Pest control

[Oddcaliber]

Ok,we made it this far post shtf. But we still have an old problem. I'm talking about the Cockroach! Seems like no matter what we do they will not go away. They are harder to get rid of than in laws after the holidays. Eventually that spray can of Raid is going to be empty. So what alternative methods can be used to mitigate these pests? I'm just thinking here.

 

[Arcticdude]

No cockroachs here. Must be a south thing. I guess you could get chickens.

 

[Oddcaliber]

They don't like cold. LOL

 

[EastenerWesterner]

Most of the mint oils are the ingredients for the all natural bug repellants.

The place I pickup IBC tanks from uses a mixture of Cinnamon, Garlic, and peppermint.

Dont know if effective against cockroaches. Ecosmart, Dr. Earth are two companies that come to mind that market mixtures.

Shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something that works.

 

[Proud Prepper]

Get a cat or 2 or Make a tasty dish out of them.

 

[bigpaul]

it is said the only thing that will survive a direct nuclear blast is a cockroach.

 

[MOS0231]

It is a southern thing.

 

[MNwr786]

They are definitely NOT a southern thing. There are American cockroaches in northern Minnesota. First step is knowing what attracts them, and it is NOT being filthy. Short story that led to my education on the subject. Every late spring we have a HUGE moth and gnat problem. So, I took a high velocity fan, attached a screen bag to the output side and put a light in front of the input and set it on the deck. I was sucking up bugs dozens a second. Every moth within a quarter mile met its maker. However, moths were not the only thing in that bag, as I came to realize sitting there watching it one night. A roach landed right by the light and, with all its traction and speed, evaded the suction. There were about a dozen in the bag.

It tuns out, male cockroaches take flight in late May through June in search of a mate and they ARE attracted to artificial light. Them being allegedly afraid of light and not in the north, uneducated myths! Keep your exterior lights off and curtains closed during these months, because if they do wander in and happen to find a food source, you are thoroughly screwed (almost).

Luckily, they didn't make our place their home, but I can tell you what kills them. Permethrin. It is a common ingredient in Home Defence (although I buy it as concentrate for mosquitos - a Hy-Yield product called Super 38). Apply it around the exterior of your home and near any entrance points like eve vents etc. Keep your recyclables and trash away from the house and vacuum/take trash out regularly. If you meet the threat head on knowing how they operate, you will never need to worry.

 

[Arcticdude]

They are definitely NOT a southern thing. There are American cockroaches in northern Minnesota. First step is knowing what attracts them, and it is NOT being filthy. Short story that led to my education on the subject. Every late spring we have a HUGE moth and gnat problem. So, I took a high velocity fan, attached a screen bag to the output side and put a light in front of the input and set it on the deck. I was sucking up bugs dozens a second. Every moth within a quarter mile met its maker. However, moths were not the only thing in that bag, as I came to realize sitting there watching it one night. A roach landed right by the light and, with all its traction and speed, evaded the suction. There were about a dozen in the bag.

It tuns out, male cockroaches take flight in late May through June in search of a mate and they ARE attracted to artificial light. Them being allegedly afraid of light and not in the north, uneducated myths! Keep your exterior lights off and curtains closed during these months, because if they do wander in and happen to find a food source, you are thoroughly screwed (almost).

Luckily, they didn't make our place their home, but I can tell you what kills them. Permethrin. It is a common ingredient in Home Defence (although I buy it as concentrate for mosquitos - a Hy-Yield product called Super 38). Apply it around the exterior of your home and near any entrance points like eve vents etc. Keep your recyclables and trash away from the house and vacuum/take trash out regularly. If you meet the threat head on knowing how they operate, you will never need to worry.

Early summer we have a huge problem with moths. If we go outside after dark we have to turn off the inside lights before we open the door. The windows would be covered in moths.
As for mosquitoes, we get maybe 2 or 3 of the little blood suckered all summer. I think they come from the water trough by the barn.

 

[GaRp58]

I will have to back up and re-group about that direct nuclear blast thing there bigpaul...NOTHING survives a "direct" nuclear blast. Period.
But you are a bit on the right track since research has shown the cockroach will very much so survive radioactive energy. They are not affected as are 99% of all known living creatures surely die slowly from enough rads...
After the SHTF, you will have a smaller problem with cockroaches if you simply keep a clean environment in your BOL.
I think most of the rodents which we call pests are gonna be in the cities well fed from dying animals not being taken care of by people, dying people and rotting food not being carried away by the "sanitation engineers" on the garbage trucks on a weekly basis.
We use baking powder against ants and silverfish here. You might give that a try too and see if the American Continant cockroaches react to it also. Some people here also use baking soda for ants in the pantry areas. I have yet to see a cockroach in my house or garden for the year we have been here, glad to not have them.
The idea of having chickens and turkeys eat the bugs is quite good also.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

If you want a dual use item to stock up on, 20 Mule Team Borax. Laundry and insecticide. Cheap too.

 

[MNwr786]

If you want a dual use item to stock up on, 20 Mule Team Borax. Laundry and insecticide. Cheap too.

Ever try getting insects to eat borax? It's not easy. You gotta have just the right amount of food mixed in. Ants, for example, they need at least 2/3 sugar or they won't touch it. Then, all you kill is sugar ants. Also, boric acid, not borax (sodium borate) is the better insecticide, an easy conversion though.

Admittedly, I do like keeping borax around. Its great for fireproofing materials, use as brazing flux, making trimethyl borate (wildfire in game of thrones), as a doping agent in making whisker diodes on copper for DIY AM radio receivers, making the kids slime as it cross links Elmers glue (PVA), it is a good anti-fungal, and if you play with radioactive stuff, its great at capturing those pesky neutrons. I keep 5 pounds handy at all times!

For those curious, it is great for laundry because it softens hard water by replacing the calcium and magnesium with sodium. Calcium and magnesium interfere with soaps ability to work. Precipitating those metals out as borate salts allows the soap to function. In other words, if you own a water softener, don't bother adding it to your laundry.

 

[Schattentarn]

I go 1/4 borax to 3/4 sugar. Otherwise the ants won't eat it. It takes time to cripple the colony and that is about all you can hope to do with Borax. Where I am right now we have what the locals call "waterbugs". Waterbugs are cockroaches and there are lots of them running around at night, outside. They live anywhere it is damp or even slightly damp. Waterbugs are strange though because they never come in the house.

 

[MNwr786]

Borax, Waterbugs

I think you are right on that ratio. I may have been off on the 2/3.

We have those giant water bugs that have those lobster-like jointed things where the cockroach would have two whip-like antennae... They also dont come in the house. We are on a lake and often see them dead in the paddle boat if water sits in the seats, but the house is on a very dry clay hill so they dont come up here.

 

[EastenerWesterner]

I go 1/4 borax to 3/4 sugar. Otherwise the ants won't eat it. It takes time to cripple the colony and that is about all you can hope to do with Borax. Where I am right now we have what the locals call "waterbugs". Waterbugs are cockroaches and there are lots of them running around at night, outside. They live anywhere it is damp or even slightly damp. Waterbugs are strange though because they never come in the house.

I had a colony of red ants that was under my freshly laid paver patio. Little buggers were causing pavers to heave.
A gallon of Home Defense dumped down the hole proved worthless. The straight borax got them when put down their hole.
Sweet ants in the house, Terro. Main ingredient, borax with a sweetener.

I had a counter under a window that had drywall dust appear once a week. Insect unknown, but the house had been recently tented. Drilled some holes, poofed some borax in, problem solved.

Carpenter ants when I had a cedar shake house next to a swamp only responded to Amdro. I think after SHTF and things start to be not taken care of, will be a problem. Worse than termites.

 

[DrHenley]

My standard all around insect killer is diatomaceous earth.