How to get rid of roaches in your house: baits, cleanup and sealing

Step by step: how to get rid of roaches in your house

Safety first. Read and follow the label on every bait or dust, and place them where children and pets cannot reach. Never put boric acid on counters or other surfaces where food is made. Do not use foggers (bug bombs) indoors: they rarely reach roaches and can be a fire hazard near pilot lights.

1. 1

   Set sticky traps to find the hiding spots

   Put 8 to 12 cockroach sticky traps flat against walls on the floor: under the sink, behind the fridge and stove, inside lower cabinets, and next to the water heater. Number them and check them every day for three or four days. The traps that catch the most roaches tell you where to clean and bait first.

2. 2

   Identify which roach you have

   Look at what you caught. A light brown roach about 1/2 inch long with two dark stripes behind the head is a German cockroach, which lives and breeds indoors. Large dark roaches over an inch long are usually American or oriental cockroaches coming in from drains, crawl spaces or outside, and need more sealing than baiting.

3. 3

   Deep clean the kitchen and bathroom

   Pull the stove and fridge out, vacuum the crumbs and droppings behind and under them, and degrease the floor and sides. Wipe cabinet shelves, the toaster area and the floor edges with hot soapy water. Vacuum cracks with the crevice tool, which also picks up roaches, shed skins and egg cases.

4. 4

   Take away their food and water

   Move cereal, flour, sugar, pet food and snacks into glass jars or snap-lid containers. Use a trash can with a tight lid and take it out every night. Fix dripping faucets and leaky drain pipes, dry the sink before bed, and do not leave pet water or dirty dishes out overnight.

5. 5

   Put out gel bait where the traps caught roaches

   Apply pea-sized dabs of gel bait into cracks, hinges and corners near the busiest traps, or set bait stations flush against cabinet corners and behind appliances. Many small dabs work better than a few big ones, because roaches find bait while foraging rather than being drawn from far away. Do not spray cleaners or insecticide on the bait.

6. 6

   Dust voids with boric acid

   Puff a light, barely visible film of boric acid powder under the fridge and stove kick plates, behind the dishwasher and into gaps where pipes enter the wall. Roaches avoid thick piles, so less is more. It keeps working as long as it stays dry.

7. 7

   Seal cracks and entry points

   Caulk gaps along backsplashes, cabinet backs, baseboards and around pipes under sinks. Add a door sweep to exterior doors and check window screens. German cockroaches can hide in a crack 1/16 inch wide, so seal anything you can slide a card into.

8. 8

   Check traps weekly and keep baiting

   Baits are slow: expect fewer roaches after about a week and a clear drop within two or three. Replace sticky traps and refill bait as it is eaten or dries out. When traps stay empty for a month, keep one or two out as an early warning.

Which roach treatment works best?

Bait works best for roaches that live indoors, and sanitation decides how fast it works. The University of California IPM program says pesticides alone will not solve a cockroach problem, that baits give better control than sprays, and that foggers and aerosol sprays can scatter roaches to other rooms without killing them.

Where do roaches hide in a house?

Roaches hide in warm, dark, tight spaces close to food and water, mostly in the kitchen and bathroom. University of Kentucky entomologists point to the edges and corners of cabinets, the wall and floor junction behind the refrigerator, stove and dishwasher, and the openings where plumbing comes through the wall.

• Inside and under the refrigerator, including the motor area behind the kick plate.
• Cabinet hinges, drawer runners and the back corners of lower cabinets.
• Under the sink, around the garbage disposal and dishwasher.
• Inside small appliances like toasters, coffee makers and microwaves.
• Behind loose baseboards, wall plates and the water heater.
• Stacks of cardboard, paper bags and clutter, which they also eat.

Look for droppings that look like pepper or coffee grounds, smear marks along edges, shed skins and brown egg cases. Place bait right next to these signs, since the droppings carry a scent that draws other roaches in.

Using roach baits safely with kids and pets

Baits are the safest roach pesticide for a home because they stay in small, targeted spots. Still, every product is toxic if eaten, so treat it like any medicine.

• Read the label before you buy and again before you apply. The EPA advises keeping pets and children away from treated areas as the label directs, and keeping the label handy if you ever need to call for help.
• Put gel into cracks and hinges, not on open surfaces a toddler or dog can lick.
• Use stations inside cabinets and behind appliances rather than on open floors.
• Never move bait into food containers or unlabeled bottles.
• Do not combine sprays with bait; the spray residue can make the bait less attractive.

When should you call a pest control company?

Call a licensed pest control professional if you still catch roaches after a month of cleaning and baiting, if you see them in daylight, or if you live in an apartment where they move between units. Daytime sightings often mean the hiding spots are full.

Ask for an inspection, gel and bait station treatment, and dusting of wall voids, rather than monthly perimeter sprays. If you rent, tell your landlord in writing. For building-wide problems, see our guide on roaches in an apartment.

Mistakes to avoid

• Setting off a bug bomb, which scatters roaches into walls and other rooms.
• Spraying insecticide or cleaner on top of gel bait, so roaches avoid it.
• Baiting without cleaning, so roaches keep eating crumbs and grease instead of the bait.
• Piling boric acid in thick lines that roaches walk around instead of through.
• Stopping as soon as you see fewer roaches, before the eggs in hiding have hatched and been baited.