You’re searching for what is the best way to get rid of roaches forever right? Have you tried numerous “solutions” with no success, or did you just find out you have cockroach problems? Whatever your answer, the truth is you want a solution that will at least put a dent in their numbers right? Read to on to find out what may well be the best solution.
Before anything else let me be honest with you. There is no better way than to call an exterminator near you. These guys are professionals for a reason. They do this for a living, so they have an in-depth understanding of the pests making your life a nightmare. They have the experience, they know what to do and they have access to the “magic sauce” that will get the job done right the first time. You don’t have to do much else besides call them. Plus it would be great to have someone else fix this problem for you right? Give them a call. It doesn’t cost you anything to call for a free estimate and get some bonus professional advice.
Now if an exterminator is out of your budget, or you simply don’t want use one then is may be the best option for you. This isn’t a product, chemical, or whatever you’re thinking of. It’s actually an approach to pest management that’s used by the agriculture industry to manage large scale pest problems. Recently it has started to pick up popularity with residential pest control professionals. It’s called integrated pest management (IPM for short).
Unlike traditional pest management where pesticides are sprayed everywhere in hopes of it wiping out everything, IPM seeks to control. Of course, we both know we don’t want to control. We want to eradicate them and twisting IPM to get what we want is perfectly fine.
IPM aims to analyze the pest problem more thoroughly. Traditional methods often don’t go beyond identification of the pest before spraying. In IPM it’s suggested you first find the root cause of the problem. If you have roaches, then you need to figure out what attracted them there to begin with. What’s keeping them there? How are they thriving? Are they finding their three basic needs for survival within your home (food, water & shelter)? You need to answer these questions and see if there is some other hidden cause you’re not seeing.
Once you’ve determined what the cause (or causes) may be, you can begin to control and remove them. Having a solid understanding of the cockroaches you are dealing with allows you to tackle current problems and prevent future ones. Preventative measures are the number one priority for IPM.
If preventative measures aren’t enough to control the problem, then proceed to apply treatments to kill and reduce their numbers. This is where all those products you’ve probably tried, or heard of come in. Regardless of what the name is, they boil down to just two types that you need to use:
- Pesticide
- Insect growth regulators (IGR)
I’ve covered these extensively in my article about what kills roaches, so read all the details there. You need to use both types to get the results you’re looking for. IPM does suggest using less harmful chemicals first, so consider more natural options like boric acid. It’s just a guideline though, so you can just skip straight to the lethal stuff like Demon Max(cypermethrin). Regardless of which pesticide you choose to use, don’t forget to combine it with an IGR, like Gentrol, for faster and better results.
Just using a treatment isn’t enough. You must use them properly. You need to understand how they work and how to properly apply them. Read the article I linked above for all that good stuff.
You also have to constantly monitor the general population of the roaches in your home. Having an idea of how many you are dealing with allows you to react appropriately and stay one step ahead.
Attacking this problem blindly is what leads to failure. Using IPM guidelines, we tackle the problem with a plan and the knowledge necessary for success. Try it out and decide for yourself if this is truly the best way to get rid of german roaches (and any of it’s unwanted relatives).