This shouldn’t come as a surprise to you — cockroaches are disgusting creatures. You really don’t want to touch them! Luckily, there are a lot of effective ways to kill cockroaches without touching them. But remember that these methods will not completely eliminate cockroach infestations because they don’t target eggs. They can only help reduce the population of live cockroaches in your home. So, how do you kill a cockroach without touching it?
Why you don’t want to touch a cockroach
- Cockroaches are carriers of dangerous microorganisms. Cockroaches are not picky eaters. They are also nocturnal and reclusive animals. Because of these characteristics, you may find cockroaches even in the most unsanitary places like garbage cans and sewers. In these places, they get a variety of disease-causing microorganisms like Salmonella Typhimurium, Entamoeba Histolytica, and the poliomyelitis virus. And they can pass these microorganisms to you.
- They bite. Cockroaches don’t like you. They want to stay away from you as far as possible. This is the reason why cockroaches scurry away when you suddenly turn on the lights in your room. But there are still instances where cockroaches do approach you and end up biting you, especially when they are desperate for resources.
- They can get inside your mouth and ears. Cockroaches crawling on you are the worst. You can feel their tiny legs prickle on your skin. Even just the thought of crawling cockroaches can make a person lose sleep. But it gets even worse — cockroaches have been known to crawl into mouths and ears. Your mouth may have food in it that cockroaches may be desperate enough to eat. And your ears are dark and tight spaces that cockroaches like to rest in.
How to kill a cockroach without touching it
1. Spray insecticides
One of the best ways to kill a cockroach without touching it is the use of insecticides. There are so many commercial insecticides out there, with brands like Baygon® and Black Flag® leading the market. They are very accessible, effective, and straightforward. Just make sure that you are buying an insecticide that clearly indicates that it can be used on household pests like cockroaches. And then diligently follow the instructions on how to use them.
Remember that these products contain toxic ingredients. You may put yourself and your family at risk if you don’t follow the instructions properly.
2. Try cockroach baits
Insecticide sprays are not the only commercial products out there that can kill cockroaches. Baits are just as effective. The idea is simple — simply sprinkle the baits around your home and let the cockroaches eat them. The pests will die in a few days because of the toxicity of the baits.
Here’s the best part — cockroaches are known to be cannibals. They eat their own. A cockroach that has died because of the bait can kill other cockroaches if it gets eaten as the toxicity of the baits linger on the dead cockroach.
Like insecticides, make sure to follow instructions on the packaging of the cockroach baits. There are many different kinds of cockroach baits and they work in different ways. Some need to be sprinkled on the dark corners of your home. Some need to be complemented with real food. And some even have sticky surfaces that trap cockroaches.
3. Make a DIY cockroach bait with baking soda or boric acid
You can also make cockroach baits on your own with baking soda or boric acid as the main ingredients. To make a cockroach bait with baking soda, mix baking soda and sugar in no specific ratio. And then sprinkle the mix in areas with high cockroach activity. When baking soda gets in contact with water, it explodes. This reaction can kill a cockroach from the inside when it drinks water.
To make a cockroach bait with boric acid, mix boric acid and sugar in no specific ratio as well. Boric acid is toxic to cockroaches and will kill them. But take note that boric acid is toxic to humans and household pets too. Be careful in using it if you have children or pets at home.
4. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is a white powder made from the fossilized remains of hard-shelled microalgae. It is used in a wide variety of products, including insecticides. Diatomaceous earth is toxic to the exoskeleton of cockroaches. When diatomaceous earth gets in contact with cockroaches, their exoskeletons wither and they die.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on spots where cockroaches are likely to crawl, such as dark corners and hard-to-reach places. But make sure that these places are dry. Diatomaceous earth is not effective when wet.
You can also mix diatomaceous earth with sugar and turn it into a hybrid bait. The cockroaches will be attracted to the sugar and they will be killed by the diatomaceous earth.
5. Use a vacuum cleaner
Cockroach baits? Diatomaceous earth? What are these words? It’s understandable if you find them complicated and confusing. But you can stay away from them and rely on a more straightforward approach — simply vacuuming up the cockroaches.
Vacuum cleaners are not likely to kill the cockroaches themselves. But they are nice ways to capture cockroaches without touching them, so you can move them away from your home. Once you have sucked the cockroaches, release the contents of your vacuum cleaner in a garbage can far away to prevent the cockroaches from coming back.
6. You can always rely on blunt force to kill a cockroach without touching it
You can use raw force to kill a cockroach without touching it. This is even more straightforward than using a vacuum cleaner. The most common method is to hit the cockroach with a hard object, like a rolled newspaper. But you can also just step on the cockroach to kill it.
When using raw force, make sure to completely squash the cockroach. These pests have very strong exoskeletons that can withstand forces hundreds of times their body weight. They also like to play dead. The only way to make sure that they are truly dead is to see their guts splattered on the floor.
So, you can kill a cockroach without touching it
You don’t want to touch cockroaches because they are carriers of disease-causing microorganisms. They can also bite and get inside your mouth and ears. Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to kill a cockroach without ever touching it.
You can use commercial products like insecticides and cockroach baits. You can also rely on more simplistic approaches like the use of vacuum cleaners or raw force. And when all else fails, you can also just let pest control professionals do the job.