A DIY cockroach trap can be made in a matter of minutes. We use improvised means that are available in every home. A cheap but effective substance is used as a poisonous substance - boric acid.
Modern cockroaches are far from the naive creatures they were several decades ago. They manage to bypass the baits, they don’t eat the powder, and the chemicals don’t attack them. All that remains is to catch! In hardware stores you can buy a ready-made device and place it in the right places. Making a cockroach trap with your own hands gives you more pleasure.
Types of traps
- Adhesive - a sticky substance is applied to the base, with bait in the center. Cockroaches stick before reaching the food.
- Poisonous - in general they resemble a house or a box. The bait containing poison is laid down. Cockroaches eat, smear themselves, dirty others - a chain reaction. In the end, everyone dies.
- Electric - the name speaks for itself. The bait is placed on a certain surface to which the current is applied. The device turns on. The cockroach begins to crawl and receives a fatal electric shock. A dead insect releases pheromones that act better than any bait for other relatives.
- Ultrasonic waves are imperceptible to humans, but for insects they are a real torment. They cannot stand the sound and leave the room.
Making poisonous and glue traps is not difficult. Electrical and ultrasonic ones require some work.
How to make a trap from a plastic bottle
You will need a bottle with a capacity of 1.5 l, 2 l, 2.5 l. Conventionally, it is divided into 3 parts, 1/3 of the part along with the neck is cut off. It looks like a watering can.
- Most of the bottle is filled with water up to halfway. They throw products that can float on the surface. For example, sausage, cheese, meat. It is desirable that the products are aromatic. After all, they will be the ones who attract cockroaches into the trap.
- The cut-off part of the bottle is lowered upside down. Secure it around the edges with tape so that it does not move to the side. The edges are greased with vegetable oil.
- The trap is placed in places where pests like to be. Near the trash can, under the table, near the sink, and so on. a “ladder” in the form of a wooden pencil or stick is placed on the side so that the cockroaches can climb up.
The principle of operation of a plastic bottle trap is as follows. Cockroaches pick up the aroma of food and rush to get to it. They fall into the top part of the bottle, lubricated with vegetable oil, and quickly fall into the water. They are unable to get back. The disadvantage of this device is the inability to spread the strong smell of the bait. Only a faint aroma comes out through the narrow neck.
How to choose bait
The most effective means of attracting arthropod pests is bait with a pleasant aroma. It is best to use products that have a sweet or buttery flavor. Some housewives use onions for these purposes. But it is better to use overripe fruits, whose aroma is more pleasant.
To prevent the arthropod pest from leaving the trap, it is necessary to mix the bait with a toxic substance or poison. Most often, boric acid is used for these purposes, which is mixed with an egg or ground yolk. To enhance the taste, vegetable oil or sugar is added to the composition, which attracts barbels. Borax is considered an equally effective poison for cockroaches. It is used on the same principle as borax.
To make it easier to use homemade cockroach traps in your apartment, the prepared bait is divided into small balls. They are easier to place in a prepared device. Such a trap is installed in the kitchen and bathroom.
How to make a trap from a jar
The operating principle is similar. But when using a wide-necked jar, there is a disadvantage with
odor is neutralized.
- A 0.5 liter jar is greased inside with sunflower oil or Vaseline. This is done to prevent the cockroach from getting out.
- The bait is laid out at the bottom of the jar. In this case, anything can happen. Right down to the Olivier salad. The main thing is that the smell is strong.
- The outside of the jar is wrapped in a sheet of paper in the shape of a cone. The top part should cling well to the neck of the jar. The paper will make it very convenient for pests to climb up.
The advantage of a jar trap is its large capacity. Disadvantage: olive oil and Vaseline dry out. If you don't keep an eye on this, the cockroaches will freely get out.
Boric acid trap
Boric acid powder is used in its pure form to fight cockroaches - sprinkle on paths near sinks, along baseboards, around the trash can, behind furniture. To speed up the process of parasite poisoning, traps are made with boric acid. The poison begins to act after ingestion, which means you need to force the insects to eat it. Boric acid itself is odorless.
especially the taste. Cockroaches will not attack it, but as part of a fragrant treat, it’s a different matter.
The finished treat is simply laid out along the paths where cockroaches run or special houses are made. As practice shows, pests love to climb all sorts of boxes. You can use the top of a matchbox. A small ball of poison is placed inside and placed in the required place. Another option that combines a trap and bait is adhesive tape. Double-sided tape is placed along the baseboards. Place bait on it. One part of the insects will stick, the other will be poisoned.
A little imagination and the number of parasites will decrease significantly!
DIY glue trap
You will need a cardboard box or a regular sheet. It is more convenient to use the box, since after
filling the trap with cockroaches, you will have to pick it up and throw it away.
The main component is double-sided tape or RaTrap glue. The glue does not dry completely and a layer of sticky mass is created on the surface.
The bottom of the box is covered with tape or RaTrap is applied. An edible bait with a strong aromatic odor is placed in the corners, in the center of the surface. It is desirable that there is an egg there. Leftover salad after a feast is fine.
The box is placed in the place where the pests were noticed.
Using the principle of an adhesive mass, a trap is made from a jar. A piece of bread soaked in kefir, an egg, and a little beer are placed at the bottom of a glass jar. The outside is wrapped in paper so that you can crawl in easily. The inside walls are coated with Vaseline and vegetable oil. Cockroaches climb for food, but cannot get out.
The trap is set for 2–3 days, then changed. During this time, the oil on the walls of the jar dries out.
Another option is to use double-sided tape on baseboards, the area near the trash can, sinks, and other favorite places for cockroaches.
Advantages and disadvantages of homemade products
In specialized hardware stores you can find a large selection of good products and tools for dealing with unexpected guests.
However, homemade cockroach traps have many advantages over purchased models :
- minimum expenses;
- ease of manufacture;
- Complete safety for children and pets.
Among the disadvantages of homemade products, they note their low effectiveness in combating huge colonies of cockroaches. In such situations, they need to be replaced or cleaned frequently. Also, homemade traps are unable to fight insect eggs , which causes a number of additional difficulties for the owners. However, these weaknesses are justified by the availability and ease of manufacture of the structure. All that remains is to find the best option and start making a trap with your own hands.
Homemade traps are not capable of eliminating cockroach eggs, only adult ones
Such structures can be installed everywhere without feeling any impact on the family’s financial situation. Many people speak well of such developments, claiming that they demonstrate excellent efficiency and are superior to a lot of factory inventions. In general, making a cockroach trap is not difficult at all.
The main thing is to be patient and be willing to sacrifice a certain amount of time for work.
Most industrial traps are suitable for one-time use. As soon as the insect swallows the proposed bait, the product becomes unusable. As for home-made structures, this drawback is unusual for them, so the destruction of a pest colony will be more productive and faster.
To successfully design a trap, you need to consider the basic options and configurations, and then decide on a suitable “house” model. also prepare a good bait that will attract insects from a long distance.
Product from a jar
One of the simplest and most uncomplicated inventions is a trap made from a jar. To make this design, you need to find an ordinary glass jar with a volume of 2-3 liters. Liter containers are too small, so with some effort, insects can easily get out of them.
This version of the trap must first be wrapped in paper, which will allow cockroaches to freely climb to the source of aromatic food. The edges of the jar are treated with sunflower oil, which will prevent insects from breaking free.
You need to choose the right bait, cockroaches, in general, are omnivorous insects
You can use any food as bait for this homemade trap. However, special attention should be paid to the following options :
- bread;
- fish;
- meat.
The bait is divided into small pieces in advance to avoid an unpleasant odor in the house. Many people mistakenly put large pieces of rotten food into a jar, and then seriously regret it.
To enhance the attractiveness of the bait, you can fill it with sour kefir. In this case, the cockroaches will not remain indifferent and will soon crawl inside the trap.
Sour kefir greatly enhances the effectiveness of the bait due to its smell
Having completed the creation of a “house” for harmful insects, it is important to move on to choosing a place where the structure will be placed. The best option is a niche under the sink, where a trash can is often placed and food waste is dumped. Cockroaches are also attracted to kitchen cabinets and empty niches under the bathroom. In short, every nook and cranny in your home is a potential habitat for pests.
When trying to understand how to make a trap for cockroaches with your own hands, it is important to have a good understanding of the principle of its operation, its varieties and features.
Experienced owners recommend creating several inventions at once, placing them at different points. You can also conduct various experiments with baits and monitor the reaction of insects to the new “house”.
DIY ultrasonic cockroach repeller
Detailed manufacturing instructions can be found on the Internet. For construction you will need:
If these names mean something to you, get down to business. Otherwise, it is easier to buy. A do-it-yourself cockroach repeller will cost an order of magnitude less, but will take more time.
Cockroach traps are not a method for the squeamish! It’s easier to prepare it than to throw away living, half-living and dead insects later!
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How effective are cockroach traps?
The effectiveness of cockroach traps is determined depending on the degree of infestation of the room. If you just noticed the first signs or a few individuals, traps do an excellent job of their purpose. In more advanced cases, purchased or homemade devices should only be used in conjunction with chemical or professional disinfestation. Pros of using cockroach traps:
- you won’t spend much, as they are inexpensive, and some of them can be made yourself from scrap materials;
- you will not worry about harm to households and pets, since it is practically absent;
- you do not need to clean the apartment, as, for example, after professional disinfestation.