A roach infestation inside your fridge is indeed a nightmare. The site of these pesky bugs devouring your favorite food can surely make you throw up. In addition, these pests can make your food inedible and unhealthy by spreading mold spores and bacteria.
If you are tired of trying several roach-eliminating remedies, you need to sit down and find the root cause of this issue. Ask yourself: “how do roaches get in your refrigerator?”
Cockroaches only need the slightest gap to make their way into your fridge. So, a loose rubber seal or a cracked door makes up excellent roach entry points.
However, all hope is not lost since you can rely on a few handy tricks to get rid of roaches from your fridge. These may include placing traps, lures, and cockroach repellents strategically.
For your ease, we have explained several helpful tricks in this post. So if you are having a roach problem in your fridge, you can read this post to learn how to eliminate them.
Why Do Cockroaches Enter Your Fridge?
Roaches can squeeze into your fridge from the tiniest spaces. They do so by sniffing the scent of delicious food kept inside. In addition, they would be motivated to invade your fridge if they can’t access food easily outside.
Moreover, roaches love damp places, and your fridge is one of them. So, if your fridge leaks, cockroaches may scuttle up your fridge water lines and infest it.
Here are a few instances that can invite roaches:
- A blocked defrosting drain with food or other junk
- An old fridge with disrepair water lines
- Water lines damaged by other bugs
- Frozen water supply lines
Once roaches have entered the cold space, they can find several hiding spots.
How Do Roaches Get Inside Fridges?
When you open the door to grab a drink, these intelligent bugs scutter into their hideout to avoid getting detected. In most cases, they hide in the pathways they used to get inside the fridge. That is why learning about these entry routes is critical for removing cockroaches.
Here are some common entry points for roaches to enter your refrigerators:
Worn Gasket
Roaches won’t lose time entering your fridge through an old and worn gasket. The gasket is a seal that surrounds the door. It keeps pests and air out by creating an air-tight seal on your refrigerator’s door.
But since gaskets are composed of rubber, they can easily be worn out. As a result, it may create gaps between the fridge and door. In such instances, the food scents may escape from these gaps and lure roaches.
Open Doors
Roaches are sneaky enough to enter your fridge through the door directly. So, you may think you have shut the door tightly, but the pesky bug may have climbed up inside the refrigerator.
Machine Part Gaps
Cockroaches can slip into your refrigerator from the crack in its outer shell. So, even though you have been meticulous enough to seal the door, you can’t prevent roaches from entering the fridge through loose metal plates.
These plates are an open gate for roaches to crawl inside the cold storage without much hassle.
In addition, old fridges do not contain all their components at the back. As a result, the pests can find several access points to enter. For instance, a few common openings used by roaches include:
- Condensation pan
- Fan
- Coils
- Compressor
How To Get Rid of Roaches From a Fridge?
You can eliminate roaches from your fridge by using efficient techniques, such as placing traps and insecticides.
However, you must avoid spraying insecticides in your fridge as the harmful toxins may stay inside the appliance even after vigorous cleaning. This can result in food intoxication, which can be dangerous for your health.
So, this is how you can remove roach infestation from your fridge the right way:
Spread Insecticidal Dust
Insecticidal dust can kill roaches with its chemical content. It consists of many active ingredients that may penetrate the bug’s outer shell and damage its nervous system.
You can spread this dust around your fridge to keep roaches away and kill insects wandering around it.
When a cockroach comes in contact with the powder, it will gradually damage its exoskeleton. Ultimately, the roach loses its ability to absorb water or suffers from a damaged nervous system within a week or two.
However, you must ensure cleaning and replacing the insecticide regularly.
Cockroach Baits
Roach baits can help you eliminate the pests by tricking them into eating poisonous lures. In addition, they contain attractive scents that may tempt roaches to eat them.
When a poor bug may bite on a lure, the toxic concoction may gradually kill the pest. You can place these baits in several roach hideouts, such as under your fridge or behind it.
How to Remove Cockroaches from Fridge with Home Remedies?
You can use home remedies to exterminate roaches if you have kids running around the house. That’s because using conventional pesticides with several chemicals can risk your child’s well-being. In contrast, home remedies are relatively safer.
Here are some DIY cockroach-killing remedies:
Borax and Sugar
Borax and sugar make up a tasty farewell treat for roaches. Since cockroaches love sugar, they’d be delighted to consume this home remedy. The best part is that both ingredients are easily available in most households.
In addition, borax, commonly used for cleaning purposes, can dry out a roach’s exoskeleton and kill the insect slowly.
Alternatively, you can use baking soda and boric acid to kill the pests. First, you must prepare a mixture of this chemical in a 3:1 ratio with sugar. Once done, you can spread it around the fridge. You’ll notice roaches dying within a few weeks.
Essential Oils
According to research, essential oils can be helpful against roaches. For instance, kaffir essential oil has a 100% efficiency when used under experimental conditions.
You can use this essential oil for repelling cockroaches by mixing ten drops of kaffir oil in two cups of water. Then, wipe your fridge and kitchen surfaces with the mixture. Also, spray this solution onto places roaches love to visit.
Crushed Cucumber
Crushed cucumbers can come in handy for repelling roaches with 90% efficiency. But why? That’s because the cool veggies contain certain compounds disliked by the pests.
So, when you crush a cucumber, it may release these compounds and act as a cockroach repellant. You can keep these repellants in your fridge by placing them in an aluminum can.
How to Remove Roaches From Your Fridge Motor?
Roaches can easily infest your refrigerator’s motor because it has many hiding spaces.
However, you should be cautious when using insecticides in this area. Because if you accidentally damage the motor while getting rid of the roaches, you might need to get a new fridge. Regardless, you can try these methods:
Use Dry Insecticides
Liquid pesticides can short out your fridge’s motor or damage the coils. Therefore, you should stick to non-liquid alternatives, such as traps, baits, and dust.
However, if you still wish to use liquid insecticides, you can place them under the fridge or behind it. This way, when a roach may scuttle out of the refrigerator to meet its kins, it can come in contact with the poison and eventually die.
Use Sticky Traps
Glue traps consist of an adhesive solution layered on cardboard. So, when a cockroach steps on the trap, it may stick to the glue.
Although this isn’t an instant remedy for killing roaches, it can help dispose of them. Plus, it lets you remove roach infestations from your fridge without damaging the motor or any other component.
Besides, sticky traps can also eliminate roaches in several areas of your home. For instance, you can place the sticky cardboards inside kitchen drawers, bathrooms, and over the counters at night.
How To Clean a Roach Infested Fridge?
Roaches can contaminate the food you put inside the fridge. That’s why you need to remove all the food to clean your fridge thoroughly. You need to deeply cleanse the refrigerator to eliminate roach egg shells or nymphs.
Follow these steps to make your fridge roach-free:
Step 1: Empty Your Fridge
Once you spot a few roaches inside your fridge, you should empty the storage as soon as possible. This step will keep the pests from spreading harmful bacteria onto the wrappers, containers, or uncovered food.
You should:
- Sanitize all food containers and keep them in a different fridge
- Freeze a few food items if possible
- Put the remaining items in air-tight containers and store them in a sealed, cold area
- Remove the compartments and separations and clean them
Step 2: Get Rid of Cockroach Eggs
Roaches are experts at hiding their eggshells. That’s why you must reach into the hardest areas of your fridge where nymphs are lying to eradicate the roach colony for good.
Step 3: Clean the Fridge with Food-Safe Cleaners
Once you have removed all roach eggs and cockroaches, you must sanitize your refrigerator. However, ensure that the commercial cleaner you use does not have a strong scent. Because even after you’ve cleaned the space, the smell won’t go away.
You can clean the fridge compartments by wiping them thoroughly with the solution. Once done, you may clean the interior spaces with the mixture. In addition, don’t forget to clean your fridge’s bottom, top, and handles.
Sanitize the Fridge’s Surrounding Area
Cleaning the areas around the fridge is vital for removing the roaches completely. That’s because unclean areas may attract cockroaches again. So, you should spread insecticidal dust and sanitize the area.
Are Cockroaches Cold or Warm-Blooded?
Cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures. This means that they can not generate heat on their own. That’s why you will likely find roaches near heat sources and warm areas.
However, if the bugs can not locate any heat sources in your fridge, they may enter diapause. This phase enables them to survive by slowing their metabolism and reducing unnecessary movements.
Do Roaches Avoid Cold Areas?
Cockroaches may avoid infesting your fridge if they can find other food sources nearby. This means that roaches dislike living in the cold. However, they are not repelled by it. Instead, they can easily infest warmer fridge areas, such as motors.
FAQs
Can Roaches Survive Living in a Freezer?
Cockroaches can survive in chilly temperatures without difficulty. These pests are so adaptable to cold that they can withstand the freezing environment of Antarctica. So, in comparison, living in a fridge is no big deal for roaches.
To your surprise, roaches can find heat sources in your fridge. That’s because your refrigerator can generate enough heat for the pests to thrive. So, roaches love sticking near the motor and other components that generate heat. In addition, cockroaches may use these spaces to warm up, hide, breed, eat, and defecate.
Can Roaches Get Food In Fridge?
Roaches can easily get food inside your fridge by feeding on your meals and drinks. So, if you have a roach infestation, you should consider covering your leftovers before putting them in the fridge.
How Do I Get Rid of Roaches From My Deep Freezer?
You can get rid of cockroaches from your freezer by keeping them clean and using gel baits. These traps can help remove roach infestations in your freezer as the chemicals may poison and kill the roach.
Final Thoughts
A roach-infested fridge is the last thing you may want in your kitchen. The pesky bugs can contaminate your food and make you sick. That’s why you should try your best to get rid of them as soon as possible.
In addition, you must check all potential entry points to keep the pests from accessing your cold storage. For instance, you should check under the fridge or search for loose metal plates and water leaks. If any damage is found, you should get it fixed.
Alternatively, you can use insecticidal dust and the home remedies mentioned above to eradicate roach colonies and keep your fridge clean.