How to get rid of cockroaches yourself and not spend thousands on an exterminator.

How I got rid of my worst nightmare. So disgusting. This summer, I saw a bunch of bugs on the kitchen counter, I thought to myself... What are those? Then I kept seeing them. They were scary looking. Then I told my husband, "OMG, we have cockroaches". He didn't believe me. He is from Florida. He was like we don't get cockroaches out here like we do in Florida. Absolutely disgusting. How did I get them? I live in a Townhouse. We're they from the neighbors? We're they from a cardboard box? We had a pipe leaking water, I read that this can cause cockroaches to invade your house. Where ever they came from, they needed to leave, and never come back, and I was going to be sure of that. I hate bugs, especially cockroaches. I was mortified. I wanted to stay with my parents. The year before, I successfully got rid of bed bugs. Here is a link to how I got rid of those nasty creatures: https://www.mylifecom.net/2019/09/that-time-i-had-bed-bugs-and-how-i-got.html I researched on the web on how to get rid of them. I cleaned my house thoroughly with bleach. This suckers carry e coli, disease, and nasty germs in general, since they crawl around everywhere, like the trash and the sewer, and so on. They breed and they lay eggs fast. Just like bed bugs, you gotta be on top of it, and kill them and their eggs. I could not have roaches crawling on the counters and getting my kids sick. So repulsive. I would have nightmares at night. So, after I cleaned my house, I bombed it, fumigated it. When you bug bomb your house, read the instructions thoroughly. You need to blow out the furnace and water heater pilot lights, and unplug all your appliances. I had my husband do all this. I used: Cockroach fogger. You leave the house for three hours, take the pets out, all living things, return 3 hours later, and air your house out. Then I sprayed the house. I sprayed the baseboards, the walls, under the sinks, under the toilet, in dark places, and the crawl space. You also need to spray outside. I sprayed the whole exterior of the house, 6 inches up from the ground. I used: Ortho Home Defense. This spray doesn't have a nasty odor, or bother my asthma. The other sprays do. Then we put out combat roach bait The roaches eat it, and take it to their nest. Roaches eat dead roaches so this is really effective. Then we put out roach gel my friend from Texas recommended this. Then we put out diatomaceous earth This is fossilized powder that cuts their exoskeleton and dehydrates them and they die! This is awesome for getting rid of all bugs. It comes with a sprayer. You spray it around the baseboards, I put some on the counters since it is food grade and safe. They also sell it at the health food store for consumption but it has to be food grade. I clean it up with a broom and reapply in 3 months. They are not allowed back ever! Essential oils! We have a diffuser. They hate the smell of peppermint. You can also put peppermint essential oil on the counters to keep them away. They also hate lemongrass, and citrus. You can also mix baking soda, flour, sugar, and borax laundry detergent. They will be attracted to the flour and sugar, eat it and die. Put it on the floor, along with the DE. I haven't seen any cockroaches in a long time. I am going to keep spraying the bug spray at least once a week with my weekly cleaning. I also spray with other cockroach sprays I will not have this happen ever again. There you have it. Michelle the exterminator. I should get a job as an exterminator. HA! Don't think so.

That time I had bed bugs and how I got rid of them.

This blog post contains affiliate links from Amazon.com. I get a small commission through qualifying purchase made through this site. A friend at work asked me if I wanted a queen size bed. I thought to myself, why not? Free is free. I could give it to my daughter. I ignorantly agreed and I trusted my friend, she is a hard worker, and she is a friend after all. Her and her husband dropped the bed off at my house, and I was happy that I provided my daughter with a new bed. I mean, this was very nice of her, or so I thought... Fast forward two weeks later, I was so wrong. My poor daughter was covered in red bug bites that looked like mosquito bites. I told my husband, "I think we have bed bugs". My husband said "No, it's just mosquito bites". I believe him, but looking back it's embarrassing to admit that I didn't put two and two together. Seriously? Anyway, I started getting the bites, and so did my other daughter. I was so itchy, it was worse than mosquito bites. Still didn't catch on, but soon I would. One day my daughter beings a black bug to me, with a circular body, she asks, "Mommy, what kind of bug is this". Terrified, I finally had the revelation, WE HAVE BED BUGS. I cannot explain how repulsed I felt. I felt invaded in my own home, like these little intruders that are stealing my blood in exchange for itchy welts, that are driving me crazy. I felt attacked, like "How could this have happen to me and my family"? I clean the house every week. Then I thought to myself "Why, Michelle, would you except a used bed? I felt so bad for my kids, I felt like a bad Mom, but I just made a mistake that I learned from. I had good intentions by getting a "nice" bed for my first born. Never ever again! Enough rambling, let's get to the point. How I saved thousands, and got rid of them by myself, without paying an exterminator. I am embarrassing myself by sharing this experience to help someone that may have an infestation of bed bugs. I got on the web for hours and researched. First off some facts about these horrifying invaders. They come out at night for a meal to feed on you. They like to live wherever you sleep. I found them in the curtains, couch and in the beds. So what did I do first? I just started washing everyone's bedding, and clothes. I also washing the bed bug infested curtains in hot water, and saw them try to escape for their life. You don't have to do this but I got rid of everyone's beds and got new one's. You can save money by getting a Bed Bug Matress Protector these darn critters will get stuck and have no where to go. Then I bought a Fabric Steamer. I used this about every other day on my new beds, curtains and I don't recommend it, but I was a little OCD and used it on the carpet. After all I was having nightmares at night about these God forsaken creatures. Then I went around the baseboards. Might not be good for the wall, but I obviously didn't care. Bed bugs hate the smell of cinnamon, so I bought a Essential Oil Diffuser, and a ton of Essential Oil. I used more than just cinnamon. I ran it all the time. Then I bombed the house. I mean who wants to live in a bed bug infested house? I used Bed Bug Bomber. Word of caution. Read all the instructions or you can actually bomb your house! Unplug the refrigerator, washer, dryer, I unplugged everything. My husband blew out the pilot light in the furnace and the water heater. The next day I just vacuumed, and then I let the chemicals sit so I wasn't mixing anything, but keep the essential oils going. A week later I sprayed the beds, curtains, baseboards, pretty much everything. Harris Bed Bug Killer. It's odorless, which is good because I have asthma and doesn't leave stains. Wear a respirator mask, gloves and long sleeves!!!! Then I sprayed Diatomaceous Earth on and around the baseboards, put it under the bed, in the bed and on the couch. Finally something natural that isn't full of chemicals. You still need a mask, DE is pretty dusty. I read DE is very effective in getting rid of insects. DE is fosilized powder that cuts the insects exoskeleton, and they dehydrate and die as a result, thank goodness. Also, rubbing alcohol 91% kills bed bugs and their eggs. It dehydrates them as well. It is supposly flammable, so be careful. I sprayed Rubbing Alcohol 91% on the beds, including the matress, and box spring. I sprayed the curtains and carpet as well. I also used Bed Bug Aerosol weekly. I repeated the process after vacuuming up the DE monthly for six months. I don't know about mixing all these chemicals, but we're fine and like I mentioned, I have asthma. It took about a month and I was bed bug free!!! I hope I have helped someone that is stuck with these blood sucking creatures. I truly hate them..... Then the next summer, I got cockroaches. 😭 To be continued...