Seeing More Roaches After Baiting
You have many choices for getting rid of cockroaches the natural way. One of these methods is mixing Borax or boric acid with sugar or another food source. When you put out bait, sometimes you see an increase in the cockroaches that you see, and this can be concerning. Let’s explore why this happens and how to use bait properly.
Why Do I see More Roaches After Putting Down Bait?
When you put out bait, and it seems like you see more cockroaches, it is not that more cockroaches are present, but the hidden ones are coming out. Whether you use a commercial bait or something like Borax and sugar, you leave a food source out, and the cockroaches are tempted to come out of their hiding places to take a nibble.
If it seems like you see more cockroaches after you put out bait, it is a good sign that the bait is working and attracting the cockroaches. This means that they consume the baited food and take it back to their nests. The ultimate goal of baiting is not to kill a single cockroach but to eliminate the entire population.
This means that a significant portion of the cockroach population must be exposed to the bait for it to work.
The social and grooming habits of cockroaches make baits able to kill the entire population. Many types of insecticides are available on the market, and they all have different mechanisms by which they work.
Boric acid and sugar kill cockroaches by interfering with their digestive tract, whereas some chemical insecticides work by disrupting the nervous system.
When roaches are exposed to a food source and get the poison on their legs and bodies, the other cockroaches in the nest will engage in grooming behavior. While grooming, the roaches will spread and ingest some of the bait, killing the entire roach population.
Another reason why you may see an increase in the cockroach population is if you have performed activities like sealing up cracks and crevices. Disrupting the cockroaches’ normal behavior patterns and environment will make more of them come out in the open.
How Do You Know If Roach Bait Is Working?
Keep in mind that the bait will work best if you carefully eliminate any other food sources. You want the bait to be the only food available. It is normal to see an increase in the visible cockroach population within a few days of putting out the bait. The cockroaches will go back to their nest and signal where the food source is located to the others.
After this initial increase, you should begin to see a decline in the population. If you do not see a decline after about two weeks, you might want to relocate your baits and place them in a different area. You should also check the bait to see if they are being consumed.
Another sign you will begin to see is dead cockroaches that have turned upside down on their backs because the bait has killed them. It is tempting to sweep them up immediately, but if you leave these carcasses out for a bit, other cockroaches will come out and consume the bodies. This will allow the poison to spread to a larger portion of the population.
How Long Does Roach Bait Take to Work?
Cockroach baits are not designed to kill a single cockroach instantly. They are intended to allow the cockroach to live long enough to take the poison back to their nest. Some chemical insecticides kill the roaches more quickly because they act on the nervous system. Those that work by disrupting the digestive track take several days to work.
It is better in the long run if it does not kill the cockroaches immediately so that the poison will infect other insects through contact with them. You should begin to see a significant decrease in the population in about a week or two. In about a month, you should see very few or none.
How Often Should You Put Down Roach Bait?
You should continue to put out baits even after you believe that the entire cockroach population has been eliminated. Any survivors that are hidden in the walls can quickly restart the population. You want to make sure that you get every last one. You should also engage in practices like cleaning up food that has been left out and sealing up any cracks with caulk.
If you see that the bait is being consumed, you want to make sure to replenish it. You should check your baits at least once a week to see if the bait is disappearing. If it is not disappearing, you might want to change their location to places where you have seen some cockroaches in the past.
One thing to keep in mind is that placing the baits along the edges of cabinets, countertops, and walls is more effective than placing them in the open.
You also might want to try placing them between your stove and refrigerator and the wall. This will attract any cockroaches that have taken up residence inside the appliance and eliminate them.
After putting down baits, you should not write your efforts off as a failure because you see an increase in the cockroach population immediately after placing baits.
It may look like it is getting worse instead of better initially, but this is a sign that it is working. The good news is that the cockroaches did not miraculously increase their population overnight. You just see more of the ones already there, and you can rest assured that you will begin to see less of them in about a week or two.
