Cockroach Gel Bait Pros and Cons

If you are dealing with a cockroach infestation, it can get a little confusing when deciding which poison to use because there are so many different roach killers to choose from. Cockroach gel or paste is one effective way to annihilate the little critters. So how do you use cockroach gel and in what situations is it most appropriate for?

What is cockroach gel?

Cockroach gel is a paste-like product that contains a mixture of roach poison and bait. The bait lures the roaches and entices them to eat it. The type of insecticide and dosage used varies by manufacturer. Cockroach gel is packaged in tubes or syringes which are used to apply the product to various locations where the infestation exists.

Cockroach gel is very good at getting rid of roaches and is suitable for medium sized roach infestations. Gel is more powerful than roach traps or bait stations, and on par in effectiveness with boric powder or a good roach spray (without the toxic fumes of spray).

One of the big advantages of cockroach gel is that once you set the application, it will keep killing roaches for several months because gel is not easily dispersed. On the other hand, boric acid powder is easily blown away or vacuumed up, and roach spray dissipates and loses its effectiveness after a couple weeks.

How to use cockroach gel effectively?

A potential disadvantage of cockroach gel is that if applied directly to surfaces within the home, it can cause staining and be difficult to clean up. For this reason, I recommend that you follow this tip that one of my readers suggested for using cockroach gel:

Find a piece of cardboard and cut a series of 1 inch squares out of it. Squeeze the gel (the size of a pearl or small marble will suffice) directly onto the center of the cardboard squares. You may then place these cardboard squares in various locations throughout the home where roaches are likely to travel.

By using the cardboard, you avoid having to place the gel directly on your home’s surfaces, making it easy to clean up later and preventing stains. Be sure to choose locations that are out of the way and inaccessible to pets or small children. Under large appliances, behind heavy furniture, and in the back of cabinets and pantries are all good locations to apply cockroach gel.

If you don’t want to bother with cutting cardboard squares, you may consider using roach traps instead. The bait in a roach trap is contained in its own housing so there is no need to do any preparation before setting the traps. But in my experience, roach gel is more powerful and effective than roach traps and therefore more appropriate for good-sized infestations.

Where’s the best place to buy cockroach gel?

Roach gel is a popular product and not too difficult to find, although they might not have it at your local market or convenience store. But Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Walmart all stock it. Or you can order it online from Amazon and help support this website by using this link.

What brand of roach gel should you choose?

Advion is the current market leader in roach gel production. But there are many other brands available that provide similar effectiveness such as Syngenta, Bayer, Combat, Bunnings, Dupont, Fipronil, Invict, Talon, Topbait, Vendetta, Maxforce, etc. I use Advion roach gel and can vouch for it.