How To Know Roach Bait Is Working

Cockroaches are a nasty problem to have in your home, especially if they are persistent and rapidly multiplying German cockroaches. As frustrating as cockroaches are to deal with, there are ways to effectively get rid of them and one of the best ways to do so is applying cockroach bait.

While the death of the entire cockroach population as a result of the bait is an ideal scenario, some people that use roach bait are disappointed to see more cockroach sightings soon after application and wonder if the bait is even working to begin with.

On this page, we will discuss cockroach baiting and how you can tell if your cockroach bait is working to address the infestation.

The Cockroach Baiting Process

It's important to understand the process of cockroach baits and how they work before you can be able to detect if a cockroach bait application is working. A bait, like Apex Cockroach Gel Bait, contains 11 different food-grade attractants mixed with an active ingredient called imidacloprid that has demonstrated great effectiveness against infesting cockroaches.

Applying bait after doing a detailed cleanup of your home eliminates competing food sources and offers cockroaches a palatable, attractive meal to enjoy and spread to others, eventually infecting the entire population with the insecticide so they all die. 

Cockroach Baiting Tips

After baiting, it is important to monitor the activity and frequency of cockroach sightings. You will notice that your baiting is effective when you see fewer roaches over time. Cockroach gel baits are a slow-acting bait and that is by design so cockroaches can live long enough to return to their nesting site and share the bait with others. For this reason, it is crucial that you be patient and give the bait time to be picked up by the cockroaches.

Sometimes, cockroach activity may appear to increase after baiting, but this is normal because you are leaving a palatable food source out. Combined with proper IPM (via cleaning up, sealing cracks and crevices with caulk, etc) you are disrupting the environment.

When wondering if the bait application is working, it is best to consider the baseline and ask yourself a few questions:

• How many roaches were you seeing before you baited?
• How many are you seeing several days later?
• How many are you seeing 2 weeks later?

If you see activity is decreasing, then you know it is working. If you are seeing a rise or almost no change, you need to check the areas where you have set the bait to see if the bait is actually being consumed. If they are, you will need to replenish those sites.

If they are not, you need to place the bait in a different area since the area where you initially put the bait is not a popular gathering site when cockroaches are looking for food.

Before long you should see a reduction in live roaches or even sightings of dead cockroaches turned onto their backs because the bait killed them. Don't immediately sweep up or discard those dead bodies right away however, as live cockroach may come by to eat the bodies of fallen roaches and have the bait transferred to them.

Patience and persistence are key when applying bait and eventually it will pay off by making your home free of cockroaches.