Baby cockroaches just like the adult roaches are annoying and can be a serious health risk since they carry pathogens causing multiple diseases such as bacteria, viruses, fungi etc. How do you get rid of baby roaches? To kill and eliminate baby roaches, you can use various insecticides, sprays, dusts and baits. There are also natural methods to get rid of baby roaches at home.
When cockroaches invade your home, they tend to reproduce and multiply fast increasing their population growth. You are most likely to see baby roaches around your house a few weeks after invasion.
Baby roaches too just like the adult roaches look for food and water in your kitchen, basement, bedroom and any other filthy places. If not eliminated, they can pose a serious health risk. In this post, learn how to identify and get rid of baby roaches with insecticides and natural home remedies.
Read also: What Do Baby Roaches Look Like?
How To Identify A Baby Cockroach- What Do They Look Like?
To effectively get rid of baby roaches, you must accurately identify the types of species invading your home.
Like most pests, roaches also lay eggs and usually release them in a protective case called oothecae. A single ootheca can carry a number of eggs. The number of eggs vary depending on the type of cockroach species. It may take days up to weeks before the eggs are hatches to baby cockroaches that are known as nymphs.
Baby roaches resemble the adults in many ways only that they are smaller in size. They have two long antennae, six legs and a hard-shelled flattened body.
Baby Cockroaches Pictures
Here is a picture of baby roaches to help you understand how they look like. Find more throughout the posts as we discuss on how you can effectively get rid of baby roaches.
Do Baby Roaches Have Wings?
Baby roaches have similarities with the adult roaches in terms of behavior and other characteristics. But their lack of wings and size is what makes them different. Their wings are developed in their final stages of growth usually after a series of molting before they fully mature.
What Color Are Baby Roaches?
The color of baby cockroaches tend to vary depending on the type of cockroach species. They can either be darker or lighter.
A German cockroach for instance, has a light brown appearance with two parallel lines on their back while its nymph has a darker, blackish, and one stripe on its back.
An adult American cockroach has a reddish-brown body with halo markings on its head while its nymph has a greyish-brown appearance.
Are Baby Roaches Whitish?
Usually, an adult female cockroach lay eggs that can hatch in 8 up to 12 weeks. When they are hatched, the baby cockroaches are white in color. This happens as soon as they emerge from the egg case. But with time, usually within hours, the baby cockroach becomes harder and turn darker.
How To Get Rid Of Baby Cockroaches
Generally, cockroach species tend to live outdoors, but they only come into your house through sensing food and water trails. Cockroaches may not cause any structural damage to your house but they pose a serious health risk and can be annoying. It is important to get rid of the baby roaches first.
Elimination of baby roaches is no different from adult roaches. The methods involved are similar may include the use insecticides (dusts, baits and sprays).
Here is how to get rid of baby cockroaches:
A) Investigation And Inspection Of The Infested Areas
Baby roaches in your home is a sign of infestation. Before thinking on applying insecticides, first investigate the area likely to be infested. This involves locating the nests of the roaches to inspect the level of infestation. A mild infestation can easily be tackled at home but if the infestation is severe you may be forced to seek the services of a professional pest exterminators.
B) Look For Potential Source Of Infestation
As soon as you investigate the nesting spots, you have to look further where the source of infestation is that attracts the roaches to your house. Cockroaches thrive in rotten or filthy surroundings usually have moisture. Poor sanitation is one of the major environment for the roaches to thrive.
To effectively get rid of baby roaches, remove all the sources that could attract the roaches into your house. Remove immediately spilled food, leftovers or trash from your house. Cleaning your house routinely is also one of the ways of getting rid of the roaches.
C) Apply Insecticides (Dusts, Sprays, Baits And Traps)
You can effectively get rid of baby roaches with application of insecticides such as baits and traps, dust powders and sprays.
Baits & Traps
Use of baits and traps is one of the effective ways to get rid of baby roaches. There are different types of baits available sold either in liquid, gel, granular form or powder.
Gels are effective in places such as inside wall cracks, holes. Usually, a syringe is used to squeeze in the gels in hard to reach places such crevices and cracks. Use the gels inside kitchens, behind cabinets and near the roaches nesting sites.
If you intend to use baits, know that they are slow-acting thus they require time. But they are still effective and can remain active for several months.
Here are some of the best recommended commercially available baits:
Syngenta Optigard Cockroach Gel
Black Flag Roach Motel Insect Trap
Insecticide Sprays
Insecticides sprays or aerosol are the most commonly pest control method to get rid of cockroaches and insect infestation both indoors and outdoors. It is quick and effective in getting rid of pests but avoid direct exposure.
Sprays are effective when the infestation is severe.
Here are some of the best recommended commercially available insecticide sprays:
Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer
Ortho Defense Max Insect Killer
Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs)
If the population of the baby roaches is large, you can use IGRs to reduce their population. Although they do not kill the roaches but they disrupt with the development cycle and ability to of the cockroaches to reproduce.
Gentrol Aerosol Insect Growth Regulator
Insecticide Powders and Dusts
To get rid of baby roaches near hideouts or in enclosed spaces, dusts or powders are the best. Boric acid is the active ingredient used to manufacture dusts or powders. You can also apply the dust behind cupboards, inside cracks, crevices or pantries.
Here is a recommended roach killer powder:
HARRIS Boric Acid Roach Killer Powder
d) Tips to Prevent Baby Roach Infestation
It is important to take preventive measures to avoid re-infestation of baby roaches.
Here are some helpful tips to prevent cockroach re-infestation:
- Remove all the food items from the kitchen counter
- Store food in enclosed containers
- Cover your trash bins
- Remove all the spilled food and excess water
- Clean your house daily
- Repair your leaky pipes
- Seal all the gaps and cracks
How to Get Rid of Baby Cockroaches Naturally with Home Remedy
Home remedies can also be effective in getting rid of baby cockroaches. Here we have shared some of the DIY natural home remedies to get rid of baby cockroaches in place of toxic chemicals.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth powder is one of the natural home remedy use commonly used to get rid of pests such as cockroaches. Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth powder directly on the cockroaches. You can also spread the dust near their potential nesting spots to kill them –Buy on Amazon
Peanut Butter and Boric Acid Bait
Here is how to make the boric acid bait and peanut butter:
- Mix ¼ cup of peanut butter in 2 teaspoons of boric acid
- Place the mixture near the potential sites of the roaches
This bait is perfect since it uses peanut butter to attract the cockroaches. Place it near their nest. The cockroaches will eat the bait and die after some times.
Sugar and Baking Soda Bait
Sugar and baking soda bait is another natural home remedy to get rid of adult and baby cockroaches. Mix equal amount of baking soda and sugar. Place the mixture near the infested sites and their entry points. Sugar will attract the roaches and baking soda will kill them.
Peppermint Essential Oil Spray
Peppermint essential oil is a natural remedy to repel the pests.
Here is how to make a peppermint essential oil spray:
- Add 1 cup of water and 10 drops of peppermint oil in a spray bottle
- Apply the spray in the infested area with peppermint sprays
Peppermint oil is a natural repellent it will keep the cockroaches away – Buy on Amazon
Vinegar Spray
Vinegar spray is another effective natural home remedy to repel cockroaches. Mix equal amount of vinegar in water and treat the infested area to get rid of cockroaches.
