Attractor #1: Food What attracts cockroaches more than anything is food. Roaches need food to survive. Eliminating access to food can help eliminate a roach problem. Throw away any food that has been left out on the counter.
They are particularly drawn to crumbs, spills, and food residues, especially starchy and sugary items. Moisture-rich environments like leaky pipes and standing water also attract cockroaches. Cluttered and dark spaces offer shelter, and warm environments provide ideal conditions for their activity.
Cockroaches are blessed with an amazing sense of smell. This is what they use when seeking food and mate but at the same time, this is also their weakness. A cockroach's sense of smell can be used to get rid of them.
Some strong scents, such as lavender and mint, have been known to repel cockroaches.
Strong Smells
Cockroaches have a keen sense of smell and are attracted to objects that have a strong and distinct odor. Two of the biggest culprits for attracting cockroaches are garbage and compost.
Another way you can repel cockroaches is by using home remedies for roaches that offend their sense of smell. Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds.
Pet odors, like the smell of pet food, as well as the scent of urine and feces. Dirty dishes that are left in the sink can attract cockroaches due to the smell left by food. Musty odors caused by moist and humid environments. Basements, crawl spaces, and bathrooms are common areas where these smells can occur.
There's a long-running joke that cockroaches could survive the apocalypse, as getting rid of unwanted roaches is difficult if you have an infestation. But if you want to kill them on contact, all you need to do is reach for your handy bottle of Pine-Sol! Considered a "contact insecticide," it kills them quickly.
Leaving the light on doesn't deter cockroaches effectively because they can navigate in low-light conditions. While they're mostly active at night, they may still come out in search of food or water. During the day, cockroaches hide in dark areas not directly exposed to light.
Insects and Arachnids
Strangely enough, one of the most prevalent kind of predator that cockroaches face are fellow insects! The emerald cockroach wasp, Ampulex compressa, for example, has an unusual way of preying upon cockroaches. The wasp stings the cockroach's brain, which paralyzes the cockroach.
A cockroach can feel the change in air current and change in the surroundings, and when they encounter us, they look in their surroundings, looks for a place from where they can escape, and then chase you, scare you, and make a run toward the escape. They use this strategy against many other predators.
It may surprise you to know that cockroaches are, in fact, able to bite humans. There have been reported cases of cockroaches biting fingernails, eyelashes and calloused skin on hands or feet. Cockroaches will also eat dead skin cells. However, cases of cockroach bites are extremely rare.
Attractor #1: Food
What attracts cockroaches more than anything is food. Roaches need food to survive. Eliminating access to food can help eliminate a roach problem. Throw away any food that has been left out on the counter.
When a cockroach is squished or crushed, it releases a substance called oleic acid, which can attract other cockroaches to the area. This isn't because they are coming to the aid of the fallen cockroach, it's because of the fact that cockroaches will eat each other if there isn't enough food available.
Ethanol Directly Kills Cockroaches
While white vinegar won't kill those pesky insects, ethanol—also known as common alcohol—will kill cockroaches. Cockroaches are particularly sensitive to ethanol and a direct hit from it will take them down.
Listerine is said to be cockroach deterrent. So using it to keep roaches out is effective. Take one portion of listerine and mix equal amount amount of water to it. To make it more effective you can also add a few drops of dishwashing gel.
Baking Soda and Sugar
You just need to Mix equal parts of baking soda and sugar and sprinkle the mixture in areas where cockroaches are likely to be found. The sugar will attract the cockroaches, and the baking soda will kill them when ingested.
Peppermint oil is a top contender when it comes to repelling roaches. The intense minty aroma is refreshing to us but absolutely overwhelming to roaches. The reason peppermint is so effective lies in its menthol content, which irritates a roach's sensitive respiratory system, making it hard for them to stay around.
Typically, cockroaches stay away following a treatment or service, but sometimes these pests may return with a vengeance! Keep reading to learn more about recuring cockroach infestations and what you can do to prevent these pests from returning.
The scent emitted by the peppermint oil will act as a barrier, making these areas unattractive to roaches and encouraging them to seek shelter elsewhere.
American cockroach
Their egg capsules are roughly ⅓” long and are dark reddish or blackish brown in color. Each ootheca holds about 16 eggs.
Strong Odors
Roaches will eat almost anything, but they love sweets most. The apple pie scented potpourri you put out might be interpreted as an open invitation to a free buffet. An unsealed bowl of sugar or open box of sweet cereal can also seduce their senses.
Cockroaches will eat all human foods, plus many other items such as soap, toothpaste, glue, hair, excrement, and filth. In order to eliminate cockroaches, it helps to know where they are hiding. Preferred locations include warm, dark, moist areas, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.
The other most notable place where roaches are able to enter would be through the bottom of a toilet. Toilets generally seal to the sewage pipe in the floor through a wax ring. The toilet is pressed on to this wax ring which creates a seal.