Why didn't the cockroach die after taking the medicine? How to get rid of cockroaches? (Recommended collection)

You may have accidentally seen or clicked on a video of cockroaches eating poison bait. In the video, the cockroaches ate the poison bait with relish, looking so happy and contented, enjoying nature - no, it was a gift from the owner of the house. After eating, they walked away full of energy, as if they had eaten some kind of tonic. You may wonder: Isn't this poison bait claimed to be a cockroach killer? Why does it seem to be regarded as a delicacy by cockroaches?

Cockroaches feasting on cockroach medicine... | Screenshot from Weibo video account @装逼翻车现场

Why can't cockroach medicine make cockroaches bleed from all seven orifices and die as soon as they take a bite, like those poisons in martial arts novels that kill people with just a little touch? Is it the limitation of technology? In fact, it is quite the opposite. Poisons with particularly strong toxicity are often not good poisons.

Why not make it into “Crane’s Beak Red” that will kill you if you touch it?

There are many kinds of cockroach medicine, the most common ones are poison bait, powder, spray , and non-toxic cockroach house is also a common control tool. The cockroaches in the video are eating poison bait . Why can't the poison bait be made into a highly toxic poison like "Crane's Beak Red" so that the cockroaches will die immediately after eating it?

The cockroach that ate the cockroach medicine not only didn't die, but also walked around in front of me. I was so angry! | Giphy

First, highly toxic pesticides often pose a great threat to non-target organisms and the environment . In order to prevent killing one thousand enemies and injuring eight hundred of our own, we would prefer to use milder and more precise weapons rather than indiscriminate large-scale "lethal weapons". Although the new pesticides commonly used now are relatively mild in toxicity to target insects, their active ingredients (such as pyrethroids and indoxacarb) are also safer .

Secondly, less toxic poisons are often slow-acting poisons , and another benefit of this type of poison is secondary kill .

Cockroaches have a habit of eating their own dead bodies, and newly hatched newborns eat other cockroaches' feces to obtain nutrients and intestinal microorganisms - this is also very common in other animals. Slow-acting poison baits allow cockroaches to return to their hiding places before dying . In this way, when the dead bodies and feces carrying insecticides are shared by other companions, those cockroaches that stay at home or happen to miss the bait can also be brought down.

Cockroaches eat their own kind | RisBe / Youtube

The secondary poisoning method is not only used to control cockroaches, but also plays a more critical role in controlling social insects such as ants and termites . Because it takes a long time for food to be transferred from the foraging worker ants to the queen ants and larvae (the main force to maintain the nest), if the poison bait is too toxic, the worker ants will be knocked down before they return home, and the control effect will not be achieved.

The masterpiece of wood-destroying giant termites, which are also a headache to control | Alton / wikipedia commons

We should also note that poison doesn’t actually taste good . The purpose of poison baits for cockroach control is to add unpalatable poison to tasty food to trick cockroaches into eating a lot. But if you rush and add too much poison, cockroaches won’t like it, which will affect the effectiveness of the poison bait .

Don’t worry if the cockroach doesn’t die on the spot!

How long does it take for the commonly used cockroach bait to kill a cockroach? This varies from one cockroach to another, and also depends on whether the bait formula is popular with cockroaches and the toxicity of the active ingredients contained in it. Based on my previous experimental experience, German cockroaches will generally die within a week after eating the bait, while large cockroaches such as American cockroaches may survive for up to two weeks .

Common cockroaches in the home: A. German cockroach; B. American cockroach; C. Australian cockroach; D and E. Female and male Oriental cockroach | Wikipedia Commons

However, as long as the bait formula is reasonable and of qualified quality , and the cockroaches have not developed drug resistance , they will eventually be killed successfully.

There are several different types of poison baits, the most commonly used of which is glue bait . Glue bait can be said to be one of the most effective cockroach control tools , which can actively attract cockroaches to feast on them, achieving a kind of "collective suicide" effect.

Glue Bait | Easy Cleaning / Youtube

But there are a few things to note when using glue bait:

1) When placing glue bait, it is important to place it in small amounts and in multiple places . Try to put a small piece, as big as a mung bean, at places where cockroaches are likely to visit.

2) It must be carried out together with the cleaning work . Cockroaches will only eat glue bait when they have no options such as kitchen waste or pet food.

In addition to gel bait, there are also powdered bait and granular bait , each of which has its own advantages. Powdered bait can be blown into places that other baits cannot easily reach (such as deep gaps), and granular bait is suitable for outdoor application. Some products will put the bait in the poison killing device, which is quicker and more convenient to use, but you have to find the right location.

Granular poison bait | Tuchong Creative

What other secret weapons are there?

In addition to poison baits, there are a variety of other control products, each claiming to be able to perform the magic of cockroach disappearance. Sprays, powders, cockroach houses, and smoke bombs are all common product types, and except for sprays , they are all quite useful (sprays: thank you very much).

No.1 Spray

Why don't I recommend spraying? First of all, let's talk about the insecticidal principle of spraying. Spray-type insecticides have two modes of action: direct contact poisoning and drug residue poisoning . The specific mode of action of a certain insecticide (or both modes) depends on the active ingredients contained in the insecticide.

Cockroach spray | Tuchong Creative

The former is to kill insects by spraying directly on the cockroaches . Many so-called green and environmentally friendly household sprays are of this type. Their active ingredients are generally essential oils or surfactants (in plain words, soapy water). They can have a better effect when sprayed directly on the cockroaches, but they are useless if they are not sprayed on the cockroaches.

It can be seen that the efficiency of this method is actually only slightly higher than that of slippers , and killing a few stupid cockroaches that accidentally show up cannot solve the cockroach problem in the home .

You holding a newspaper/slippers/spray insecticide | Crayon Shin-chan

The latter relies on residual drugs on the surface to kill insects . When insects pass through places where pesticides remain, the pesticides that rub against their bodies can kill them.

In agricultural production, some pesticides are absorbed by plants to kill pests that feed on them; therefore, many pesticides cannot be used when crops are close to harvest.

To achieve the desired insecticide effect in this way, the insecticide needs to have high residual properties . However, insecticides with high residual properties are less safe and are only suitable for professionals. The insecticide sprays you buy in supermarkets either do not have enough residual toxicity for safety reasons, or have too high residual toxicity and should not appear on the daily necessities market.

No.2 Medicinal powder

In addition to the powdered poison bait introduced earlier that cockroaches actively eat, there is another type of powder that is a substance such as boric acid or diatomaceous earth. These drugs also achieve their insecticidal effect by sticking to the cockroaches .

The powder is sprinkled at the base of the wall and takes effect by sticking to the cockroaches | Photo courtesy of @luna

These powders are quite effective, but they need to be applied correctly: it is best to sprinkle a very thin layer along the base of the wall, the thinner the better ; if you sprinkle too much, the cockroaches will notice and be reluctant to get in , which will reduce the effectiveness of the medicine. You can also use a special tool for applying powders to blow the medicine into the gaps and corners where cockroaches move .

No.3 Cockroach House

A cockroach house is actually a kind of sticky insect board . It usually won't completely eliminate all the cockroaches in the house, but it is a good " intelligence collection device " that can tell us whether there are cockroaches in the house, how many there are, where they are concentrated, etc. Some cockroach houses also come with attractants, which may not be edible, but smell good to cockroaches and can lure more cockroaches "into the house."

The cockroach house is used in combination with glue bait and medicine powder . The glue bait and medicine powder take the initiative to attack, while the cockroach house waits for the cockroaches to come in. It can well guide us where the key control targets are (usually the kitchen), and can be used to test the control effect to see if there are any cockroaches left after a period of time.

No.4 Smoke bomb to kill cockroaches

The principle of smoke bomb-type cockroach medicine is actually to use drug fumigation to fill the air in the entire room with insecticidal smoke , killing hiding cockroaches.

I feel this method should be used with caution... | Beijing Youth Daily

Smoke bombs are more effective than sprays and can quickly kill many invisible cockroaches, but it is not easy to cure the cockroach problem with them. Smoke will drive cockroaches to hide in deeper shelters or escape to neighbors' homes, etc. Although it can reduce the insect population, if it is not combined with other follow-up prevention and control measures, cockroaches can easily come back.

What are the differences between the different active ingredients?

When choosing cockroach medicine, you will also see different active ingredients listed on it. What are the differences between these active ingredients?

Organic insecticides such as indoxacarb, fipronil, and hydrazone are effective and quick to take effect, and you may see obvious results in one or two weeks; boric acid and insect viruses take effect slowly but are safer. If there is no effect for a long time, it may be because cockroaches have developed resistance to the drug . It is recommended to try poison baits with different active ingredients.

But no matter what the active ingredients are, be careful not to let children and pets eat them by mistake. Many poison baits contain bittering agents, which cockroaches cannot taste but are effective for mammals, and can help prevent accidental ingestion to a certain extent; but when we place poison baits, we try to choose hidden places such as cabinets and gaps.

In general, as long as it is used carefully according to the instructions, cockroach bait is a safe and effective tool for killing cockroaches.

Do folk remedies work?

There are also some "cockroach medicine recipes" that need to be made by yourself, and the effects vary. The effective folk remedies are actually the "guerrilla" version of those "regular army" ones, with the same principles, but with lower configurations.

For example, boric acid mashed potatoes taste a little worse to cockroaches than commercial poison baits, and the active ingredients are less toxic, but it is easy to make at home, so you might want to give it a try.

This picture shows borax + peanut butter, which is similar | Youtube

Killing cockroaches with detergent water, dishwashing liquid water, or oil is based on the same principle as some sprays; cockroaches are hydrophobic and are difficult to be suffocated by water; however, non-aqueous solutions such as surfactants and oils can block the pores of cockroaches, causing suffocation . These methods can kill individual cockroaches, but they cannot eradicate the problem .

Using detergent water to kill cockroaches can usually only kill cockroaches that have already exposed themselves | Sacha Stevenson / Youtube

However, folk remedies such as using onions and oleander leaves to repel cockroaches are almost useless. At most, they can slightly change the cockroaches' activity routes, but they cannot kill them; cockroaches will not move for such a small reason.

In short, effective folk remedies are based on sound principles, but are generally not as effective as professional methods ; however, some folk remedies are downright unorthodox, and even if they appear to kill a few cockroaches, they are of no practical help in solving the cockroach problem.

Author:ChenZ

Editor: luna, siyi

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

If you need to reprint, please contact [email protected]