Roaches are disgusting! There are very few people who would argue with that. Once an infestation has set in you’re then faced with roaches running around on your counters, getting in your food – even crawling on you when you’re asleep. There are chemicals, of course, that are sold to kill roaches but some of them have setbacks. For example, using roach bombs means you have to leave your house while the poison fills the air, and when you come back, you have a horrible mess to clean. Not only do you have to sweep up dead roaches but you have to wash things that the poison cloud enveloped, like dishes, counter tops, tables and other surfaces. Even after cleaning surfaces the poison remains on the sofa and chairs, the carpet and other areas that you’ll definitely come in contact with. Using other types of poisons means you could harm your pets. For instance, powder-type poisons are sprinkled inside cabinets and along baseboards to kill roaches. This puts your pets at risk should they step in the powder. There is, however, a craft project you can do which will make a roach hotel that keeps the poison off the floors and counter tops. The roach hotel is easy enough to make, and when it’s full of roaches, you can simply throw it away.
To begin making a roach hotel start with a small, round paper mache box. You’ll find an assortment of the paper boxes at most any craft store. Although you can use most any shape of box to make a roach hotel the round boxes are the easiest to assemble. The box you use should be one that has two pieces – the box itself as well as a fitted lid. These kinds of boxes are not expensive so purchase several. That way, you can make a roach hotel for several different rooms or to use in just the kitchen. The box you select does not have to be decorative; it can be an ordinary brown paper mache box. If all they offer are the decorative kind, those are fine, but don’t spend extra money to purchase an ornate box when a plain one works just as well. Most of these types of boxes are under a buck a piece, and if they’re really small, they’re even cheaper than that. An ideal size for the box would be about 4″ in diameter but you can use smaller or larger versions. The box should also be very shallow.
In addition to the paper mache boxes you’ll also need boric acid. The powdered roach poison is sold at most any drug store. At most stores, boric acid costs less than ten bucks, and a little of the powder goes a long way towards making a roach hotel. The powder will be added to the finished roach hotel so it never touches your counter tops or floors. Your pets will be safe while you steady kill the roaches in your home.
To start assembling the roach hotel simply remove the lid from the box and set it aside for the moment. Cut a strip of cardboard which is as narrow as the box is tall. So, measure to see how tall the box is then cut the strip so that it’s only slightly more narrow than that measurement. The strip of cardboard you cut should be long enough to wrap around the box about three times. After cutting the cardboard strip roll it from end to end. Roll it tightly, then when you turn loose of it, it will uncoil slightly. That’s exactly what you want.
Use a craft knife to cut a small opening on the side of the box. This little square hole will be the entry point for the roaches. Do not cut the hole in the lid as well; cut a hole that reaches nearly to the lid. Apply glue to one edge of the curled cardboard then set the cardboard inside. Place it so that the end of the cardboard is up against the left side of the opening. If you do this correctly, the roach will walk in through the opening, and will be corralled between the side of the box and the cardboard strip. If he continues to walk he will only go further and further into the curled cardboard. The opposite end of the cardboard should stop at the center of the box. In addition, the corrals formed by the curled cardboard should be narrow – slightly wider than the approximate width of the average roach.
Sprinkle the boric acid inside the finished box, after the glue has dried. The powder just needs to cover the bottom of the box; it doesn’t need to be knee-deep to the roach. After applying the powder you should not be able to see the bottom of the box, though. After the powder is in place simply set the lid on the box and set the roach hotel where you want. Place the hotels behind appliances, under the sink, inside cabinets and around the trash can. Place one in each room of the house but several in the rooms where the infestation is the worst.
If you use a really shallow box, and you curl the cardboard so it forms narrow corrals, the roaches enter but find it difficult to turn around and exit through the same hole. As they proceed along the corral they gather the boric acid on their bodies. The acid works to kill the roaches inside the hotel, and when it’s full, simply throw it away and make a new one. Any time you want, just lift the lid of the hotel, and you can see if it’s time to throw it away. If you want to save even more money, empty the roach hotel, fill it back up with new boric acid powder, then set it back where you had it. It’s an easy way to start killing off those nasty roaches without spending a small fortune.
Reference:
- Purchase boric acid here: www.drugstore.com
