There are two ways in which a dead cockroach — either the one you secretly stalked from behind and smashed with a flexible rubber slippers, or, the one Mother Nature specifically exterminated with her very own hands, can actually attract other populations of roaches lurking behind.
And the kind of roach traffic capable of being summoned does not in any way accord with whatever your fairly boxed head is thinking.
First, let’s go over the definitive answer concerning the “killing a cockroach and getting more in return?” question.
Does killing a cockroach attract more cockroaches?
Killing a cockroach and leaving it to rot behind does not in any way attract a plethora of roach populations lurking from the dark, and neither does it attract outsiders thriving under leaf litters or damp log piles situated somewhere at the backyard.
Roaches, even though they themselves constitute one of the popular users of the pheromone signaling in the complex world of animal communication, act differently than other animals such as wasps and their bee relatives when comforted by a predator.
The latter (and the like) quickly releases alarm pheromones to signal to a nearby colony that its life is in danger. And the reaction from the colony is always aggressively geared.
In roach populations however, no pheromone is specifically secreted for this purpose, and the affected individual simply man up to face the situation like a boss.
That’s why when you kill a single cockroach, you don’t get floods of roaches aiming at you and trying to avenge their fallen brother.
While killing a single roach doesn’t trigger any mass response from its distant relatives and cousins, it could attract one or two investigative cockroaches after a little while because roaches are known to be social creatures that love to investigate everything around them.
Or it wouldn’t, since a scientific literature published by the McMaster University in 2009 suggests that live cockroaches may well be allergic to the stench emitted by recently dead individuals since it could possibly signify the presence or proximity of a predator.
Further, killing a single cockroach may also attract a pretty small population of hunger driven siblings and malevolent relatives (as a potential meal) because roaches are well known to in-hesitantly snatch up their chances and unfold their cannibalistic personalities whenever the need arises.
This unpopular knowledge of roaches being cannibalistic has been applied by entomologists in the laboratory to poison a decent chain of live roaches with dead individuals that have been applied with a certain type of insecticide.
The chain of killing — one roach feeding the other and then dying and serving as a poisonous treat for a third is known as horizontal transfer.
And the potential of this method in a natural situation was investigated back then in 2009. Why a single modern day application is yet to surface is still beyond mystery!
But cockroach attraction in the several manners portrayed above does not go beyond the little figures mentioned.
You won’t have a mass roach funeral for killing one pesky little buddy, unless it’s the guy who runs their ministry of women affairs that you disrespectfully squished with a floppy bathroom slippers.
If your plan was to use the mass funeral to your advantage and go on a killing frenzy with your husband and kids, I’m pretty sure you’re disappointed with the answer you’ve heard.
But don’t worry, the disappointment is only for a short while because I’ll be showing you exactly how to curb out every little element of roach infestation from your residence.
Before that, let’s get to understand some of the things that actually attract roaches.
What actually attracts roaches in the numbers?
Food and water (which can include their dead buddies): Like any other indoor pest, cockroaches are normally lured indoors because of their search for food and water, although they are known to have remarkable fasting abilities. So the spill spots of fruit drinks besides the refrigerator, the decaying bread crumb on the dining table and the kitchen drains fully to the brim with clogged waste rice are all part of the reasons why cockroaches have taken liking for your home.
Shelter: When the primary goal of a cockroach bagging a corner around the house isn’t food or drink, then it’s certainly seeking shelter against adverse weather conditions.
What’s the most effective way to prevent a roach infestation?
Cleanliness:
Cleanliness is by far the most effective and efficient way to get rid of a cockroach infestation, although that being clean all the time (which is often impossible to achieve with kids), does not necessarily mean that you’re completely free from any potential of roach infestation.
They could still come in to the house as eggs through furniture or veggies, and then hatch out later, although the lack of food and water as a result of the cleanliness efforts would still work to limit their population.
Here is how you should actually be cleaning indoors and outdoor.
Indoors:
- Do the dishes and avoid letting them sit overnight.
- Do not let pet food sit overnight
- Clean spills the moment they’re made.
- Clean fallen foods immediately.
- Avoid storing empty cartons and paper bags around the house. Roaches love these as their hiding places.
- Avoid keep food items like bread or snacks open. They could attract roaches since they aren’t specifically picky eaters.
Outside:
- Keep the garbage can as clean as possible, and empty regularly. Roaches from there can crawl their way inside to create an infestation.
Insecticide and bait:
After necessary cleanliness procedures have been observed, one can then proceed with using insecticide which can come in the form of dust or liquid spray. Make sure to abide by the instructions printed there on the packaging. A popular choice of insecticides here in the US that are very effective on roaches is boric acid and diatomaceous earth. These tend to remain potent for as long as the dust deposit remain dry and thus their effectiveness.
Final verdict:
As mentioned above, killing a cockroach will not attract multitudes of cockroaches inside and outside the house to avenge their brother. Some curious individuals may come closer for an investigative look and then continue to go about their normal business like they witnessed nothing, other might have a more evil intention, which is to consume the body of their member raw!
