How To Trap Cockroaches

So. You’ve got roaches. They’re sort of in control. And even when you kill them, it feels a lot like a game of whack a mole.

Before throwing up your hands or beginning to worry about the cost of a professional exterminator, let’s look at another option: cockroach traps.

In the short guide below, you’ll learn about some of the best roach traps you can buy, as well as some you can simply make for free. You’ll also learn how they work, along with some important pros and cons.

Ready? Lets go!

Three Kinds of Traps: Sticky Traps, Poisoned Bait Traps, and Mechanical Traps

Being wily creatures that do a lot of harm, it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that a variety of traps have been designed over the years to deal with them. All traps use some form of glue, poison, body-damaging powder, or mechanical method to do the job, and each focuses on one of three outcomes or combination of them:

• Killing roaches one at a time.
• Going after the colony.
• Providing intelligence about cockroach populations that can inform a “big gun” strategy later on.

We’ll begin with the most basic cockroach trap—sticky traps.

Roach Sticky Traps

Cockroach sticky traps may appear to be a little primitive, but used properly, they’re one of the smartest pest control purchases you can make.

Good for reducing low-level infestations and catching the occasional straggler or two, they won’t wipe out a colony on their own. Instead, they complement more aggressive strategies nicely. Tucked inside a kitchen cabinet or under your refrigerator, a cockroach sticky trap becomes a sort of watchful sentry—quietly, ruthlessly killing roaches one-by-one, possibly for years.

But to see where sticky cockroach traps really shine, you need to give them a whirl at monitoring.

With as few as half a dozen, they’ll show you not only how bad your cockroach problem is, but where to concentrate your efforts.

Sticky roach traps are dead-simple to use, cheap for what they do, and assuming you don’t buy something weird, pesticide-free. The only downsides are occasionally getting glue on your hands, and the likelihood of catching other creepy crawlies (like mice) you may not have intended to.

Here are some sticky traps worth pointing out:

1. Exterminator’s Choice Insect Glue Traps

With an all-natural, non-pheromone cockroach lure, Exterminator’s Choice glue traps are about as simple as glue roach traps get. They’re relatively inexpensive, long-lasting, and designed for roach-sized creatures, not for every small critter (like mice) that might happen to cross their path.

Fold them along the creases and simply leave these baited boxes wherever you’ve seen roach activity—behind appliances, along walls and under furniture.

Pros	Cons
Designed for insects	Better for monitoring than aggressive roach control
Highly effective natural lure	Bait application will be confusing for some
Large. Reliable. Eco-friendly materials	Large size makes these more costly to use in bulk

2. Victor Roach Pheromone Trap

A variation on the basic cockroach sticky trap design, the Victor Roach Pheromone Trap includes entry points on the sides and top. Like the Exterminator’s Choice trap, it’s designed for insects, not other kinds of pests. But unlike Exterminator’s Choice, it uses a roach-attracting pheromone to lure the roaches in.

Pros	Cons
Designed for insects, easy to set up	Smaller size, can catch fewer roaches
Attractive bulk pricing	Bulk packaging may not be right for all
Effective pheromone lure

3. Black Flag Roach Motel

The Black Flag Roach Motel adds a bit of polish to the cockroach glue trap design. With this famous roach motel, the roaches are lured deep inside where, after being caught, you never have to see them again.

Pros	Cons
Super simple and clean	More expensive than standard glue traps
Large size can trap more roaches	Larger openings catch unintended creatures, too

4. A Homemade Roach Trap with Duct Tape and Bait

This easy homemade glue trap for roaches might seem way too simple to work, but don’t count it out until you see it in action.

To make a duct tape cockroach trap, you flip a piece of duct tape upside down, place a glob of peanut butter in the center. Roaches come for the bait and stay because they get stuck to the duct tape. Place your DIY roach trap tape along a wall or in a cupboard for the best results.

Pros	Cons
Dirt cheap	Catches roaches, but not as effectively
Handy and you might have some on hand	Requires additional time and effort
	Unattractive and sticks to anything that moves

Poison Cockroach Bait Traps

Poison roach bait traps are tremendously effective cockroach-killing tools. Unlike roach sticky traps, which target roaches individually, roach bait traps have active ingredients that slowly poison the roaches that eat it, then spread to and poison the colony itself.

5. Advion Cockroach Gel Bait

Advion is an effective, highly regarded gel bait popular with both homeowners and professional exterminators. Formulated with its own pheromone lure, it’s easy to use and so potent that a handful of well-placed drops can often eliminate a small or self-contained infestation (see more about Advion Cockroach Gel Bait here).

Advion is usually just deposited in trouble areas, but you can also create a trap-like bait station with minimal mess. Just place a single drop inside a large matchbox and you’re good to go until it dries up after a few weeks, after which you simply re-apply.

Pros	Cons
Extremely attractive bait	Difficult to measure short-term results
Powerful insecticide can spread to multiple roaches	Won’t work if roaches can find other food sources
Can be used as part of your ongoing defense, too	Drops must be spread out to cover all target areas to be successful

6. Combat Roach Killing Bait Station

If you want to avoid dropping gel bait around your home (because of pets or curious kids), opt for Combat Roach Bait Stations. Like roach motels, these self-contained traps leave nothing exposed.

Roaches crawl in, eat the bait and leave… until the poison kills them later. There’s no mess and no danger of kids getting their hands on the chemicals.

Pros	Cons
Child-proof and pet-safe	More expensive than applicator gel bait
Can kill many roaches before the bait is gone	Roaches might be hesitant to enter the traps

7. Natural Roach Trap: Boric Acid and Peanut Butter

You can put together an effective DIY cockroach trap without relying on dangerous pesticides. Boric acid is a natural compound that’s deadly to any cockroach that eats it.

With just a little peanut butter and a dash of boric acid powder, you’ve created a simple roach killer that’s kid-safe, pet-safe and easy to use. Drop dabs of the miracle mixture into bottle caps and place them wherever roaches like to run.

See the full Roach-Free Recipe: Boric Acid and Peanut Butter Bait for Roaches

Pros	Cons
Good for your wallet	Hard to measure success in the first 1–2 weeks
Safe for humans and pets	Won’t defeat larger cockroach infestations on its own

8. CimeXa Insecticidal Dust Trap

This one’s another simple, homemade bait trap.

Place a dollop of peanut butter, a piece of a banana peel or a similarly sweet bait in the center of a paper plate. Then, sprinkle CimeXa insecticide dust all around the bait on the plate. Gently place the plate where roaches can easily reach it.

Hungry roaches will crawl across the CimeXa to eat the bait, picking up the insecticide dust and eating it later when they groom themselves.

See the full Roach-Free Recipe: How to Kill Roaches with Insecticidal Dust

Pros	Cons
Very little CimeXa needed per application	Delayed kill, so it’s difficult to measure early progress
Safe for people and pets	Will require many applications

9. Harris Boric Acid Roach Tablets

Harris Roach Tablets put boric acid traps in easy-to-use tablet form. Place these pill-sized tablets anywhere roaches are bothering you—storage rooms, kitchen cabinets and even wall cavities.

After roaches feed on them, they’ll scurry back to their hiding place where, if you’re lucky, they’ll spread the boric acid to other roaches. These tablets are excellent complements to other sticky or mechanical traps.

Pros	Cons
Long-lasting if kept dry	Shouldn’t use around pets or small children
Easy to conceal but powerful against roaches	Need to be placed in areas where roaches are active

10. Roach Cookies: All-Natural DIY Roach Trap

Another boric acid recipe to kill cockroaches, this one comes in the form of “cookies”—circles of dough that attract roaches with sugar and flour and kill them with the insecticide. It only takes 20 minutes to put together these roach-killing treats and hide them wherever the bugs are active.

Get the full Roach-Free Recipe: Roach Cookies: An Easy, Natural Recipe for Killing Roaches

Pros	Cons
Inexpensive, simple, natural ingredients	Larger infestations will require additional treatments
“Cookies” can be left out for several weeks	Could cause avoidance if placed too close together

11. Hot Shot Liquid Roach Bait Traps

Instead of food-scented sticky pads or powdered bait, Hot Shot Liquid Roach Baits contain—you guessed it—liquid insecticide. Cockroaches need lots of water to survive and liquid baits take advantage of that fact to make themselves even more attractive to these pests.

Rotate liquid bait stations with other baits so the roaches don’t start avoiding the traps.

Pros	Cons
Attracts roaches with bait and water	Tend not to last as long as other traps
Looks better than other traps	Wear eye protection: users report some liquid spraying out when opened

Mechanical Roach Traps

Mechanical traps involve a bit more ingenuity, either from the manufacturer who makes them or from you if you’re going to make one yourself. These devices can pay off by catching roaches without chemicals or potentially messy glues—and in the case of homemade cockroach traps, with just a few inexpensive household ingredients.

12. Jar and Petroleum Jelly DIY Cockroach Trap

Jar traps rely on potent bait and slippery sides to lure roaches into the jar and prevent them from climbing out. With a smelly bait at the bottom and sides smeared with petroleum jelly, this homemade cockroach trap can catch dozens of roaches—and it’s reusable!

Tip: Use a jar with a narrow neck for a trap that’s safe for pets, who can’t squeeze their curious snouts through the opening!

Pros	Cons
Cheap and simple	Requires daily emptying and resetting
Can catch multiple roaches	Could be difficult to entice roaches into the jar

13. A Homemade Cockroach Trap With a Beer Bottle and Oil

Save your last sip of beer (or wine) and use it to trap roaches! Research has shown that the smells of beer and wine attract these bugs just as well as leftover food. Once cockroaches venture in, the tall bottle, coated inside with slippery oil, traps roaches for good.

Pros	Cons
Preparation involves enjoying your favorite beer or wine	Results vary when using tall bottles; roaches might be hesitant
Can trap multiple bugs	You probably can’t empty it to catch more roaches

14. 2-Liter Soda Bottle Trap

Maybe you prefer soda to beer—that’s perfect because a 2-liter soda bottle can transform into a great homemade roach trap!

Cut the top off the bottle, right where it rounds out to its full width. Rub petroleum jelly inside the top half of the bottle (and the bottleneck). Then, place some bait at the bottom of the bottle, slide the top section upside-down into the bottom section and wait for roaches to climb in after the bait.

Pros	Cons
Room for plenty of roaches to climb in	Some assembly required
Inexpensive (and potentially fun) project for kids to help out with	Roaches might be hesitant to climb large bottles

15. Electric Cockroach Trap

Electric roach traps, like this one from ZoarC, are relatively new and “high-tech” entries in the pest control market. They work like glue traps, attracting roaches with bait and trapping them inside. However, electric traps zap the bugs with electricity to kill them.

This is mostly unnecessary (they’re trapped anyway) but welcome if the sight of squirming roaches gives you nightmares!

Pros	Cons
Able to trap and kill many roaches	You still have to empty the trap to reuse it
Uses little electricity	Electric devices might break at any time

Choosing the Best Roach Traps for your Needs and Putting Them to Work

Cockroach traps do a few tasks really well and one task better than any other tool.