Homemade Peanut Butter Roach Bait

Roaches are difficult to kill. They sell various products to eradicate them, but you could turn up spending hundreds with no luck. One trick is to make peanut roach bait. However, before you do, you should know whether this method is effective.

What Does a Roach Look Like?

A cockroach looks similar to a beetle. They have rounded, oblong bodies. Generally, an adult cockroach is a half-inch to an inch long.

In comparison to a beetle, the legs of a cockroach are longer. Their antennas are also longer.

Cockroaches have two sets of leathery wings, although most species can’t fly. To get around, most cockroaches walk. Additionally, if the bug is a cockroach, it’ll look reddish-brown and have six legs.

Although you’re probably not going to touch one, they have oily skin. You can tell this, without touching them, by their shiny appearance.

Keep in mind that there are 4,500 species of cockroaches throughout the world, so this is merely a generalization. Each species has unique traits.

Besides finding roaches, you may notice you have them by the smell they omit. Especially when there are multiple roaches, they cause a musty odor.

Are Roaches Dangerous?

If you determine you have roaches, you may wonder if they’re dangerous.

Yes, cockroaches are dangerous in various ways, especially if you have allergies and/or asthma. For some people, roaches will trigger their allergies and cause asthma flares.

Additionally, roaches are known carriers of disease. And since they’re scavengers, they can easily infect you and your family by walking across the food you eat.

Some bacterial infections known to spread via cockroach include staphylococcus, streptococcus, and salmonella.

The World Health Organization (WHO) notes these pests have played a part in intestinal infections, such as dysentery, cholera, and typhoid fever.

While they’re carriers of illness, they won’t bite. They could scratch you with their long, spiny legs, though, which could contribute to a skin infection.

Why Are Roches Difficult to Kill?

Yes, cockroaches are difficult to kill. For one, these nuisances are adaptable. They live on all continents of the Earth besides Antarctica.

In terms of squashing or physically killing them, you’ll have no luck. Their exoskeletons are strong. Therefore, they can withstand being stepped on or smacked with a newspaper. These creatures can endure up to 900 times their body weight.

In addition, their exoskeletons are flexible. Plus, they can flatten their entire bodies. They use this defense mechanism to help them escape through small crevices and tight spaces.

Besides being escape artists, these menaces are also quick. They travel three miles per hour. And while this doesn’t sound very fast, they move about 50 times their body length in a matter of a second.

Moreover, cockroaches are becoming difficult to kill with pesticides. They’re developing resistance to various types of chemicals.

In addition, a roach can live without a head for up to a week. They don’t breathe through their noses and mouths as humans do. They breathe through tiny holes in their bodies. Instead of suffocating without a head, a cockroach will dehydrate, which takes time.

Their reproduction habits are another factor that makes them difficult to kill since they reproduce quickly. Not to mention, a female can reproduce asexually when no males are around.

What’s Peanut Butter Cockroach Bait?

Peanut butter roach bait consists of peanut butter and a substance that kills the cockroach once they ingest it. The substance is something that the roaches can’t detect.

Does Peanut Butter Attract Roaches?

Cockroaches are attracted to peanut butter. It’s high in proteins and fats, which is appealing to cockroaches. Not to mention, cockroaches love the scent of it. Since it’s so potent of a smell, they can easily find it.

This means that if you leave something with peanut butter out for cockroaches, they’ll easily find it and consume it along with the poison.

How Do You Make Peanut Butter Roach Bait?

Peanut butter roach bait isn’t difficult to make. You need peanut butter, and boric acid is all. Boric acid comes in a powder. As a cockroach ingests it, the substance attacks the roach’s nervous system and kills the roach.

As a general formula, you should mix one part boric acid powder with four parts peanut butter.

Can You Leave Boric Acid Out to Kill the Roaches?

You can leave the boric acid out on its own and hope the roaches walk across it. Due to static cling, the substance will stick to their bodies. Then, they’ll consume the substance as they remove it from their bodies.

However, you’re taking a chance that the roaches won’t come to the substance. With the peanut butter, the roaches have a reason to go near the boric acid.

What Are Ways to Get Rid of Roaches on Your Own?

You could also try a baking soda mixture. Baking soda and chopped onions are a delicacy only a roach could love. This method is inexpensive and consists of items you probably already have on hand. When the roaches consume baking soda, it causes a reaction in their stomachs. Their tiny stomachs fill with gas, which causes them to burst.

How Can You Prevent Roaches?

Ideally, you should take steps to prevent roaches before they come into your home. That way, you won’t have to worry about creating a peanut butter and boric acid mixture or any concoction at that matter.

Firstly, make sure you keep your house clean. Always clean up crumbs and spills. Put any leftovers away immediately. Empty your trash regularly.

Make sure you place all food in sealed containers in your cupboards and do your dishes daily.

Clean underneath your appliances because crumbs and grease underneath these devices could bring in cockroaches.

If you have cardboard boxes in your home that you aren’t using, you should get rid of them. Cockroaches will use them as shelter.

Try to stop them before they can get into your home. For instance, make sure you seal around your crawl space and utility pipes. Secure your windows and doors with weather-stripping. Search your home for any potential cracks or crevices they could get through, and seal those as soon as possible.

Peanut butter roach bait is a method that can kill roaches, and it’s simple to make and inexpensive. However, if you take steps to prevent cockroaches, you won’t need to worry about what kills cockroaches.