Cockroaches!

Seems we are NOT cockroach free here in NOLA, as just this week were visited by a scurrying 2" specimen. YECH!

SOME FACTS: The American Cockroach is also known as the water bug. Despite being called American Cockroaches they did not originate here in the United States. They came from Africa most likely on ships in the early 1600's.
The average American Cockroach is about 1.6 inches long with wings and is reddish brown in color. They have a bit of yellow on the backs of their necks. Juvenile cockroaches look like adult cockroaches except they have no wings. The American Cockroach is a very active night insect that shuns light & and are very fast- they are able to run up to three and a half miles a hour or about 50 body lengths a second. That's like a human running two hundred miles a hour!

So of course I go straight to google on how to eradicate this pest...  HERE is the plan:

1. GET RID OF CLUTTER: Not a big issue here as we brought so little to our NOLA home, but we do have a few items that cockroaches love... cardboard boxes, paper, and things setting on the floor.  My solution here will also be to buy more plastic bins.
2. STARVE THEM: We have been fastidious about food storage since we arrived.. but suggestion is not even fruit bowls out!  Think I will get more storage containers for the kitchen as well.  
3. CLEANING: Important to clean up after every meal- including sweeping. Use a solution of 50-50 white vinegar EVERYWHERE!
4. REPELLENTS-  Borax is used quite a bit for cockroach control, but I want to go natural route, so this tells it all: