Soap Is The Unexpected Secret Weapon That Banishes Palmetto Bugs From Your Home

Palmetto bugs – aka cockroaches — (yes, they're one and the same) are disgusting, we all agree. Not only that, but they also carry multiple diseases. Fortunately, like many other pests, palmetto bugs can be eradicated using soap, and we're going to explain the how and why of it. No one likes having an infestation, especially when you're talking about cockroaches, and typically palmettos are the jumbo-sized ones. They live in sewers and septic tanks and can carry: E. coli, typhoid fever, dysentery, salmonellosis, cholera, giardiasis, listeriosis, and gastroenteritis.

When they crawl over food and other surfaces where food is prepared, it is then contaminated and food is unsafe for consumption. Anything they touch should be considered contaminated and in need of disinfectant. They often gather in damp places like underneath the foundation, under roof shingles, in palm trees, near swimming pools, in kitchens, drains, behind dishwashers, under refrigerators, you get the idea. If you have them in your house, you're going to want to get rid of them, with a quickness.

If you've seen these bugs in your home, you can take action to get rid of them by simply using soap. Mix a solution of one part water and one part dish soap in a spray bottle. Use the spray around your home anywhere you think palmetto bugs may be lurking. Repeat this often to keep them away. 

Another recipe uses dish soap and neem oil to get the job done. Pestcentric says you combine one cup of water, one teaspoon of dish soap, and two tablespoons of neem oil in a spray bottle. Shake it up until it starts to foam, and then spray the areas as described. This also works to kill live bugs if sprayed directly. If used strategically several times over the next seven days, Pestcentric claims it should take care of all the palmetto bugs in the vicinity. 

Another natural insecticide you can make at home is a mix of dish soap, pepper, and tobacco dust. Tobacco dust has been a long-known insecticide, per a 1923 article published in the "Journal of Economic Entomology," but it can also be on the pricey side. The recipe calls for one teaspoon of liquid dish soap, one tablespoon of black pepper, and 3.5 grams of tobacco dust mixed in a spray bottle with water. Like the other soap mixtures, you spray throughout the home in the rooms where you've seen the bugs or where you think they may be hiding.

First of all, liquid dish soap is not toxic if it's ingested by roaches. It kills them because it's toxic if you cover them in it. (Think: the Wizard of Oz, when the wicked witch gets doused with water and screams, "I'm melting!") For many insects, soap works to essentially block their spiracles, which are openings on their thoraxes and abdomens where air is pulled into the respiratory system, making it so that the bugs can't breathe. Interestingly, it's in this same way that it's also effective at killing lawn pests and other soft-bodied insects. As described by Lawnlove, the soap "disrupts their cell membranes" and "smothers them to death."

For roaches and other insects with exoskeletons, soaps lead to death by dehydration because it essentially works to dissolve the insects' "waxy coating" that keeps its body from drying out. Without the protective layer, palmetto bugs ultimately go feet up. Who knew that soap could be so versatile? While soap can really help take care of creepy giant roaches, it's also cheap and generally non-toxic, making it an unexpected secret weapon in the fight against these stealthy pests.