Can you kill a roach by stepping on it? Roaches are very annoying, ferocious creatures, and no one wants to see them in their home. There are many ways to get rid of cockroaches, of which one of the most prominent ones is physical removal or stepping on them. The most effective way to get rid of cockroaches is to use aerosols and insecticides that manage cockroach infestation instantly. This publication also explains if stepping on roaches releases their eggs or attracts more roaches for rapid reproduction.
Can you kill a roach by stepping on it?
You can get rid of a cockroach by stepping on it. You may think that stepping on a cockroach destroys its egg case and releases roach nymphs (baby cockroaches). Although this is possible, in most cases, the pressure from stepping on a cockroach can kill the baby if it is pregnant.
Stepping on a cockroach will eliminate it, but you should note that if you discover a cockroach, stepping on it doesn’t solve your cockroach problem.
Cockroaches are social creatures, which indicates that you’ll always see them in groups. Anywhere you find one or two roaches, there could be much more lurking around.
When you come across a cockroach, perhaps, you should step on it. You reduce the number of roaches you need to eliminate by one or more if it carries nymphs.
However, immediately after you step on a roach, use an antibacterial cleaner to disinfect the place to prevent any pathogens the cockroach may carry.
A quick tip: if you are scared that stepping on the cockroach will spread its eggs, thereby complicating the roach issue, don’t be scared. After a cockroach is killed, all eggs die with it.
Survival
Nonetheless, a roach may survive being stepped on. The exoskeletons or outer cover of cockroaches is tough. It keeps them from being smashed around. If you trample on them unintentionally, there is a high chance they’ll survive it.
Ensure to check the body for the proper amount of fatal damage. Also, make sure you listen for a popping sound to show that its exoskeleton has been shattered.
Should you kill a roach by stepping on it?
Cockroaches are very tough. They can resist significant injuries and survive without eating for months—but won’t survive for too long without water. Cockroaches can survive without a head for more than a week. If you step on a roach to kill it, make sure to apply intense force.
Cockroaches and their eggs
Cockroaches use a tough case called ootheca to hold their eggs. The ootheca is laid and placed on many surfaces around a home, including walls, headboards, bed frames, and cabinets, just to mention a few, when they are prepared to hatch the eggs.
In most species, cockroaches do not store or hatch their eggs inside the mother cockroach. For the few species that the eggs are stored in the mother cockroach, all the eggs are eliminated when the cockroach is squashed.
This is why you don’t have to be bothered about releasing the eggs or making the cockroach problem worsen when you step on it.
Getting rid of the roaches
The most effective way to eliminate cockroaches is through exclusion or by dealing with why they invade a house and how they get in.
There’s no single way to completely eliminate cockroaches from a house, but rather a combination of strategies to deal with the cockroach problem.
1. Block water and entry sources
Cockroaches survive by water. If they lack water, they’ll only survive within 7 days. Fix all leaking pipes, sinks, and refrigerators to help eliminate the roaches.
Search and seal entry points. Cockroaches do not require a big opening to gain entry into your house. In most cases, they enter through tiny holes. You must look for those kinds of spots and block them. You can find those holes in pipes, baseboards, doors, and windows.
Make sure you do this regularly to significantly reduce the likelihood of cockroach infestation in your home or workspace.
2. Empty your trash can
As stated earlier, cockroaches are in a constant search for food. This can be your leftovers. Make sure cockroaches do not find meals in your trash by regularly emptying your trash can and keeping the lid very tight.
3. Make use of baits and traps
Combined with the tips above, baits and traps ensure cockroaches will no longer dwell in your home. By killing cockroaches, baits and traps can eliminate an entire cockroach population. You can buy them from the store or make yours at home.
4. Clean the garage and yard
Many people don’t notice how messy yards and garages usually are. Therefore they often neglect cleaning them. Cockroach infestation will flourish in unkempt yards and garages. It is vital to ensure they’re well-cleaned and organized, free from dirt.
6. Collect and dispose of roaches with glue strips
Glue strips have proven to be one of the best methods of killing cockroaches. Glue strips are sheets containing an adhesive substance that can trap cockroaches within 1 or 2 days.
However, this method will not be effective for large cockroach infestations, but it can help check and tell how serious the roach problem is.
Important: If glue stripe traps many cockroaches, you have a significant infestation and need to contact a professional immediately.
7. Bait roaches with boric acid
Boric acid is a stomach poison that cockroaches don’t have resistance to. But for boric acid to work, a roach must consume it. Boric acid comes with a few cautions. In addition, people are usually afraid and use more quantity than necessary—make sure to use the recommended quantity.
One rule we make use of when using any type of dust insecticide is if it is visible, you’ve applied too much. If the cockroach can see the pile (of boric acid), they may walk around it.
Mix it with equal amounts of sugar and water to get cockroaches lured to the boric acid. Pour the mixture into an open jar and put it anywhere you have come in contact with cockroaches. If the cockroaches consume the mix, it will eliminate them.
Be cautious when applying boric acid as it can be very harmful in large quantities, according to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)—their toxicities each depend on the amount of boron they contain. It is also essential to adhere to the product label instructions when applying it.
Note: You can use Borax in case you don’t find Boric acid
8. Use diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth is an itching agent that spreads on the surface of insects when they run on it. If it sticks to their bodies, it will damage their exoskeleton and make them dry out.
Just like boric acid, this method works slowly and people tend to apply them in incorrect quantities.
Using large quantities can lead to itchy and sore throats among homeowners. Over-applying it can make it lose its efficiency because cockroaches will walk around it.
It is not advisable to use bug bombs or foggers—the mist usually does not penetrate tiny spaces where cockroaches are holed up. Also, a few species have built resistance to some insecticides in many roach foggers, such as pyrethroids.
9. Fight roaches with baking soda
Baking soda is a good substance that can be used to fight roaches. Mix baking soda and sugar to attract the cockroaches. As soon as they consume the mixture, it will make their inside bloat and increase, which destroys them.
Although baking soda isn’t better than boric acid, you can use them together. Solutions made from the mixture of 3 portions of boric acid and one portion of baking soda will destroy cockroaches after about 5 hours.
10. Employ essential oils
If you want to get rid of a few cockroaches, essential oils can be beneficial. Make a spray with a mix of essential oil and water and spray it in the places where you’ve seen roaches. Only use this method for small infestations.
11. Insect growth regulator
If your cockroaches are domestic like the german cockroach, or you find out that they’re reproducing in your home, buy an insect growth regulator, as a spray made with Pyriproxyfen. They will make the cockroaches unable to reproduce or mature, thereby reducing their population.
Insect growth regulators are preferably used in combination with other products that kill adult roaches since they primarily work on the egg and nymph stage of cockroaches and may take time to have a significant outcome.
12. Use a syringe to apply gel baits
Apply a syringe to products that attract cockroaches to make the product reach tough areas. The more surfaces you cover, the more likely cockroaches will meet the bait.
Using tiny dots of gel instead of large portions is best for roaches in places like cabinets, corners, and walls/wall edges.
Baits might take up to 3 days to eliminate cockroaches, giving them enough time to infect other cockroaches.
