Video Library

Video Transcript

Roach bait is one of the most effective ways to eliminate roaches and is an important part of any roach treatment plan. To successfully get rid of roaches, it is important to know where and how to apply roach bait in the home.

Before you apply roach bait, you must clean your home, as any roach treatment plan will fail if you do not sanitize first.

Proper sanitation includes thoroughly cleaning any rooms where roaches have been found.

Roaches, like any other insect, require food and water to survive. Before you go to bed each night, remove any food or water sources that might attract roaches. Keep all food, including pet food, in tightly sealed containers. Wash and put away all dishes, leaving the sink empty. Wipe down countertops, store sponges in zip-top bags, and empty pet food and water bowls or keep them covered overnight.

Keep garbage cans covered, sweep floors, and wipe inside and around sinks to be sure they are dry.

The goal is to eliminate any food or water sources that might attract roaches and compete with the bait. Again, if you do not clean nightly, your roach bait treatment will not be as effective.

If you have noticed roach activity in the kitchen you will want to perform a roach bait treatment in both the kitchen and your bathrooms as both rooms are attractive to roaches due to moisture.

To prepare your kitchen and bathrooms for treatment, remove everything out of the cabinets and drawers and sweep and clean them out to remove all crumbs and debris. Do not use harsh chemical cleaners while doing this clean out as it could interfere with the roach bait.

While cleaning the kitchen, don't forget to clean and sweep behind and beneath all appliances. If an appliance can be moved, like the refrigerator and stove, do so to make sure no crumbs are left behind.

Make sure the bathroom shower, tub, and sinks are dry, removing all moisture from the room.

Now that your kitchen and bathrooms have been prepped for treatment, it is important to know how to apply the roach bait gel.

Most roach bait gels come in tubes. Tubes typically have a stopper at the end of the tube that you will unscrew, and some have a screw-on applicator tip. Use the plunger included with your bait and insert it in the end of the tube opposite the stopper. You will press on the plunger to release the bait. For a more precise application, you can also use a professional bait gun to apply the roach bait gel.

You may also want to keep a paper towel handy to wipe the application tip of the gel, keeping the tube clean in case the bait leaks slightly when applying.

Roaches have small mouth parts and look for small crumbs of food. When applying roach bait gel, remember to apply many small spots of gel instead of one or two large spots. Roaches will mistake the small spots of gel for crumbs they can eat. Make each spot no larger than a small pea.

Do not apply the bait in a long bead like caulk or in large spots. To roaches, these large gel placements will look like food that is too big for roaches' mouths to eat, and they will avoid this bait.

Each bait placement should be placed 8 to 10 inches apart.

In the kitchen, apply bait to the back corners and along the shelves of emptied cabinets. Also, along the underside of the shelves and on the door hinges of the cabinets.

In drawers, apply the gel on the back and front corners of each drawer and on the top of the drawer slide.

Often kitchens will have an exposed crack where cabinets and countertops are connected to the wall. These cracks are a perfect hiding spot for roaches. Apply gel along the crack where the cabinets are connected to the wall, and on the side and underneath each cabinet. If there is a lip where the countertop meets the cabinet, apply the gel every 8-10 inches along the underside of the countertop, but not on the top of the counter where food will be prepared.

The vents and cracks of appliances in the kitchen also need to be baited. Add spots of bait to microwave vents, on the side of the stove, beneath the stove, and along the front of the stove. Add spots on the hinges of the refrigerator and in the vents below the refrigerator.

Bait where the dishwasher meets the wall and around the wall void of electrical boxes throughout the kitchen.

In the bathroom, bait where the toilet pipe and sink pipe enter the wall. Add bait where the mirror meets the wall, on the corners of cabinets, on the hinges of cabinets, and underneath the lip of the countertop.

There are many different varieties of roach bait gel, so be sure to read and follow the instructions on the product label to apply the bait properly.

And it's that easy with the expert help from DoMyOwn.com. Subscribe to our channel for more DIY and product videos.