April 4, 2023

DIY Tips: Does Vinegar Repel Roaches?

No matter what time of the year, roaches are common in commercial buildings and residential homes! While pest control companies can quickly remove any stubborn pest infestation, DIY methods are popular for small-scale invasions.

But what techniques work when you have roaches in your home? Does vinegar repel roaches, or will this everyday cleaning and cooking ingredient fall short?

Keep reading to find out if cockroaches stand a chance against a vinegar solution or if you should leave this product on the shelf. 

Why You Should Use Vinegar

Besides lending a helping hand while you cook and make canned goods, vinegar is a valuable ingredient in many at-home cleaners and DIY pest control products. 

Do you have stinky spots on your clothing, bedding, or blankets? What about stubborn stains that won’t disappear no matter how hard you scrub? Vinegar is the perfect solution to keep your laundry squeaky clean!

Because of its strong acidity, vinegar can quickly neutralize alkaline odors stuck in fabrics. If you have any lingering smells in your kitchen after cooking dinner, vinegar can easily remove pungent smells.

Its powerful acidity also makes vinegar a reliable and helpful cleaning ingredient. Tough stains are no match for a robust vinegar solution. You can easily remove layers of grime on your countertops and cabinets when you use this potent cleaning liquid. 

Vinegar is especially effective in areas where you can’t use bleach. While weaker than your average bleach cleaner, vinegar is less corrosive, can kill bacteria similarly, and is safe to use around food. 

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Vinegar as Pest Control

Whenever you have a pest infestation in your home, consider using a vinegar solution to repel pesky bugs from crawling indoors. 

To make a vinegar spray, fill half of your spray bottle with water and then fill up the rest of the bottle with vinegar. Shake the spray bottle to mix everything, and then you’re ready! 

Vinegar is an excellent repellant to keep ants out of your kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. Spray this around your windowsills, baseboards, cabinets, and counters to discourage ants from lingering in your home. 

But how does vinegar work?

Ants use scent trails as they forage to help them return to their colonies and give other ants a footpath to follow. When you use vinegar, the acidic liquid disrupts their paths and prevents them from searching for food. 

Vinegar’s strong smell is enough to send ants and other pests running the other way too! Many bugs can sense strong-smelling chemicals and scents with their antenna, while others have adequate senses of smell. 

If vinegar works for ants, does vinegar repel roaches, spiders, or mice too?

Effectiveness of Vinegar as a Pest Control Solution

While vinegar helps with your average pest infestation, it won’t always work when you have large numbers of vermin inside. The effectiveness of your vinegar-based method also relies on the type of pests you want to eliminate. 

Don’t use vinegar if you’re struggling with fruit flies, as they will only flock to areas saturated with the strong scent. Because of their affinity for apple cider and white vinegar, you may accidentally exacerbate an existing fly problem. Only use vinegar if you want to trap fruit flies!

Vinegar can help repel spiders from specific locations in your home or even send them packing from their established webs. If you have mice or rats roaming through your hallways or walls, try spritzing their pathways with an easy-to-make vinegar spray. 

However, remember this option isn’t guaranteed to eliminate pests in your home or remove them in the long run. While a spider, ant, or rat may turn their nose up at your vinegar-saturated kitchen, it could hurry off to other areas in your house. 

Does Vinegar Repel Roaches?

Does vinegar repel roaches, or is this DIY trick too good to be true?

While vinegar is a popular pick for many other insects, it doesn’t work as well for these hard-to-kill pests. While conflicting reports online suggest this option can eliminate roach infestations, we recommend you utilize another alternative.

But don’t discount vinegar just yet! While it won’t directly eliminate roaches or convince them to set up shop elsewhere, you can still utilize it to clean up around your home and remove any lingering spill or scent that may attract these insects. 

Many cockroach species enter homes or buildings that are rife with food options. They can make a buffet out of nearly anything! Plus, they’re sustained by forgotten crumbs, trash, pet dander, and almost anything else in your home.

Cleaning your home with vinegar can reduce the likelihood of a roach infestation and help curtail existing cockroach populations in your home. They can’t survive longer than a month if they have nothing to eat. 

Here are some key areas to clean whenever battling a roach infestation:

  • Floors
  • Stoves
  • Bathrooms
  • Trashcans
  • Countertops
  • Pet waste areas
  • In and around cabinets
  • Around baseboards
  • Under and inside appliances (fridges, stoves, freezers, dishwashers)

Start by wiping down your countertops with a damp washcloth to remove any crumbs stuck to the surface. Follow up with a warm and soapy rag or sponge, and finish off your counters with vinegar or your favorite kitchen cleaner. 

These little critters will try to reach any meal they can! Make sure to clean around your stove, removing the eyes to get any unseen particles that may have fallen. If you have a severe infestation, clean the inside of your stove too.

After tidying up your sink and dishwasher, sweep up your floors and thoroughly mop. Cockroaches tend to shy away from citrus scents, so we suggest picking a fruity cleaner to polish off your hardwood or tile flooring. 

Once you’ve removed their food source, you can start utilizing other pest control techniques to eliminate the cockroaches. Consider using a barrier pest control method or cockroach bait to target the hiding pests in your home. 

Plus, don’t forget that Zunex has your back! Whether you’re struggling with a tough German cockroach infestation or have annoying ants climbing up your countertops, Zunex is here to help!

Contact us here to schedule a pest control appointment and meet with one of our trusted pest control specialists.

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