With just a little peanut butter and a dash of boric acid powder, you’ve created a simple roach killer that’s kid-safe, pet-safe and easy to use. Drop dabs of the miracle mixture into bottle caps and place them wherever roaches like to run. Maybe you prefer soda to beer—that’s perfect because a 2-liter soda bottle can transform into a great homemade roach trap! In the short guide below, you’ll learn about some of the best roach traps you can buy, as well as some you can simply make for free. You’ll also learn how they work, along with some important pros and cons. If you want to avoid dropping gel bait around your home (because of pets or curious kids), opt for Combat Roach Bait Stations. Like roach motels, these self-contained traps leave nothing exposed.

Roach Traps for Beating Cockroaches Every Time 15 Great Roach Traps for Beating Cockroaches Every Time

You hoped you’d never have to deal with water bugs in your house. But, now, you’ve discovered them crawling around… Bait composition varies by brand, but they contain a harmful chemical encased in a tasty food that roaches enjoy. The format and application of the bait vary by type. Whatever one you choose, using a bait that has a liquid and food will increase the likelihood a roach will pay it a visit. Harris Roach Tablets put boric acid traps in easy-to-use tablet form. Place these pill-sized tablets anywhere roaches are bothering you—storage rooms, kitchen cabinets and even wall cavities. Being wily creatures that do a lot of harm, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that a variety of traps have been designed over the years to deal with them. All traps use some form of glue, poison, body-damaging powder, or mechanical method to do the job, and each focuses on one of three outcomes or combination of them:

This article was written by Amanda Rose Newton, an Entomologist, freelance writer, and Garden Reviewer for The Spruce. As a general lover of all things bugs (especially roaches), she is always on the lookout for eco-friendly and low-cost pest control products that are easy for everyone to use and afford. She had the pleasure of speaking with Thomas Dobrinksa, a board-certified entomologist with Ehrlich Pest Control for their take on what consumers need to know when selecting an ant killer. The Hot Shot Ultra Liquid Bait is easy to place just about anywhere you find roaches. Just be sure to set out of the way of curious pets and children, as it is potentially harmful in large quantities. The bait stations need to be replaced once liquid is gone, usually after a month of use, depending on how fast roaches deplete bait. This article was co-authored by Kevin Carrillo. Kevin Carrillo is a Pest Control Specialist and the Senior Project Manager for MMPC, a pest control service and certified Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) based in the New York City area. MMPC is certified by the industry’s leading codes and practices, including the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), QualityPro, GreenPro, and The New York Pest Management Association (NYPMA). MMPC's work has been featured in CNN, NPR, and ABC News. Bait stations should be changed once a month or when the liquid is depleted. This could be once every 2 weeks. Glue Traps

Cockroach Trap Sticky with Bait Non-Toxic and ECO-Friendly - 12 Pack Cockroach Trap Sticky with Bait Non-Toxic and ECO-Friendly - 12

An insect growth regulator (IGR) contains a synthetic hormone that disrupts the ability of roaches to molt or reproduce. We like the Zoecon Gentrol Point Source IGR because, according to the manufacturer, it is safe to use around pets and children. The container holding the IGR laced gel is adhesive, so it can be kept out of the way inside cabinets or along baseboards. If one bottle doesn't solve your roach infestation, keep trying. You can set the trap with a new bottle every few days. Over time, the number of caught roaches should decline as there are fewer insects around to fall into your trap. While elimination is not always a possibility, traps can be an effective way to reduce the numbers seen around and in your home. They also serve as an excellent monitoring tool to let you know how many roaches are present at a time. If you have a huge infestation, it might be time to call in the professionals.Set the trap. Place the jar anywhere that you have a roach problem, and make sure that there is room on the sides for the roaches to crawl into the jar. The idea is that the roaches will climb up and fall into the jar, where they can't get out. There is no such thing as forever pest control. If you have a major infestation, multiple colonies, or are unsure of what roach type you have, it is time to call in an exterminator. Exterminators offer a suite of controls and like to use perimeter treatments to prevent future colonies from gaining entry. If your infestation is extreme, they may decide to use a fog treatment. Many use the same chemicals available in-home use products, in more concentrated form. There are some services that offer eco-friendly alternatives to suit your values and most professionals will continue to work with you to help prevent future infestations through ongoing monitoring. This is mostly unnecessary (they’re trapped anyway) but welcome if the sight of squirming roaches gives you nightmares! Pros We actually recommend boric acid to deal with these and many other pests,” says Dan Bailey, president of WikiLawn. “ Boric acid powder can be placed outside or inside, wherever roaches traffic. Because roaches are surprisingly clean, when they get it on their legs they will clean it off and ingest the powder which will kill them no more than 24 hours later.”

Roach Traps of 2023 - The Spruce The 7 Best Roach Traps of 2023 - The Spruce

Smear some cooking oil all around the inside of the top of the bottle. This will make a slippery slide to the bottom of the bottle. Fold them along the creases and simply leave these baited boxes wherever you’ve seen roach activity—behind appliances, along walls and under furniture. Pros Powders remain effective when dry. However, in the earlier study from North Carolina State University, researchers tested the potency of certain traps based on how long they aged.This easy homemade glue trap for roaches might seem way too simple to work, but don’t count it out until you see it in action. They do, but not quite as well. Most ant traps use the same pesticides that kill roaches— imidacloprid, fipronil and hydramethylnon, but ant traps wont use the same roach-attracting scents and pheromones that help to make roach traps so effective. These tables can be used under sinks, behind large appliances, or on top of kitchen cabinets. They are easy to place and do not require the application effort involved with gels, sprays, or foams. Roaches crawl in, eat the bait and leave… until the poison kills them later. There’s no mess and no danger of kids getting their hands on the chemicals. Pros Empty the trap. Leave the jar out overnight—or even for several days—until it has collected a good few roaches. Eventually, pour some boiling water into the jar to kill any surviving roaches. Flush them down the toilet or put them into a compost bin. [5] X Research source

Trap Cockroaches - wikiHow 3 Ways to Trap Cockroaches - wikiHow

Electric roach traps, like this one from ZoarC, are relatively new and “high-tech” entries in the pest control market. They work like glue traps, attracting roaches with bait and trapping them inside. However, electric traps zap the bugs with electricity to kill them.

Place a dollop of peanut butter, a piece of a banana peel or a similarly sweet bait in the center of a paper plate. Then, sprinkle CimeXa insecticide dust all around the bait on the plate. Gently place the plate where roaches can easily reach it.