How Long Can a Cockroach Survive In a Microwave?

Cockroaches can easily survive in proximity to your home, so it’s important to keep them in check.

If you’ve discovered a cockroach in your microwave, it’s essential to act promptly. The average cockroach will survive in your microwave for up to two weeks.

So, how long can a cockroach survive in a microwave?

Cockroaches can survive in a microwave for a long time.

A cockroach can survive up to 15 minutes in a microwave that’s turned on at full power. However, it’s not a good idea to put cockroaches in the microwave.

Microwaves heat things quickly, which can kill cockroaches quickly. Moreover, putting cockroaches in the microwave can spread disease.

Therefore, if you have cockroaches in your house, you should call an exterminator instead of putting them in the microwave.

How Long Can a Cockroach Survive In a Microwave?

Cockroaches can survive a long time in a microwave.

While it depends on the species, most cockroaches can survive in the microwave for between 30 seconds and three minutes. However, if they survive more than three minutes, it’s likely that they’re already dead.

The microwaves heat food quickly by generating electromagnetic waves that excite water molecules in the food. This causes the water molecules to vibrate rapidly and frictionally heat the food.

The microwave oven’s radiation is high enough to kill most insects. Furthermore, the microwaves can dry the cockroaches out quickly and make the internal organs shrivel up.

For these reasons, cockroaches that survive longer than three minutes are likely already dead.

Why do Roaches Get In Microwave?

Cockroaches want to dwell in warm places where they can hide from predators such as cats or dogs or people.

As a consequence, they often infest warm places such as kitchens or bathrooms.

Roaches end up in a microwave oven. Because there ‘s warmth inside the appliance and food crumbs on the floors.

Furthermore, the rear electric compartment provides shelter for the roaches as they cannot easily get out from that area.

Is It Possible to Kill Cockroaches by Heating Them in the Microwave?

Many people believe that it’s a myth to kill cockroaches by heating them in the microwave.

This myth originated in the 1980s, when some misguided people tried this dangerous experiment. They thought that cockroaches would die when exposed to high temperatures.

However, this experiment actually killed the person doing the microwaving instead.

Now that we understand how dangerous this experiment was, we can safely say that yes, it is possible to kill cockroaches by heating them in the microwave.

How to Prevent Cockroaches from Invading Your Microwave

Fill Any Gaps or Cracks Around Your Microwave

If your microwave oven is a little worn out and has some cracks on it, these gaps can provide shelter for roaches to hide and breed inside.

Cockroaches may fit through small crevices to get inside your microwave undetected.

If you see any, be careful to caulk any gaps or cracks you see to prevent roaches from getting inside your kitchen appliance.

Check the door seal of your microwave regularly to ensure that it’s in good condition.

Ensure That No Food Debris Is Left Inside the Microwave

Cockroaches are drawn to crumbs and oil, so they tend to enter houses in search of them.

On their way in, they may drop their favorite food debris on the floor and in your microwave.

Therefore, it’s essential to clean up any food debris you see on the inside or outside of the microwave regularly.

You can also use your microwave’s sanitation mode to clean it easily.

Clean the inside and outside of the microwave regularly to keep roaches away.

After each usage, wipe off your microwave with a clean cloth to remove any grease that may have been left behind.

Alternatively, you may cover it with a clean plastic bag and leave it for a few hours before removing it and cleaning it properly with a cleaning agent and water.

Make Use of Cockroach Traps and Baits

If you’ve done all of the above and still found roaches in your microwave, you have no choice but to use traps and baits to get rid of them.

Using traps and baits to get roaches out of your microwave is safer than microwaving them. Because you won’t have to deal with the risk of getting killed by the microwaves in the process.

These traps function by attracting the roaches with a chemical attractant and then killing them with a lethal poison.

Also Read: I Saw One Cockroach. Should I Be Worried?

Final Words

Keeping roaches away from your microwave increases your chances of getting rid of them completely from your kitchen.

While microwaves are effective and can be used to kill roaches, the risks outweigh the benefits. Therefore, it’s best to leave this job to the professionals.

Most cockroaches don’t die even after they’ve been subjected to heat for long periods of time due to their ability to regulate their body temperatures.

The easiest approach to keep cockroaches away from your microwave is to thoroughly clean it after every use to get rid of their food sources.

If everything else fails, traps and baits have to be used to get rid of cockroaches effectively from your microwave.