Does Salt Kill Roaches?

We keep looking for new and different ways to kill cockroaches. Shoes, rolled-up newspapers, nuclear warheads… nothing seems to work! But can salt be the answer to removing your cockroach problem?

There’s a simple answer, but also a very complex answer behind the question of whether or not salt kills roaches. Most people look at the simple answer and think one way, but if you dig a little deeper, you will find that salt, as we know it, doesn’t kill roaches. An entirely different type of salt is the roach killer.

Using Table Salt to Repel Roaches

Whenever we think of salt, we think of the salt that we find at supermarkets and restaurants, and that’s what most people think about when it comes time to slay some cockroaches! One of the most effective ways to repels roaches from your home is to walk around your house’s rooms and inspect where the walls meet the floors.

Every three feet or so, toss some salt onto the ground. For bonus points, you can chuck some over your shoulder as well for luck! It doesn’t matter if your floors are carpeted, floorboards, tiles, place salt every three feet. Do this and then go to the hard-to-reach places.

Cupboards, behind the refrigerator, oven, television, furniture, drawers, under sinks and cupboards, on shelves… place a pinch of salt. Finally, put a pinch of salt inside of the drains of your bathroom.

After you are done with this, you have created a barrier that will effectively repel roaches from your home. The small pinches of salt should be enough to fill a tablespoon or so, so your house won’t turn into a salt mine.

Why Does This Work?

Salt is used to preserve foods, keep out insects, and conserve natural resources. But salt does more than that. It has special properties that repel roaches naturally because of its unique composition.

Salt sucks the moisture out of the bodies of most insects, cockroaches included. The ammonium nitrate and chloride inside of the salt wards them off and sends them scurrying away. However, it won’t kill them. Epsom salt, on the other hand, is very toxic to insects like cockroaches.

Does Epsom Salt Kill Roaches?

Epsom salt is more commonly known as magnesium sulfate, and it’s an item used in medicine to treat different ailments. It’s not table salt, nor is it even related, but it does look like the table salt we all know and love. If you’ve used bath salts before, then you have used Epsom salt. It can be used to prevent stress, stop headaches, alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia, and has several other health benefits.

Epsom salt is high in magnesium. While humans don’t get enough of it, that is probably why Epsom salt is so effective in treating ailments; it is toxic to cockroaches.

Epsom salt messes with the roach’s digestive system and prevents them from feeding, and if they don’t eat, they die.

You can use Epsom salt just like baking soda, mixing it with water in a spray bottle and then spraying the solution onto the cockroaches. Even a shallow bowl of Epsom salt can kill those roaches who are too curious for their own good!

Make a purchase of Epsom salt and make it your number one weapon and add it to your arsenal against the cockroaches that live inside of your home.

Other Natural Ways for Getting Rid Of Roaches

First, you can use citrus. Citrus essential oils like kaffir lime have been shown to effectively repel brown-banded roaches for up to 10, according to this 2016 study. Other essential oils such as eucalyptus, mint, yarrow, oregano, and rosemary can be diluted in water and then sprayed whenever you see cockroaches. In this study, rosemary and oregano were shown to be the most effective.

Eventually, they will avoid that spot like the plague, and you’ll have more nice scents inside of your home. Just make sure always to dilute essential oils in water first before you spray them; otherwise, it can be too powerful for you to use safely.

Another household ingredient to repel cockroaches is bay leaves. Cockroaches hate the fragrance of bay leaves, and you can strategically place the bay leaf bowls to keep roaches out of specific areas of your home. If you do a deep clean when you place the bay leaves out, it will be even more effective. Here is an interesting experiment showing the effectiveness of bay leaves for roach control.

Cleaning Your Home

It’s a bit more labor-intensive than just spraying some oil and calling it a day, but a good deep clean is the best way to remove cockroaches. They come into your home looking for food and water, and you can easily clean up all of the spots that provide this. First, clean all the dark and damp areas of your home.

These include bathrooms, attics, basements, and anywhere else you think bugs would hide. Vacuum your living room, clean your kitchen, fix up all those leaky faucets and fridges, and make sure the cockroaches won’t find any living space in your home. Then reapply the salt barrier, and that’s that.

Cockroaches are unwelcome guests in some homes. If you can’t get rid of them, choose a natural cockroach killer: Epsom Salt. The mineral salt kills cockroaches by dehydrating them.

Apply the salt to the walls and floor where roaches are congregating. A week or two later, you can reapply the same salt mixture around your home.

If you find that salt is not effective, you can also use boric acid or diatomaceous earth to eliminate your cockroach infestation.