
If there’s one thing cockroaches are fond of, it’s crawling all over your food.
So if you’re lazy about storing your leftovers in the fridge or cleaning it regularly, it’s only a matter of time till the roaches make your refrigerator their new favorite dining spot.
So, how do you get rid of roaches in your refrigerator?
Cockroaches are one of the most persistent pests and a nightmare to get rid of.
However, here are five sure ways you can kick them out of your fridge for good:
- Start storing all your food items in containers.
- Clean all fallen bits and pieces of food.
- Place the sugar and borax mixture inside the fridge.
- Clear out the roaches from the motor area.
- Perform a thorough cleaning.
When facing a roach infestation in the refrigerator, you can’t use insecticides or other chemicals. After all, you store your food there, so caution is advised.
You can’t let the roaches take over your fridge. So let’s get into the details of how you can retake what’s yours from these pesky pests for good!
5 Ways To Retake Your Refrigerator From the Roaches
Believe it or not, a roach invasion of your appliance should not be taken lightly.
These nuisances are not alone when they start their scavenging assault. They bring with them various food-borne diseases and pathogens.
This makes them extremely dangerous for you and your loved ones. Here are five ways to take the fight to the roaches and make sure they think twice before returning!
1. Start Storing All Your Food Items in Containers

The first and most important step is removing the cockroach’s nourishment source.
After all, pests are scavenging for morsels of food, so if you take those away, they won’t have a reason to be there.
If you store your food openly in your refrigerator, it’s time to go to the hygienic route. Leaving your leftovers all open is an open dinner invitation to the roaches.
Did you know that roaches carry bacteria like salmonella and are also known to be the harborers of the polio virus?
So when they crawl on food, they poop and vomit, which can lead to serious health hazards.
2. Clean All Fallen Bits and Pieces of Food

If you’ve been leaving your food open inside the refrigerator, then you’re definitely going to have bits and pieces lying around as well.
Remember, the roaches are not in your appliance to enjoy the cold weather; they’re there for the food, so clean it up.
You might also notice some roach droppings resembling dark-colored ground black pepper or coffee.
So tidy up the fridge with a clean washcloth or a sponge, and use organic cleaning products to scrape off all the morsels.
With your nice and clean refrigerator’s interior, you have cut off the cockroach’s main source of sustenance.
Don’t be too happy, though, being pests of habit, they’ll still be coming back in search of food. That’s when you move on to the next step.
3. Place a Sugar and Borax Mixture Inside the Fridge

With no available bits and pieces of food lying around, it’s time to bait the roaches out of existence.
You’re not the only one with a sweet tooth, as cockroaches also love sugary sweet stuff.
So start by making a borax and sugar concoction that’s both sweet and poisonous for the pests.
Borax is a natural mineral found in the earth’s crust and has been used as a pesticide to kill all sorts of bothersome pests for centuries!
How It Works
Take a small bowl, mix the two ingredients, and place the bowl in the fridge.
Make sure that you do this before going to bed and if you have kids, lock the fridge.
The roaches will be attracted to the sweet scent of sugar, thinking someone must really love them for leaving food out in the open.
Little do they know that they are about to digest something that will dehydrate them from the inside, putting an end to their infestation.
More Anti-Roach Borax Recipes
You can also mix borax with other sweet ingredients, such as in the following mixtures:
- A spoonful of both peanut butter and borax mixed together
- A mixture of equal parts cocoa powder and borax powder
- Borax balls made by mixing cornstarch, borax powder, sugar, and onion powder
4. Clear Out the Roaches From the Motor Area

In order to truly get rid of the roaches, you have to take out their hive.
Being the nocturnal annoyances that they are, roaches dwell in the dark, humid, and warm motor area of the refrigerator.
From here they make their way inside the fridge, while also scurrying to other locations in your kitchen in search of food.
Do not use liquid insecticides and repellents in the motor area as they may cause a short circuit in the electrical components.
Turn off your appliance for safety and get a bag of insecticidal dust or any of the anti-cockroach borax substances you already have.
Spread the insecticides in the motor area and under the fridge to ensure that no cockroach gets away unscathed.
Clean up the dead roaches every morning. Top up the insecticides every night before going to bed. Do this until you stop seeing dead cockroaches in and around the motor region.
Because cockroaches tend to breed and spread out, if they are in your refrigerator, they are also most likely hiding in other corners of your kitchen.
This is why you should treat other parts of your kitchen with the borax insecticide to ensure a complete termination of the pests.
5. Perform a Thorough Cleaning

Once the cockroaches have stopped showing up, it’s time to perform a complete cleaning of your appliance and its surroundings.
What To Do
Here’s what you need to do:
- Even though you may have cleaned bits and pieces of food from the inside, this time, you need to empty out your refrigerator and wipe down every nook and cranny.
- The handles and doors are where most of the food debris gets accumulated, so don’t forget to scrub them down.
- Make sure that you wipe and clean the underside as well as the exterior body to remove any dirt and oil or grease stains.
- Once the appliance has been thoroughly cleaned inside out, put all the items back and turn it on.
In order to ensure that the roaches don’t make a comeback, place some of the borax insecticides in the motor area, the kitchen corners, and at the backside of the appliances.
Summary
From a cockroach’s perspective, your refrigerator is the perfect infestation point. Not only does it have a nice, warm, and dark hiding spot, there’s easy access to food too!
Unfortunately for them, this food is only meant for you so they’re not welcome to join in!
By following the discussed five steps, you can ensure that the roaches don’t make a return any time soon:
- Start storing all your food items in containers.
- Clean all fallen bits and pieces of food.
- Place the sugar and borax mixture inside the fridge.
- Clear out the roaches from the motor area.
- Perform a thorough cleaning.
Now, you know how to prevent your refrigerator from getting infested with one of the worst pest infestations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Are There Cockroaches in the Fridge?
Cockroaches love moist and dark spots so they settle in and around appliances like refrigerators. This also gives them easy access to food.
How Do Roaches Get Inside Refrigerators?
There are several ways that roaches can get inside refrigerators, such as:
- Roaches are fast, so when the door opens, they dash right in like it’s their daddy’s home.
- If the unit is old, the loose metal plates and the worn-out gasket will have gaps.
- Any openings along the water, wiring, and heat dissipation pipes can serve as their entries.
Is It OK To Spray Chemical-Based Pesticides Inside the Refrigerator?
It is NOT recommended to spray chemical insecticides in your fridge as they contain harmful pyrethroids.
These chemicals can linger inside the appliance and can contaminate the food, while also causing side effects like allergies, headaches, and breathing problems.