It wouldn’t be wrong to say, Cockroaches in Cyprus are one of the reasons why visitors don’t want to stay in Cyprus for long. Oh dear, not only do they come in different sizes, they are annoying as hell. No no, not the visitors. I am talking about Cockroaches. :p
When I first arrived in Cyprus in 2019, I was fully disturbed by the cockroaches. When the landlord handed me the keys for the first time, he said, “Water is good, Electricity is good, Cockroach bad, other good”. At that moment, I thought he was kidding. So, I just smiled and took the keys.
Only after a few hours, I realized the landlord wasn’t kidding. My flat was filled with cockroaches.
There are cockroaches in my country too, but the cockroaches in Cyprus are on a different level. Usually, you don’t get to see Cockroaches during the winter here, but in summer, they are all around the house.
I was new in town, so I had no idea how far the market was. So, I just tried to get rid of cockroaches in Cyprus using the old methods my mom used to use back in my country.
Was it helpful? To a certain extent, yes. But it was just temporary.
At this point, I had come to a conclusion. Cockroaches in Cyprus are very different from that of my country.
The next day, I went to the market to buy some insecticides. They worked for a while. I also used other natural ways to get rid of cockroaches. I was happy because I didn’t have to see those demons in my flat.
After 2 months, I had to leave that flat and move to another place because of work, and the Cockroach terror began again.
I went to the market, bought the same insecticides, and spread them all over my flat.
At this time, the insecticides didn’t work. I tried natural methods, they didn’t work too.
Can you imagine how frustrated I might be?
Same insecticides, that worked for cockroaches in one place, didn’t work with cockroaches in another place.
I was so tired.
Cockroaches in Cyprus are different from one place to another place. One idea that works in one place mightn’t work in another place.
But, don’t you worry. In these 2 years, I have tried and tested a lot of methods and I have succeeded in keeping the cockroaches out of my house. Today in this article, I will share with you my ideas on how to get rid of cockroaches in Cyprus.
There will be many ideas in this article. So, pick one, and try it. If it works, good for you. If it doesn’t, don’t hesitate to try another one.
You can click the links below to learn about different cities in Cyprus.
There are mainly two methods, i.e., Using Chemicals and Using natural ways.
I will describe each method in detail, so read the article till the end without skipping a word.
Chemical methods to get rid of Cockroaches in Cyprus
There are different types of chemical methods and we are going to discuss them in this section.
Cockroach Traps/ Bait
You can easily get cockroach traps in the market. Usually, a cockroach trap is a piece of paper or plastic that has adhesive material on it.
Cockroaches get attracted to it and try to eat it. As it is adhesive, cockroaches get stuck to it.
The adhesive piece of paper is usually covered by a box-type structure. It is to keep your children or pets safe. Look at the image below to have a better understanding.
These kinds of Cockroach traps only work with the small size of cockroaches. It’s not that effective for cockroaches that are bigger in size.
Insecticides Spray
Good quality insecticides are quite expensive in Cyprus, yet if you can afford them, they will give you a good result.
Rather than applying it by yourself, I suggest you hire a professional to do it. They have all the required chemicals and they know how to target cockroaches better.
If you can’t afford to hire a professional, you can do it by yourself too.
You can also buy small bottles of insecticides in your nearby agro market.
They are cheaper and easy to use. It will be costly to use them if there are a lot of cockroaches in your house. You would probably need at least 10 bottles of insecticides just to clean your kitchen room.
Compared to that, hiring a professional would be cheaper. The choice is yours.
Liquid Concentrates
Liquid concentrates or they are also called liquid gel in Cyprus are very effective products to get rid of cockroaches from your house overnight.
There are a lot of these products on the market. Bring one and try.
Go to the market, bring the liquid, dilute it with water, and mop it all around your house.
You can just ask the shopkeeper to give “Liquid gel to kill cockroaches”, and they would understand.
Liquid Concentrates are one of the effective ways to get rid of cockroaches. Sometimes the cockroaches are permanently gone and sometimes they reappear after 2 to 3 weeks.
After 2 weeks repeat the process.
Natural methods to get rid of Cockroaches in Cyprus
Natural methods are inexpensive and can be easily prepared at home. Nowadays, I don’t use any chemical insecticides or spray, or liquid to get rid of cockroaches from my home. I use natural ways. They mightn’t be as effective as the chemical ways, but natural ways are cost-effective and healthy for you too.
Boric Acid bait
Boric Acid bait is one of the highly used methods by Cypriots to keep the cockroaches away from their house. Here is the way how you can use it.
Mix an equal amount of boric acid powder + sugar + flour and make small balls like dough.
Set balls of dough around the home where cockroaches can feed on it. The flour and sugar will attract the cockroaches while the boric acid will kill them.
Repeat this process for at least a week to get good results.
Make sure to keep it away from children and pets.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is bad for cockroaches. If cockroaches eat the soda, it will go inside their body and create a reaction that is lethal for cockroaches.
So what you have to do is, you need to mix sugar and baking soda and keep it around your house.
Make sure to keep a good amount of it to attract many cockroaches.
Oily container
Get normal-size margarine or butter container that hasn’t been cleaned. Mix some wine and water in it. Keep it in the infested area.
Cockroaches love oily stuff. They climb the container and fall on the water/wine mixture.
They would want to climb up but it will be impossible because the container is too slippery.
Soap + Shampoo + Water Solution
Take a soap or a shampoo that creates more foam. Mix it with water and spray the mixture directly in the infested area.
If you are seeing cockroaches, you can spread the solution directly on them.
The foam creates a layer and it blocks the breathing pores of cockroaches.
Sometimes, it instantly kills the cockroaches.
Get rid of cockroaches using Catnip leaves
Catnip leaves are a very good repellent of Cockroaches. For those of you who don’t know what Catnip is, it’s a plant like mint. You can easily find it in your backyards or in the grassy ground.
Boil some catnip leaves in water and let it get cool down. When the water is not so hot, put it in a sprayer and spray the solution all around your house.
Do not use this method if you live with cats. If you have feline pets, use bay leaves instead of catnip.
Duct tape trap
This process usually doesn’t work for cockroaches of a bigger size. You can still try it.
An A-Grade Duct tape is very adhesive. If you could find a double-sided tape, then it will be much better.
Stick the tape near the infested area and put some sugar as bait.
When cockroaches come to eat the sugar, it gets trapped in the tape.
Preventive tips
Prevention is always better than cure. If you prevent cockroaches from infesting your house in the first place, you wouldn’t need to look for ways to kill or get rid of cockroaches.
Here are some of the preventive measures you should follow in order to keep cockroaches out of your house.
Always remove your yard waste. If you have to keep it, keep it in a closed container.
Keep your house clean. Use soap and detergent with water and mop your house properly.
Seal the cracks in your house.
Clear out the clutter. Keeping your house free of clutter means there are fewer places for cockroaches to hide out during the day.
Regularly inspect and fix any plumbing issues.
Don’t keep your food open out in the kitchen. Always store your cooking vessels and pots upside down so that there will not be any cockroach eggs or droppings in them.
Conclusion
If you have followed the article till here, you now know some effective ways to get rid of cockroaches from your house in Cyprus. If you have money, you can go with the chemical products, if you don’t have, you can still try the natural ways, and they will also work just fine.
Try the ways you have learned today. Come back and let me know in the comment section below which one of them worked for you.
Have a cockroach-free house. Good luck.
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