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Any cockroaches that stay outside in nature are OK in my book and should have nothing to fear from humans. Any roaches that break the trust and come into our homes, however, need to die.
Our top pick to render said bugs dead is the Combat Max 12-Month Roach Killing Bait because, as the name suggests, its lethality starts on day one and lasts for a year.
You've probably heard cockroaches described as the ultimate survivors. After all, can't they survive a nuclear explosion? Well, not exactly, as it turns out. Anything caught up in the actual blast wave, be it a roach or a rhino, is as good as dead. But when it comes to withstanding radiation exposure, roaches have a tolerance that far exceeds our own - 50% of one test group survived a 30-day exposure to radiation levels that would have killed most humans in a matter of minutes.
And speaking of survival, some variety of roach ancestor has been extant for about 320 million years, which means that cockroaches not only survived the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs some 66 million years ago, but that roaches were scurrying around the planet about 70 million years before the first Eoraptors were running around what today is Argentina.
So if your goal is complete and total global eradication of the cockroach, you're probably choosing a losing battle. If you're trying to keep your home or business roach-free, then we can help. We've included roach-killing products that get the job done fast, killing on contact, and those that get the job done slowly, allowing a roach to transport poison back to the nest.
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The best combination for your infestation will probably be a blend of two or even three of these products, as roaches are indeed a tenacious and resilient foe. But don't worry, even though they have a few hundred million years of history over us humans, we've developed much larger brains, so we can figure this thing out and get you a roach-free property. Quick pro tip: proper food storage and waste disposal are probably going to be the most effective technique of all.
Here are the best roach killer and traps you can buy:
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If you're trying to deal with an infestation of common small roaches, you probably don't want to do so by keeping a can of insecticide at the ready at all times. Yet you do want your home to be a cockroach killing ground at all times. That's why so many people trust Combat Max 12-Month Roach Killing Bait stations.
These compact, discreet black discs can be placed in cabinets and drawers, under the fridge, behind the toilet, and just about anywhere else you want, and each of the 18 stations you get per box is loaded with enough roach poison to remain effective for up to a year in most circumstances.
The low cost and long lifespan (so to speak) of these bait stations are both certainly selling points, but so too is the ripple effect of their efficacy. For once an individual roach has ingested the Fipronil insecticide within the station, the insect will unwittingly transport lethal doses of the stuff back to its nest, potentially killing many more roaches and speeding the demise of the entire local population.
Most of the hundreds of reviews posted on Amazon come with 5-star ratings. One said that "within a day" of setting out the stations he "no longer saw live roaches." Another said, with a bit of humor, that his "only regret is that the roaches can't feel [his] hate."
Pros: Long term efficacy, great low price, discreet and easy use
If your entire plan for dealing with a serious roach problem involves spraying every insect you see with insecticide, then you can count on having a roach problem for many years to come, friend. Treating the issue means killing off the bugs you can't see, which will vastly outnumber the individuals spotted scurrying to and fro. Sorry to tell you that, but it's the truth.
However, as part of a comprehensive roach eradication campaign, it's invaluable to have a kill-on-contact spray at your disposal, and Raid Ant & Roach Killer Insecticide Spray is certainly that. One quick spritz of this surprisingly inoffensive lemon-scented formula and that roach making a beeline for a crack in the wall is dead meat.
This spray can also be used to treat areas of known roach activity, making them temporarily lethal to insects passing through, though the spray lacks the ability to render an exposed insect lethal to others such as many baits do.
With more than 100 customer reviews posted on Amazon, this legacy insecticide brand's roach killer spray has an average 4.3-star rating. One buyer who was "disgust" with roaches, was quite satisfied with the "quality product" that "killed several roaches" immediately upon the first use and smelled "lemony and... almost pleasant."
Morning Chores said the spray works "against other crawling insects like ants, waterbugs, silverfish, crickets, spiders, and the Multicoloured Asian Lady Beetle. The spray has a pleasant scent and it leaves no lingering chemical odor."
Pros: Kills almost instantly, pleasant scent, effective against myriad pests
You can apply Advion Cockroach Gel Bait exactly where you want it, even in the smallest cracks and crevices, and you can count on roaches bringing its lethal formula back to the nest.
The process of using Advion Cockroach Gel Bait isn't as simple as tossing a few bait stations or traps around the house, nor is it as easy as just spraying every insect you see to kill them on site. But while a more laborious initial undertaking, this stuff more than makes up for the effort required in its extreme lethality to roaches.
It is highly effective for two reasons, the first being the fact that the carboxylate insecticide is simply very deadly to insects. The second reason is that the brand has come up with a blend of ingredients that roaches find irresistible.
Using the included applicator tips, you can spread lines or dots of this gel wherever you have seen roaches in the past or where you suspect they may be lurking. It can be squeezed into cracks in the wall, corners of baseboards, behind trashcans, and anywhere else in your home you see fit for treatment. The gel is also rated for use on boats, planes, or on any other vehicle that might have developed a roach infestation, such as your own car.
With more than 1,000 reviews posted at the time of this writing, Advion Cockroach Gel Bait scores a 5-star rating among 68% of Amazon customers who left feedback. One buyer called it the "best roach killer" he has ever used, while another said the "bad infestation gone in just two weeks" of use.
The Pest Management said this gel can "easily get rid of heavy cockroach infestations" and is definitely "worth buying." Morning Chores picked this as one of its favorites.
Pros: Long lasting killing action, irresistible to roaches, good for heavy infestations
When you have a roach problem, your primary objective is to kill off the bugs and end the infestation. But with many products, that means days or even weeks of finding dead roaches all around your home or office. Granted, dead roaches are better than living ones, but cleaning up those insect carcasses is hardly pleasant. When you use the Black Flag Roach Motel Insect Trap, the roaches die out of sight and then remain that way, forever entombed within these compact traps.
Rather than relying on a poison to do the dirty work, Black Flag Roach Motel Insect Traps uses a sweetly scented and highly sticky substance that lures the insects into the cardboard box and then traps the roaches fast, causing them to soon perish through lack of sustenance. Which seems cruel, but don't worry, they can't feel pain and they can't process existential plight. Just don't spend too much time looking into one of these things, because it gets macabre in there pretty fast, at least in the eyes of people who can ponder death.
About 250 customers have chimed in on the Black Flag Roach Motel Insect Traps at the time of this writing, giving it an average 4.2-star rating. One customer who initially felt helpless after said the traps have "significantly reduced [the] roach infestation."
The Spruce called these "the best sticky trap" for killing "both large and small roaches."
Pros: No dead roaches littering the floors, no dangerous chemicals, effective for weeks on end
If you apply Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer liberally enough around the outside of your home, you may never have to deal with a roach inside your home.
Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer is both a quick-killing and a long-lasting formula, and it can be used both inside and outside of your home. As a spot killing solution, you simply squirt a bit of the stuff on a hapless cockroach you find running across your floor. But this stuff is best used to create a defensive perimeter against infiltration, and as it comes in a gallon-sized container with a powered spray wand, go ahead and apply a heavy dose all around your property.
If you already have a bad roach infestation, it's a good idea to go ahead and apply a thin line of Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer along baseboards, under cabinets, under doors, and so on. Just don't spray it where kids or pets will come into contact with the area until long after it has dried.
As part of infestation mitigation or to proactively ward off a roach approach, spray the formula all around the outside of your house, and lay it on thick. Hit the windows and doorframes, the crawlspace, the garage, and so forth. In most conditions, the barrier you lay down will last for months. Oh, and that lethal barrier you create is also effective against ants, spiders, silverfish, and more.
One Amazon customer proclaimed, "This works!" She goes on to say that she "sprayed the entire perimeter of the house outside, plus inside the house corners and closets, plus the garage" and after many "months [she] hasn't seen one bug since."
Pros: Large volume for food price, creates long-lasting barrier, good for indoor and outdoor use
Cons: Electric spray nozzles sometimes fail after minimal use
