Cockroaches are notorious for spreading germs and wreaking havoc on your household.
If you’ve recently seen one crawling in your kitchen, you should take care of it. You can kill it using different methods, such as spraying it with oil.
So, does killing a cockroach attract more? Cockroaches are known for being notoriously hard to kill.
However, it’s a myth saying that killing a cockroach makes it attract more cockroaches. A cockroach’s brain isn’t complex enough to understand death.
Instead, cockroaches simply get stressed out when you kill them. This stress may be enough to draw in more cockroaches to the spot from neighboring areas.
In a laboratory setting where researchers control every aspect of the experiment, killing a cockroach can attract more cockroaches.
Does Killing A Cockroach Attract More?
Contents
Many people believe that killing a cockroach attracts more cockroaches.
However, this is not true. Killing a cockroach does not attract any other roaches.
However, cockroaches are attracted to food. So, if you kill a cockroach and then leave food lying around, then more cockroaches might show up.
So, if you don’t want another cockroach to show up, you should clean the area and throw away any food.
Why Does Killing a Cockroach Attract More?
When cockroaches die, they create an odor that is similar to rotting fruit or dead animals.
While dead, cockroaches and other animals exude an odor that is known as cadaverine and putrescine — both of which have an unpleasant smell that is attractive to other creatures like flies and maggots.
The oleic acid scent alerts cockroaches to a dead cockroach. Another reason why cockroaches are attracted to the smell of the dead is because they want to get food from the corpse. The oleic acid scent attracts other cockroaches too.
Scientists believe that this attraction is why roaches go into battle. Killing a cockroach attracts other cockroaches because it helps them find food. Other insects like flies and maggots are attracted to the scent of the dead as well.
The dead roaches will attract additional roaches to the area because they smell good — and the scent of a dead insect smells good for bugs.
Pheromones also play an important part in attracting more pests to the spot where you killed the pest.
Pheromones are secretions that animals emit to attract potential mates or to scare away enemies.
When they come to your house, these pheromones can attract other pests to the place where you killed the pest — making it look more attractive to other pests.
During the mating season, male houseflies carry with them special pheromones that attract female houseflies to the area where they landed.
How to Prevent a Dead Roach from Attracting More Roaches
Appropriate Roach Disposal
If you squashed a roach, you must properly dispose of it. If you leave the dead roach on the floor or leave it anywhere else where it can attract other roaches, this will attract other roaches to your home.
Therefore, it’s important to dispose of the dead roach in a safe manner so that it can’t attract other roaches.
Killing a Roach with a Chemical Spray
If your cockroach was alive when you squashed it, that person could get very sick.
Some people even contract salmonella from the bacteria that cockroaches carry in their bodies. So, you should consider using pest control products to kill a cockroach.
Look for products that kill roaches, and be sure that they are safe to use on food surfaces. After you kill a cockroach with chemicals, make sure that there is no its scent remaining on the wall or floor.
Making Use of Roach Bombs
Roach bombs will assist in killing a roach that is still alive when you squish it. However, be careful because these products can be dangerous if they’re not handled properly, and young children should never be around these products.
After using a roach bomb to kill the roach, smell the area to ensure that the roach’s scent is all gone.
Furthermore, the odor of roach bombs can be stronger than a roach’s natural scent. So, there’s a chance that the smell might attract other roaches.
Baiting Roaches to Death
This is most likely the best method to kill a roach without attracting other roaches.
Look for a bait product that is labeled for killing cockroaches, and place the bait where you know roaches are hiding or where they spend time.
Place the bait in an area that is not in a place where food is prepared, or where food is stored. After placing the roach bait, make sure that the bait doesn’t reach any areas where children play or eat.
All you have to do is combine two ingredients that are appealing to cockroaches.
Cockroaches will share it with other roaches. So, not only will the roach die, but all the other cockroaches in the area will die. The bait also won’t attract other insects.
You can also use baits that are effective in killing rodents like mice and rats.
Also Read:Do Cockroaches Play Dead?
Conclusion
Killing a cockroach and failing to properly dispose of the cockroach can attract other cockroaches to the area where the dead roach was squashed.
If you are looking for a way to proper disposal of a cockroach, you should immediately refrigerate the squished roach.
Also, place the roach in the refrigerator or freezer so that there is no its odor that attracts roaches in the area. You can defrost the roach before disposing of it after a few hours in the freezer or refrigerator.
This tutorial has explained why it ‘s dangerous to squash a live bug and why you should never use pesticides to kill bugs without the permission of the owner first.
