Roaches and Ants in your Drains
Most insects love moist environments as their breeding space.
While ants can get into cracks in your floor and lay their eggs in the soil, roaches live in the sewer system since they can’t do without water,
Roaches are more active at night and get into your house through the drains, therefore, you often find them in the kitchen, bathroom, and toilets at home.
If you find roaches in your bathroom at night coming up the shower drain, in your sink or under your kitchen sink at night, or in the toilet, you should try to get rid of them and their possible eggs laid in your pipes.
NOTE: Getting rid of roaches at home is a gradual and continual process till you’re able to destroy all of them and their eggs.
Also, you may not get rid of roaches in your house permanently but would be some time before you see them again
What to Pour Down Drain to Kill Roaches?
Stopping roaches from coming up the drain can be a bit challenging, especially when you begin to see their young ones, it’s a sign they are populated in your sewer system.
However, here are common ways to get rid of cockroaches bn your kitchen, toilets, and bathrooms.
Flush IInsecticidesand Pesticides into your drain
You can pour insecticide or pesticide powder around if you keep finding roaches in your bathroom, kitchen, or toilet.
You can also pour insecticide powder or spray it down your drain to kill roaches. However, it’s illegal in some states to use these chemicals in drains as they get into water bodies and can harm aquatic animals.
Pour hot water down the drain
Boil 5 liters of water and flood down the drain to kill roaches and insects that may be hiding in your drain.
You can apply this method effectively in your kitchen and toilet, and most effective when roaches are in low numbers.
Pour baking soda, vinegar, and luke-warm water down the drain
After pouring boiling water down your drain, on the second day, mix a half cup of baking soda and a half cup of distilled vinegar and pour down each drain in your house and cover the drain for one hour.
Flood the drain with another round of hot water to help kill any roaches left in the pipe and also remove any buildup in the drain.
Baking soda and vinegar are cleaning agents, and can also help to kill the smell coming from your drain.
Use Borax or Boric acid
You can sprinkle boric acid around your drain or down the drain to kill roaches.
Boric acid like Drano is toxic to roaches and can be an effective way to kill them.
What to Pour Down Drain to Kill Ants?
If ants are coming from your shower or bathtub drain and kitchen sink drain, it’s not difficult to stop ants from coming up the drain.
Also, ants are not as irritating as roaches, however, having them around is nothing to brag about.
Pour hot water down the drain once in a while
You can get rid of ants in your kitchen sink drain by flushing it with hot water weekly to kill adult ants, larvae, and eggs.
Sugar ants and other species in your sink can be killed with boiling water easily.
Use Bleach to get rid of Ants
While bleach is a strong chemical to kill roaches and ants, you should consider your safety and the safety of your drain system.
Bleach is not a recommended drain system cleaner because it can produce toxic fumes and also react with materials used to produce your pipes and damage them in the long run.
Clorox Bleach is a common bleaching product used in getting rid of insects in drains.
Vinegar and baking soda or Borax
You can mix vinegar and baking soda and pour it down the drain, cover it, and flush it with hot water later to kill any insects in your drain. Ants will die when they ingest baking soda.
You can follow the same steps discussed above to get rid of ants in your sink and drain with vinegar and baking soda mix, and also boric acid or any commercial product having boric acid.
Other things and products that can be helpful to get rid of ants are soapy water, dawn dish soap, cinnamon powder, Windex, Febreze, etc.
