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Seeing a cockroach in your home or in your place of business can be really horrifying. These tough to kill insects can live for an unbelievably long time once they make their way into your space, making you and your guests very uncomfortable.

Feeling uncomfortable is completely valid, as they are known to spread disease, bacteria, and even cause or worsen allergy and asthma symptoms in cases of a serious infestation.

In short, you want to see them gone for good as quickly as possible.

You may hesitate, however, on the issue of whether you should grab the phone and call a professional exterminator right away, or try your hand at removing them yourself first.

DIY

If you are in the game of killing cockroaches on your own, there are a few different methods that you can try. One is getting your hands on some boric acid wherever you have damp, dark areas.

Because these pests love the damp and dark they will end up ingesting this poison. While this method may be one of the more effective options you can do yourself, approach with extreme caution.

Boric acid is as toxic to humans and pets as it is to cockroaches, so if you have any children or pets in the home, do not try this. A safer option is to keep them in check by putting out bay leaves wherever you have seen them because they cannot stand the taste.

Unfortunately, unless you completely coat all surfaces, this will likely only result in moving them to different spots for a while. Of course, the most obvious DIY trick is to keep things clean, and above all dry.

If you’re cutting off their food supply, you must also deny them shelter. Leave out small, self-enclosed traps for cockroaches not only in the kitchen but also in the bathrooms, as well as dark closet corners. Replace these as often as the directions indicate.

Outside your house, cover any opening which cockroaches and small animals can access to gain entry.

If you are in a sparklingly pristine environment, disinfected with bleach, it will not be very appealing to these filth loving insects.

If you keep things dry, too, they may stick around surviving on what little moisture they can find, but it will be more difficult and less appealing.

Exterminators

When you hire an exterminator you get the benefit of a professional touch, and someone else taking the risk of working with potentially harmful poisons.

By hiring an expert you can avoid the frustratingly difficult trial and error of DIY removal. The one obvious downside is that it will cost a bit more, but if you consider all of the money and time you will spend with various products going at it yourself, you may want to simply invest in the most effective solution available.

As an added bonus, many exterminators guarantee their work, so you will not have to pay over and over for failed attempts.