Does Bleach Kill Cockroaches? | 100% Effective Methods

Cockroaches are known to breed rapidly and can take over your entire home in just a short period of time. They are ravenous eaters, eating almost anything, multiply rapidly, and won’t leave your home on their own.

Fortunately, there are effective and simple ways to get rid of roaches, regardless of how many of them there are. One of the ways you can get rid of cockroaches is with bleach, but it may not be what you’re thinking. The truth is, cockroaches have to ingest or be soaked in bleach in order for them to die.

This article will explore how to use bleach to use kill cockroaches.

Does Bleach Really Kill Cockroaches?

Bleach does kill roaches, and it can also repel them and keep them away for long periods of time. Before we get into ways to use bleach to get rid of roaches, let’s talk a little about bleach itself. Bleach is a lot safer than you think, as long as you handle it correctly.

Bleach is better at eliminating pests than chemical methods and pesticides, but it does require proper handling. For instance, make sure you only use bleach in a well-ventilated area.

Bleach for household use comes in either liquid or powdered form. Both contain disinfecting and anti-microbial properties and are made mainly with chlorine, caustic soda, and water.

5 Ways to use bleach to kill roaches at home

Here are five ways you can use bleach to get rid of roaches in your house.

1. Using bleach to repel roaches

If bleach is ingested by roaches it will kill them quickly, however it is tricky to get them to eat it because they hate the smell. Cleaning with bleach is a great way to keep roaches away.

Their sensitive sense of smell will send them running from a bleach cleaned kitchen. This will keep them off your countertops, shelves or anywhere else you clean with bleach.

If you are not a fan of bleach, swap it in for some eucalyptus oil spray. It smells great, is natural and will repel roaches. I buy mine premixed but you can also buy concentrate and mix it yourself.

2. Spray the Cockroaches with the Bleach

This is not a “passive” method of getting rid of roaches because you have to know exactly where they are located. Nevertheless, if you can see the roaches on your countertop or elsewhere and spray them immediately with undiluted bleach, it will definitely kill them.

This is one of the fastest and most effective ways to kill cockroaches. It is an active method because you actually have to find the roaches and spray the bleach directly onto their bodies.

Roaches will come out at night or as soon as the lights go off. I have popped down to our kitchen and caught them running on our kitchen floor. Get ready with some vinegar spray and get them while they are running around.

Keep in mind that bleach can discolor a lot of things that it’s sprayed on. So if you’re spraying near items of clothing, carpet, or any other fabric, you’ll have to be very careful only to spray on the roaches themselves and nothing else.

3. Use the Bleach to Destroy the Roaches’ Nests

If you’ve ever noticed roaches coming out of your sink or your shower drain, it is likely they’ve already built a nest there. Cockroaches always nest near water sources, so drains and pipes are a common place to find them.

If you think this is a problem in your own home, just pour one cup of bleach down the pipes in order to destroy the nests and kill the roaches. Afterwards, pour several cups of water down the pipes so that no corrosion results.

4. Drowning the Cockroaches in Bleach

Drowning cockroaches in bleach is a 100% effective at killing roaches. Once you see the roaches, pick them up with a paper towel then drop them in a cup or bowl of bleach.

Avoid touching the roaches if possible and pick them up with paper towel. Cockroaches can carry bacteria so always wash your hands after this process.

Understand that roaches usually will not bite, but just to be sanitary, use the paper towel to pick them up anyway. This is a tricky method because you have to be fast enough to catch them. But if you are fast, this is a good method to get rid of them immediately.

5. Use Bleach to Make Sure Everything is Clean

While chlorine, an important ingredient in bleach, is highly toxic to roaches, it is sometimes difficult to soak roaches in bleach or spray them directly. But keep in mind that the cleaner your home is, the less likely it is that roaches will appear in the first place.

Using bleach to disinfect your countertops and appliances usually keeps roaches away because it keeps food and crumbs away and because they hate the smell. A clean home is not an attractive home to roaches. The cleaner your home is, the less likely you are to have a roach problem.

Conclusion

Using bleach to kill and repel roaches is very effective if you know just how to do it. Before using any of these methods, make sure you use gloves and face masks to keep yourself as safe as possible. Don’t come into direct contact with the bleach or inhale it at any time.

Protect yourself fully and work only in a well-ventilated area. Also, you should always use bleach in its purest form only. This means no mixing the bleach with anything else, especially other chemicals or even water because water will dilute it too much.

As long as you are safe when using the bleach and use it properly, you have a good chance at getting rid of the roaches in your home, enabling you to have a pest-free home in no time.