How to Get Rid of Roaches
Get rid of cockroaches with this step-by-step guide. Covers identification, deep cleaning, sealing entry points, bait stations, boric acid, and when to call a professional.
Few things make your skin crawl quite like flipping on the kitchen light and watching a cockroach scramble across the counter. We know the feeling. And if you have seen one, there are almost certainly more hiding nearby.
Cockroaches are not just unpleasant to look at. They carry bacteria, contaminate food, and their droppings are a documented trigger for allergies and asthma. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that roughly 14 million housing units deal with cockroach activity every year. So if you are dealing with them, you are far from alone.
Getting rid of roaches does not require an exterminator in most cases. With the right combination of cleaning, sealing, and baiting, you can eliminate them yourself. This guide walks you through the whole process from start to finish.
Sticky glue traps (for identification and monitoring) Flashlight Silicone caulk and a caulk gun Copper mesh or steel wool (for larger gaps) Gel bait stations or gel bait syringe Boric acid powder Airtight food storage containers Spray bottle with soapy water (for on-sight kills) Dehumidifier (optional, for damp areas)
Figure out what kind of roach you are dealing with
Before you do anything else, you need to know which species has moved in. The approach that works for German cockroaches (the small light-brown ones with two dark stripes behind their head) is different from what works for American cockroaches (the big reddish-brown ones that come up through drains). Place a few sticky glue traps in dark areas where roaches are likely hiding. Under the kitchen sink, behind the refrigerator, along bathroom baseboards, and near any pipes that enter the wall. Check the traps every morning for a few days. German cockroaches are by far the most common indoor species. They are about half an inch long and stay close to kitchens and bathrooms. American cockroaches are much larger (around an inch and a half) and usually enter from outside through drains and gaps in foundations. The National Pesticide Information Center has a detailed identification guide with photos of the most common household species.
Good to know: If you are not sure what species you are looking at, snap a photo and bring it to your local county extension office. They will identify it for free and recommend the best treatment for your area.
Deep clean your kitchen and bathroom
Roaches do not move in because your home is dirty. They move in because they found food and water. Your job is to take both away. Start with the kitchen. Pull the stove and refrigerator away from the wall and clean the grease, crumbs, and spills that have built up behind and underneath them. Wipe down the inside of cabinets. Clean grease off the range hood and vent filters. Store all open food in airtight containers. Roaches can chew through paper, cardboard, and thin plastic bags, so cereal boxes and chip bags are easy targets. Transfer anything that is not sealed into glass or hard plastic containers with tight-fitting lids. Take the garbage out every evening and use bins with lids that close properly. Do not leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight. Pick up pet food and water bowls before you go to bed. In the bathroom, wipe down counters and clean around the base of the toilet. Roaches are attracted to soap residue, toothpaste, and even hair.
Cut off their water supply
Roaches can survive for weeks without food, but they cannot last more than a few days without water. Eliminating moisture is one of the most effective things you can do. Fix any leaky pipes or dripping faucets. Check under every sink in the house, around the base of toilets, and near the washing machine. Even a slow drip is enough to sustain a colony. Dry out your sinks and bathtub before bed. Wipe them down so there is no standing water overnight, which is when roaches are most active. If you have a damp basement or bathroom, use a dehumidifier or improve ventilation. Oriental cockroaches in particular are drawn to moist, cool spaces and will often disappear once you dry the area out.
Good to know: Check your refrigerator drip pan. It sits underneath the fridge and collects condensation, which makes it a reliable water source for roaches. Pull the fridge out and empty it.
Seal every entry point you can find
Roaches can squeeze through gaps as thin as a coin. Walk through your home and look for cracks and openings, especially in the kitchen and bathroom. Use silicone caulk to seal cracks around cabinets, baseboards, window frames, and door frames. Pay close attention to the gaps where pipes and wires pass through walls. These are highways for roaches moving between rooms and apartments. For larger gaps around pipes, stuff them with copper mesh or steel wool first, then caulk over the top. Regular expanding foam works too, but roaches can chew through it over time. Check exterior entry points as well. Screen your vents, repair any torn window screens, and make sure your door sweeps sit flush against the threshold. Penn State Extension calls exclusion one of the most important steps in cockroach control. It is not glamorous, but a tube of caulk does more long-term good than most sprays.
Set out bait stations and gel bait
Gel baits are the single most effective consumer-level treatment for cockroaches. They work by attracting roaches to eat the poison, then the roaches return to their hiding spots and die. Other roaches feed on the dead ones and get poisoned too. It is a chain reaction that reaches deep into the colony. Apply small pea-sized dots of gel bait in cracks, crevices, and corners where you have seen roach activity or found droppings. Focus on the kitchen: behind the stove, under the sink, inside cabinet hinges, along the gap where the counter meets the wall, and around the dishwasher. Place at least ten bait points in the kitchen and two or three in each bathroom. The more placement points, the faster roaches find the bait. Check your bait stations every four to six weeks and replace any that are empty or dried out. If you notice that roaches are avoiding the bait after a few weeks, switch to a different brand with a different active ingredient. Some roach populations develop bait aversion over time.
Heads up: Do not use spray insecticides in the same areas where you place bait. Sprays leave a residue that repels roaches, which means they will avoid the bait too. Bait works by attracting them. The two methods work against each other.
Apply boric acid in cracks and wall voids
Boric acid is one of the oldest and most reliable roach killers. It works as a stomach poison. Roaches walk through it, get it on their legs and antennae, and ingest it when they groom themselves. Apply a very thin layer of boric acid powder in dry areas where roaches hide. Think wall voids, the space behind electrical outlet covers (turn off the breaker first), under appliances, and in the gap between cabinets and the wall. You want a barely visible dusting, not a pile. Roaches will walk around thick deposits. Boric acid must stay dry to work. Do not apply it in wet areas like under sinks or in bathrooms where it will get damp. Use gel bait in those spots instead. Keep boric acid away from areas where children and pets can reach it. While it is less toxic than most commercial insecticides, it can cause stomach irritation if ingested in large amounts.
Good to know: Food-grade diatomaceous earth is a good alternative if you have pets. It kills roaches by damaging their exoskeleton, causing them to dehydrate. Apply it the same way as boric acid, in thin layers in dry areas.
Monitor with sticky traps and adjust your approach
Set sticky traps in the same spots where you placed them in Step 1. Check them weekly and count the roaches you are catching. This is how you measure whether your treatment is working. If trap counts are dropping week over week, your approach is working. Keep going. It can take two to four weeks to see a significant drop, especially with a large infestation. If the numbers are not going down, look for things you might have missed. Are there food sources you overlooked? A leaky pipe you did not notice? Gaps you did not seal? Roaches are persistent, and they are good at finding resources you forgot about. Replace gel bait that has dried out. If you have been using the same brand for several weeks with no results, switch to one with a different active ingredient.
Call a professional if the problem persists
If you have been at it for two to four weeks and you are still seeing roaches regularly, it is time to call a licensed pest control professional. There are a few situations where professional help is especially important. If you live in an apartment or multi-unit building, roaches will keep coming back from neighboring units unless the entire building is treated. A professional can coordinate that. If you are dealing with American cockroaches, they often need exterior treatment around sewer access points and foundations that requires commercial-grade products. Professional exterminators use the same principles you have been following, just with stronger tools. They apply commercial gel baits, residual barrier sprays, dust treatments in wall voids, and insect growth regulators that disrupt the breeding cycle. Ask whether follow-up visits are included, since treatment usually runs over several weeks rather than a single visit. The EPA recommends choosing a pest control company that uses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) rather than relying on sprays alone.
Roaches are stubborn, but they are not invincible. The key is attacking the problem from every angle at once: cutting off food and water, sealing the gaps they use to get around, and putting bait where they will find it. Skip any one of those steps and you are giving them room to bounce back. Sticky traps are your best friend throughout this process. They tell you where roaches are hiding, whether your treatment is working, and when you can finally stop worrying. Keep checking them even after you stop seeing roaches. Give it at least two weeks of empty traps before you call it done. If you are dealing with other household pests, our guide on how to get rid of ants covers a similar step-by-step approach for ant infestations.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Very likely, yes. Cockroaches are nocturnal and excellent at hiding. Seeing even one usually means there are more tucked away in cracks and crevices nearby. A single German cockroach female can produce hundreds of offspring, and with overlapping generations a small population grows fast. If you spot one, set sticky traps immediately to find out how many you are actually dealing with.
Cockroaches are active at night and prefer to stay hidden during the day. If you are seeing them in daylight, it usually means the hiding spots are overcrowded and some roaches are being pushed out. This is a strong indicator of a large infestation that needs immediate attention.
Yes. Cockroaches carry bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli, and they contaminate food and surfaces with their droppings and saliva. They are also a major trigger for allergies and asthma. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that 63% of U.S. homes have detectable levels of cockroach allergen, and the U.S. Census Bureau reports that roughly 14 million housing units see cockroach activity each year.
German cockroaches reproduce faster than any other common household species. Each egg capsule holds 30 to 48 eggs, and a single female produces four to eight capsules in her lifetime. With three to four generations per year and overlapping generations breeding continuously, populations grow exponentially. That is why early intervention matters so much. A small problem can become a serious infestation within a few months.
No. As long as food, water, and shelter are available, cockroaches will stay and keep breeding. They will not leave voluntarily. You need to eliminate their resources and actively treat the infestation using the methods in this guide. Without intervention, the population will only grow.
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