How to Trap Cockroaches

Try making a duct tape trap., Get a roll of duct tape., Choose your bait., Set the bait., Set up your trap., Wait.

5 Steps 4 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Try making a duct tape trap.

    The premise of this strategy is simple: you'll need bait to attract the cockroaches, and adhesive to keep them there.

    This trap can be difficult to move once you have set it, but it is a simple trick, and you may yield a high reward for relatively little effort.

    You can also find adhesive-based traps, if you prefer to buy them.

    Look at home-and-garden stores, or ask your local exterminators for advice.
  2. Step 2: Get a roll of duct tape.

    Make sure that the tape is fresh and sticky – otherwise the roaches may be able to easily struggle out and escape.

    You can use alternatives to duct tape, but make sure that they are powerfully adhesive.

    Scotch tape will not do, nor masking tape; your trap must be able to hold the cockroaches until you are able to remove them from your home. , Anything with a powerfully sweet or oily smell will work.

    Onion is a common choice, although you can use anything fragrant.

    Try using small strip of fresh banana peel or sweet, overripe fruit.

    Consider using a small piece of bread.If you have noticed the cockroaches in your house being particularly attracted to any given food item, try using that as bait.

    If you wish to outright kill the cockroaches, you can buy gel baits spiked with active ingredients that poison the insects.

    Bear in mind, however, that these are not always attractive to roaches, and that they may not be as effective as advertised.Contact a local home-and-garden store or pest-control center.

    Make sure to only use a small portion of your chosen bait.

    If the bait spills over the edge of the tape, there will be little motivation for cockroaches to get themselves stuck.

    Slice the onion, fruit, or other food into a small but substantial chunk. , Place the fruit, onion, bread, etc. in the middle of a length of your sticky tape.

    Make sure that it is stable, and that it will not fall over. , Leave the tape in an area where you've been finding a lot of cockroaches: a kitchen, perhaps, or a dark corner, or near a hole in the wall.

    Bear in mind that you will need to decide what to do with these cockroaches afterward – they will be stuck to the tape, helpless, and you will need to find a way to remove them or dispose of them without setting them free.

    Try putting the trap in a high place – like the top of your kitchen cabinets, or the top of your fridge.

    Roaches like to scurry in high places., Cockroaches love the dark, and they tend to do most of their foraging at night.

    Leave the tape where it is overnight, and do not disturb it until the morning.

    When you check the trap at the end of the night, you should find a lot of cockroaches on it.

    To dispose of the cockroaches, you can either kill them or release them humanely.

    To release the cockroaches humanely, pick up the duct tape and take it outside.

    Bring it at least 100 feet from your home, then shake off the roaches and throw away the tape.

    If you don't want to pick up the trap with your bare hands, wear gloves or use a dustbin.

    Alternately, place a box over the tape to enclose the trap, then side a piece of paper underneath to hold the roaches in place while you bring them outside.

    If you're going to kill the cockroaches, you can simply throw away the duct tape with roaches attached.

    Make sure to close up the bag or bin once the insects are inside – otherwise they may crawl out, rendering your efforts useless!
  3. Step 3: Choose your bait.

  4. Step 4: Set the bait.

  5. Step 5: Set up your trap.

Detailed Guide

The premise of this strategy is simple: you'll need bait to attract the cockroaches, and adhesive to keep them there.

This trap can be difficult to move once you have set it, but it is a simple trick, and you may yield a high reward for relatively little effort.

You can also find adhesive-based traps, if you prefer to buy them.

Look at home-and-garden stores, or ask your local exterminators for advice.

Make sure that the tape is fresh and sticky – otherwise the roaches may be able to easily struggle out and escape.

You can use alternatives to duct tape, but make sure that they are powerfully adhesive.

Scotch tape will not do, nor masking tape; your trap must be able to hold the cockroaches until you are able to remove them from your home. , Anything with a powerfully sweet or oily smell will work.

Onion is a common choice, although you can use anything fragrant.

Try using small strip of fresh banana peel or sweet, overripe fruit.

Consider using a small piece of bread.If you have noticed the cockroaches in your house being particularly attracted to any given food item, try using that as bait.

If you wish to outright kill the cockroaches, you can buy gel baits spiked with active ingredients that poison the insects.

Bear in mind, however, that these are not always attractive to roaches, and that they may not be as effective as advertised.Contact a local home-and-garden store or pest-control center.

Make sure to only use a small portion of your chosen bait.

If the bait spills over the edge of the tape, there will be little motivation for cockroaches to get themselves stuck.

Slice the onion, fruit, or other food into a small but substantial chunk. , Place the fruit, onion, bread, etc. in the middle of a length of your sticky tape.

Make sure that it is stable, and that it will not fall over. , Leave the tape in an area where you've been finding a lot of cockroaches: a kitchen, perhaps, or a dark corner, or near a hole in the wall.

Bear in mind that you will need to decide what to do with these cockroaches afterward – they will be stuck to the tape, helpless, and you will need to find a way to remove them or dispose of them without setting them free.

Try putting the trap in a high place – like the top of your kitchen cabinets, or the top of your fridge.

Roaches like to scurry in high places., Cockroaches love the dark, and they tend to do most of their foraging at night.

Leave the tape where it is overnight, and do not disturb it until the morning.

When you check the trap at the end of the night, you should find a lot of cockroaches on it.

To dispose of the cockroaches, you can either kill them or release them humanely.

To release the cockroaches humanely, pick up the duct tape and take it outside.

Bring it at least 100 feet from your home, then shake off the roaches and throw away the tape.

If you don't want to pick up the trap with your bare hands, wear gloves or use a dustbin.

Alternately, place a box over the tape to enclose the trap, then side a piece of paper underneath to hold the roaches in place while you bring them outside.

If you're going to kill the cockroaches, you can simply throw away the duct tape with roaches attached.

Make sure to close up the bag or bin once the insects are inside – otherwise they may crawl out, rendering your efforts useless!

About the Author

E

Emma Hart

Committed to making practical skills accessible and understandable for everyone.

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