With warm weather, roaches and other pests start to come out of the cracks and openings in our homes where they’ve been hiding in an attempt to stay warm during the winter. 

Roaches are not only really gross and give you that creepy crawly feeling when you see them, they can spread food-borne illnesses and their waste and body parts can cause allergies.

If you’re wondering how to get rid of roaches naturally without toxic sprays or professional pesticides, you’re not alone. Roaches are common in warmer weather, but the good news is you can make a safe, non-toxic DIY roach bait with just three simple ingredients.

I’ve had noticeable success with this non-toxic, safe treatment of roaches in six different homes and four different cities. 

Simple DIY Roach Bait

Ingredients

Mix equal parts of:

• Powdered sugar
• Yellow cornmeal (use fine cornmeal)
• Borax or boric acid*

*Note: I have always used Borax with success, but if you have heavy infestation you might want to try boric acid instead. You can purchase this at your local pharmacy.

Instructions

With this mixture, place the mixture in caps around the house. I use jar lids and the caps of empty supplement bottles - so I always have them around! No need to purchase anything new for this.

Great places to put these little contraptions are under refrigerator, furniture, and in the back of cabinets.

There’s no exact number of caps you should put out... it depends on your house and how many you believe would work best. Just use your best judgement!

If it is a heavy infestation, go for a more concentrated effort. I usually put five or six in my kitchen and two or three in my bathrooms.

Safety Note for Household with Kids/Pets

If you have children and/or pets, make sure to place these caps in places where they cannot access.

I have a toddler and young kiddos around often, so I put them in inconspicuous places they won't be able to access them. You can even place them on countertops (hidden behind things so they’re not an eyesore). Use child locks on cabinets that your kids could possibly get into. I put the majority of these caps in the kitchen (as that is typically where roaches are found).

Get Started with Healthier Homes

This DIY roach bait should rid your house of roaches in about two weeks and works up to a year. It is much more effective (not to mention safe and non-toxic!!!) than having a pest control service treat your home with pesticides.

For safer and natural cleaning, check out Branch Basics starter kits to get started with a healthier home!