Unwelcomed Guests

One thing I do not like about moving to the south is the buggies.  No, I don't mean Amish buggies (I don't think they have Amish down here) and I don't even mean shopping carts.  I mean what they call "palmetto bugs" which in the north are cockroaches!  Ew!!

I've been blessed with a less than sealed up house, so I have had a few visitors over the last few weeks.  Three visitors, actually, have made their way into my home.  Poly found all three and they were quickly disposed of (by me, not by her).  I have little tolerance for creepy-crawlies that do nothing except bring germs into my house, so I decided to lay off the open door policy.

First, buggies like to eat, so I try to keep the kitchen as clean as possible.  Food is sealed up and put away and counters are wiped down before bed.  This is common sense, really.  I also try not to let dishes in the sink because when your name is cockroach, you probably don't care if the meal you have is a ring of slightly spoiled milk at the bottom of a glass.

Next, I bought some expanding foam at Lowe's and took care of lots of holes and cracks around the house (inside and out) including the place where the satellite dishes' cables came into the house (our bunny ears get better reception now, go fig) and the giant hole under the bricks at the corner of the garage.  I had no idea it would expand that much!  I could carve it down, although for now I just hide the lump behind two cactus.

The third and final line of defense was a concoction of Borax plus powdered sugar around the perimeter of the house and in places where buggies might fancy a little dramatic entrance.  The powdered sugar lures in the creepers and the Borax is supposed to kill 'em.  Horrible, I know.  I feel kind of bad.  ... I placed a bit on rounds of cardboard so I could slide it under the fridge and set it in cupboards...

As well as in a line out on the screened in patio...

I'm certainly no expert on bugs, yet I can say it's been a full week since I did my decorations and I've not seen any roaches inside.  Maybe it's a coincidence... although the borax concoction has been untouched inside except the bit under the fridge that some ants got into and then proceeded to um...die.  So...?

Have you had any luck with homemade bug!defense?