartments in the entrance have to be treated.
Whether or not vinegar helped against cockroaches, reviews will tell you.
Precautions when working with acetic acid
Despite its prevalence in cooking, vinegar is a dangerous substance for humans. When ingested, it causes painful death due to severe burns to the mouth, throat, respiratory tract and digestive tract. A lethal dose is considered to be only 15 ml of vinegar essence or 200 ml of table vinegar.
The substance is harmful not only when consumed internally. Its vapors can also be dangerous. They affect the mucous membranes of the eyes and respiratory system, causing increased lacrimation, runny nose and other symptoms of irritation. Therefore, when treating premises against bed bugs, personal protective equipment should be used:
- gloves;
- respirator;
- protective glasses.
Since vinegar remains after treatment, you cannot stay in the apartment immediately after it. You should leave it for several hours to avoid the negative effects of acetic acid vapor on health. During this time, the substance can act on insects, and they will leave your home.
Reviews
Anastasia, Solikamsk: “For a long time we suffered from an invasion of cockroaches in our house, we thought about how to kill cockroaches in the apartment ourselves and decided to try vinegar, since this method is quite harmless to others, we took the recipe from the Internet.
This is what we did: we made a concentrated spray with apple cider vinegar, and all the ingredients were added there in double quantity, just to be sure. After which we thoroughly sprayed all the corners and baseboards, and also washed the floor with this solution. This type of cleaning was repeated twice a day for several days. There are practically no cockroaches, over the last week only two crawled out, and they were immediately killed, now there is silence. This is a fairly effective method; I will continue to use the solution periodically for prevention.”
Victoria, Anapa: “So my apartment came to be attacked in the form of red-haired Prussians, I tried to place glasses and saucers with a proportion of acetic acid in the corners of the apartment, there was a fear because of small children, there was a fear that they would be afraid of pests. After a couple of days, the cockroaches became noticeably smaller, but they did not disappear completely. It seems to me that the most effective way to combat them would be to combine the use of vinegar and special chemicals. Alone, vinegar only reduces their flock, it does not completely remove it.”
If we compare vinegar with other methods of getting rid of cockroaches, we can say that this method is quite gentle. Chemical agents, as a rule, are aimed at destroying cockroaches immediately. Some folk remedies also tend to kill cockroaches rather than drive them away. These include boric acid or ammonia. If the insects have just appeared and have not yet appeared in flocks in the apartment, you can use vinegar against cockroaches. It is also useful to use vinegar to prevent the appearance of insects in your home. If a more powerful agent is needed, it is better to turn to chemical agents, or combine treatment with vinegar and the use of special destructive agents.
How does vinegar work on parasites?
The effect of vinegar on bedbugs depends on the concentration of acetic acid in it. Acetic essence (70%), which contains 70 ml of acid per 100 ml of liquid, kills insects by contact. It causes severe chemical burns, after which the bloodsuckers quickly die. But the product only works if it gets on the entire body of the bug, and not just on its legs.
Table vinegar, which contains from 3 to 15% acetic acid, repels parasites with a pungent odor. Bed bugs navigate in the dark using their sense of smell. They feel the breath and aroma of the human body. But the smell of vinegar overpowers it, disorienting the bloodsuckers. The result is that the parasites leave the apartment.
How to get rid of pests inside a microwave oven
Clean the oven with detergent and vinegar, remove greasy stains and food residues inside it.
How to dilute with water
- Pour 500 ml of water into a cup.
- Add 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar.
Processing rules
Preheat the oven with the vinegar solution:
- Place the container inside.
- Turn on the oven for 2 minutes.
- After the signal, wait a couple of minutes.
- Open the door, take out the solution and wipe the walls with a wet sponge.
If the dirt does not come off, repeat the operation. To wash off stubborn greasy drops, run the microwave for 5 minutes.
Clean your camera once a month using this method. Do not overuse, otherwise the acid will damage the surface over the years.
How to get rid of cockroaches inside a microwave oven
This product will not only help get rid of insects, but will also visually clean the microwave oven.
Grocery list:
- Wormwood (dried or fresh) - 20 g.
- Vinegar 9% - 4 tbsp. l.
- Water - a glass.
Preparation: Boil the indicated volume of water. Pour it over the wormwood, cover with a lid and leave to infuse for 2-3 hours in a warm place. Strain the herbal infusion to remove all twigs and leaves. Pour acetic acid into the liquid in a thin stream. Stir. The household pest repellent is ready to use.
Treatment process: Soak a cotton pad generously in the resulting solution. Use it to wipe down the walls of the microwave, both inside and outside. Pay special attention to places where pests nest. Repeat the procedure 4-6 times during the day. Finally, wipe with a clean, damp cloth to remove any remaining vinegar solution from the surface. Afterwards you can use the unit for cooking.
Result: The pungent smell of vinegar will scare away insects: they will immediately run away. To prevent pests from appearing in the area again, treat the entire house.
Cockroaches are carriers of dangerous diseases, it is important to get rid of them immediately
Pros and cons of vinegar against cockroaches
It is worth saying that this folk method is quite troublesome, because it requires patience, you need to spend time and effort.
But despite this, it is one of the most popular and has many positive reviews.
Let's look at the pros and cons of this tool:
pros
A handy tool. The case when everything you need is at hand, there is no need to run around the shops looking for the right product.
Low price. The price is really attractive.
Non-toxic. Most products have a chemical composition and are toxic, which means they pose a threat to human health.
This is especially important if small children and pets live in the room.
Efficiency. True, the maximum effect can be achieved only with daily use.
Prevention
Perfect for preventive measures to prevent cockroaches from appearing again. Once a week is enough to protect yourself.
Minuses
- Time and effort. It is necessary to spend a lot of time and effort every day to treat the room.
- Smell. The room will have a rather unpleasant odor, not only for cockroaches, but also for people.
- Scaring away. The insects will not die, but will only be frightened by the smell, so they can return at any time.
- Temporary result. As soon as the aroma disappears, your “tenants” will return back.
As you can see, there are quite a lot of disadvantages and everyone decides for themselves whether to use this method or not. You always need to think about the rationality of using vinegar, because if your neighbors have it, then you will simply waste precious time, during which cockroaches will multiply. If you have them in large quantities, then it is better to resort to more effective special means. Speaking about the opportunities that manufacturers of various products provide us with, they are really wide. These are gels, pencils, sprays, powders and much more; they can not only repel, but also exterminate cockroaches, which is much more effective. In addition, such products do not need to be applied daily, which means you save energy and time, and most importantly, your nerves.
