Alcohol can have a huge impact on cockroaches, one of the most common pests.
If your favorite bottle of beer happens to be sitting at home, you can drink it to kill your Roaches. However, doing this might not be the most effective way to kill your Roaches.
So, does alcohol kill roaches? Roaches are one of the most common household pests in the US.
They spread disease and cause allergies. However, many people are reluctant to use chemical or biological insecticides to get rid of them because they are toxic to pets and children.
Luckily, a chemical-free method exists to get rid of roaches: alcohol. Roaches are attracted to sweet-smelling alcohols.
If you place a small amount of alcohol on a roach-infested surface, the roaches will be attracted to it and drown in the alcohol. While alcohol kills roaches, it’s essential to apply it in moderation.
You can even make a homemade roach trap by filling a glass jar with alcohol, and then putting a little bit of sugar on it to lure the roaches in. While this method works, it’s not always practical to trap a roach in a glass jar.
Does Alcohol Kill Roaches?
Contents
Cockroaches are killed by alcohol because they are drawn towards it.
The smell of the alcohol attracts them and they die from exhaustion or death via alcohol poisoning.
Roaches are attracted to both feces and deposits on surfaces.
So, if you combine alcohol and feces on a roach-infested surface, the roaches will be drawn to it and die from exhaustion or death via alcohol poisoning.
When roaches consume large amounts of alcohol over a short period of time, they die of respiratory failure or develop Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome due to vitamin B1 deficiency.
They are often drawn to fermented foods as well and these can encourage their reproduction and growth.
They keep drinking because of the sensation of intoxication caused by the ethanol in the drink which continues until they die of dehydration or starvation from being unable to leave the area because of the intense attraction to the smell.
They sink and drown in the liquid because the surface tension is disrupted and the cells are unable to retain water.
Because there is a high concentration of ethanol present in the liquid.
Is Alcohol Attractive to Cockroaches?
Cockroaches like alcohol and are attracted to its smell because of the fermentation of sugars from other food sources caused by the decomposition of bacteria.
This allows them to reach a higher concentration of ethanol and this can have drastic effects on the insects. The ethanol present in the liquid has a high concentration.
Because it is a fermentation of the sugars from food sources that have fallen into the liquid through the activity of bacteria present during the decomposition process.
Since cockroaches are attracted to the smell of alcohol, you can eliminate them from your home by placing some small amounts of it in areas where they are present in your home.
Because the liquid has a high concentration and the insects have a very high tolerance for toxins, they are drawn to the substance and can be killed if left for an extended period of time.
Does Alcohol Kill Cockroaches’ Eggs?
Spraying cockroach eggs with a mixture of water and vinegar will kill them because the chemicals present in these substances are lethal to egg shells and kill the eggs before they can hatch.
This is due to the low pH value that is present in the solution which will dissolve the shells of the eggs and render them useless for hatching.
The eggs do not yet developed spiracles, so they are unable to breathe when the shell dissolves.
How Alcohol Kill Roaches?
In contrast to mammals, insects, including cockroaches, do not have an enzyme known as catalase which helps break down alcohol molecules into carbon dioxide and water before it becomes toxic.
As a result, any substance that coagulates these molecules in the body will be fatal to the insect.
Because alcohol has a lower surface tension than water, it disrupts the surface tension of water in cells and prevents them from retaining water.
How To Get Rid Of Cockroaches With Alcohol
Choose an Acceptable Sort of Alcohol
Before you begin killing roaches with alcohol, you have to choose an acceptable sort of alcohol for the purpose at hand.
Methanol and isopropyl are two of the best types of alcohol to use for this purpose because they are both nontoxic, inexpensive and have relatively high concentrations of the poison in them compared to other kinds of liquors.
Isopropyl alcohol, generally known as rubbing or rubbing alcohol, is the best type of choice for killing roaches because it has the highest concentration of the poison in it.
Fill a Spray Bottle With Water
Alcohol is difficult to spray and for this reason, you will have to mix the alcohol with something else to make it easier to spray.
Mix the water and some rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle and then shake it gently before you spray it on the roaches or else the roaches will accidentally end up dying from insufficient oxygen.
To spray alcohol, you will also need to purchase a sprayer attachment for a standard garden hose which can be bought cheaply from most hardware stores.
Remove Any Potential Threats
Alcohol is very flammable and can cause a fire if sprayed on a cloth or carpet.
As a result, switch off all sources of ignition before you start spraying the solution to the cockroaches and remove any sources of ignition that might catch alight from the solution after it has been applied.
Remove children and pets from the scene when you are spraying the alcohol solution because they can accidentally be sprayed by mistake.
Furthermore, keep dogs and other animals away from the area where you have been spraying. Because pets also love the smell of alcohol and might try drinking some of it.
Spray Straight on the Roaches
Only direct touch with alcoholic substances can kill insects.
To destroy the roaches, you therefore have to direct the solution onto them.
You will not be trying to kill the entire colony but only individual pests.
Spray again if necessary. The first round of spraying will not be enough to kill the bugs so you will need to repeat it a second time if the bugs are not dead after the first application.
Clean the Mess
You must clean up any mess that is left by the insects because there will be dead cockroaches and other debris scattered around the area where you are working.
Remove any things that have been damaged by the liquid and then dispose of the dead bugs carefully to prevent attracting other pests like ants to your home.
Furthermore, abstain from smoking until the area has been cleaned and disinfected.
Also Read:Â Does Listerine Kill Roaches?
Final Words
Alcohol kills roaches by drying out their exoskeletons.
Roaches can’t drink water, so they need their exoskeletons to stay moist so they can move around. When their exoskeletons dry out, they die.
For this reason, if you have roaches in your home, you should empty out all glasses and empty all alcohol bottles. Then pour some alcohol into a spray bottle and spray it around your house.
This will kill off the roaches because they can’t move without water.
Additionally, the more alcohol you spray, the better because cockroaches cannot tolerate alcohol at high temperatures.
So, spraying it is much more effective than spreading it around your house with a rag.
