Are you struggling with a cockroach infestation? Do you know having a cockroach attracts other ones? Cockroaches are one of the most annoying pests in your home or property, but do you know; do cockroaches attract other cockroaches?
Yes, cockroaches may attract other roaches by secreting a chemical oleic acid. They use this chemical to communicate with each other about where to locate food and shelter. Moreover, they attract other roaches to join them with their fragrance characteristics.
Do you want to know more about what attracts cockroaches and how to stop them? Stay in touch till the end of the article to learn everything about it.
Does a Dead Cockroach Attract More Cockroaches?
Yes, dead cockroaches attract more roaches to your home. The EXCLI Journal claims cockroach milk contains oleic acid and other nutritional components. Therefore, when you kill or squash a cockroach using your shoe, it releases all of its oleic acid, which helps in attracting more species to your home.
Additionally, oleic acid has a potent odor that can draw other cockroaches to the affected region. Cockroaches notice by smelling oleic acid that their partners are dead and will arrive in the area to investigate. As roaches are fond of food, they move towards dead cockroaches to get food.
Although they often avoid eating dead roaches, cockroaches consume dead ones if they have nothing to eat. Though it’s not unusual for cockroaches, you should remove dead cockroaches immediately to avoid further infestation.
What Results When You Kill a Cockroach?
A cockroach will eventually perish if you try to kill it using any method, including insecticides and natural repellents. The dead cockroaches release oleic acid, which warns other roaches about the threat. Once everything has calmed down, the cockroaches and other pests approach the dead body and eat it.
Do you know cockroaches eat their dead partners if they are starving? Even though cockroaches survive without food, you never know how long they have been staying at your home.
Moreover, cockroaches have strong body structures so, a minute blow can’t kill them. According to the PNAS Journal, cockroaches can bear forces up to 900 times their body weight without any harm. Their sturdy exoskeleton saves them when you try to kill them using a book, newspaper, and a slipper. Thus, you should always use strong insecticides to kill them.
How to Stop a Dead Cockroach to Attract More Roaches?
Seeing a swarm of cockroaches drawn to a dead cockroach you killed is the most upsetting thing that can happen. Below are some ways to stop a dead cockroach from attracting other roaches.
Use DIY Cockroach Baits
It is one of the easiest and safest methods to stop dead cockroaches from attracting others. You can prepare cockroach bait at your home. You just need some boric acid and sugar to make a roach bait. Mix an equal amount of sugar and boric acid, then splash it along the suspected areas of a cockroach infestation.
After consuming it, cockroaches spread it to their fellow cockroaches, who use it to kill one another. Additionally, this not only kills cockroaches but also stops cockroaches to attract one another.
Employ Cockroach Bombs
Cockroach bombs are another effective way to stop a dead cockroach from alluring other roaches. They will help in the instant killing of cockroaches. However, roaches bombs or fogger kill almost 90% of cockroaches, but they are not effective in perishing them entirely.
Moreover, if you use fewer bombs to kill cockroaches, there may be a chance of more cockroach infestation.
Proper Cockroach Disposal
Another way to prevent a cockroach infestation is to dispose of a dead cockroach. When you kill a cockroach by crushing it, remove it immediately and clean the area with detergent to eliminate oleic acid. Once you clean the surface, there will not be a chance of cockroach infestation.
Remove Food Particles
Removing food particles around or away from the dead cockroaches is the best method to prevent other cockroaches. If there are food crumbs on your floor or shelves, wipe them instantly because cockroaches are attracted to food and will infest the area where they find any source of food.
How to Dispose of Dead Cockroaches?
Disposing of dead cockroaches properly is the best way to prevent other cockroaches. If you’ve killed one cockroach, there are probably more of them hidden somewhere else in your home. Furthermore, if you leave a dead cockroach on your floor, cockroaches will emerge to eat them.
Therefore, killing a cockroach will not keep cockroaches away, you should remove them properly to prevent severe infestation. Here are some helpful steps to dispose of cockroaches:
Quick Steps
- Firstly, wear gloves to avoid infection and contamination.
- Grab a dust pot or groom.
- Now, pick up the dead cockroaches with it.
- Place it in a bag made of plastic.
- Now, you can throw it in your garbage can outside your house.
FAQs
Does Killing One Cockroach Attract More?
Yes, killing one cockroach may attract more cockroaches to your home or property. Cockroaches produce acid (oleic acid) when they die, which is detectable from a distance and draws more of them to the region. This acid trigger other cockroaches and insects to visit that area and fulfill their quest if they are starving.
Does Seeing One Cockroach Mean Infestation?
One cockroach alone does not constitute an infestation, but failing to act or notice one frequently signals the impending arrival of an infestation. If you use the proper way to remove a cockroach from your home, there might be no chance of a cockroach infestation. But failing to do so will lead to a large roach infestation.
Should You Squish a Cockroach?
Yes, you can squish a cockroach, but because of its robust exoskeleton, cockroaches typically survive being squashed. Instead, you should strike its head or abdomen to kill a cockroach. Therefore, you can use insecticides or cockroach-repelling sprays to kill them instead of squishing them using your shoes.
Why Do Dead Roaches Attract Other Roaches?
The main reason behind; why dead roaches attract others is the chemical known as oleic acid. Cockroaches release a lot of oleic acids when you try to destroy them by crushing or squishing them. As other cockroaches smell the potent odor of oleic acid, they reach the area to feast on dead cockroaches.
Do Cockroaches Multiply After Being Killed?
No, cockroaches don’t multiply when you kill them. It’s because squashing a cockroach also crushes its eggs. Because the eggs are more delicate than the cockroach, they have little chance of surviving. On the other hand, cockroaches multiply only because of the dead cockroaches since they attract other roaches.
Do Cockroaches Emit Pheromones When Killed?
Yes, a dead cockroach emits pheromones to warn other cockroaches about the danger. As a result, cockroaches don’t dare to come near the point where they sense the smell of pheromones unless they have nothing to eat.
Bottom Line
Seeing more cockroaches after killing one cockroach is the most tormenting thing you can experience. A deceased cockroach releases a chemical (oleic acid) that draws other cockroaches to its corpse. However, cockroaches eat their dead ones if they have nothing to consume.
As cockroaches are omnivores, they can eat anything available to them, especially when they are starving. Therefore, you should use cockroach baits to kill roaches or dispose of them properly to stop more cockroach infestation.
Above all, if the cockroach infestation becomes out of your control, contact a professional pest control company to prevent harmful consequences.
References
Niaz K, Zaplatic E, Spoor J. Highlight report: Diploptera functata (cockroach) milk as next superfood. EXCLI J. 2018 Jul 25;17:721-723. doi: 10.17179/excli2018-1437. PMID: 30190662; PMCID: PMC6123606.
