Are Combat Roach Traps Effective?

Another weapon in your arsenal that you can use to fight cockroach infestations is the Combat roach trap. Raid roach traps are another popular brand. I recommend using them for smaller jobs where you don’t have a huge cockroach population.

For bigger roach problems, traps will not work as well and aren’t the ideal solution. But roach traps can be effective if the infestation is isolated to specific areas of your home like the kitchen, bathroom, or garage. For larger roach infestations, please reference my more comprehensive article on how to rid your house of roaches.

How do roach traps work?

Roach traps use an insecticide combined with a lure, which draws roaches to the bait via an enticing scent. Typically, the bait is wrapped in a plastic container to shield it from pets and children. This also prevents you from having to touch the bait directly with your hands. The traps are little self-contained units that are usually sold in packs of four, eight, or more.

Because roach traps are not individually packaged, it’s best to use them all at the same time. Once opened, the bait starts to stale and deteriorate, and is only effective for a few months. So when opening a package, don’t use only a couple of the traps while storing the rest for later.

To set roach traps, all you have to do is place them in the locations you’ve seen roaches. The nice thing about traps is that they are very thin and easy to hide. You can slide them underneath the couch or the refrigerator, or put them inside the bathroom or kitchen sinks. Very easy and convenient.

Another benefit of Combat traps is that there is no mess involved, as there is with spreading boric acid powder around your home. And there is no risk of staining your floors like there is when using cockroach killing gel.

Roach trap bait is like candy to cockroaches

Roach traps have no or negligible smell for people, but roaches go absolutely crazy for the smell and taste of these things. Just put a few traps down wherever you see the cockroaches. Sometimes after people put them out they will actually see the roaches scurrying towards the trap because they are so enticed by it. They don’t even care that the light is on or that you are there.

Roach traps kill by both ingestion and touch. After snacking on the bait, roaches will die in just a few hours. And after they touch the bait and return to their nest they will spread the poison to the other cockroaches living there.  This reduces the time it takes to get rid of the whole lot.

Are roach traps safe for pets?

A mild warning for pet owners: the bait poison that kills roaches is also toxic to other animals. Combat says their poison is not toxic to mammals if ingested in small amounts. But it is certainly not good for them either. Dogs and cats usually won’t mess with roach traps, but sometimes a curious pet will chew on or eat one of the traps.

To prevent this, you should make sure the traps are not placed in areas that are accessible to pets. Just make sure to hide them inside or under something that prevents your dog or cat from getting to it, and you should be fine. I have a dog and have used roach traps without any problem. Even if I place the trap out in the open, my dog will not mess with it. But some cats and dogs will. And remember, cockroaches themselves can be dangerous to pets.

For large roach infestations, roach traps don’t work so well

If you have a big roach infestation I would recommend forgoing bait traps and going straight for the big guns. There are several more effective methods to get rid of a significant roach problem. You can reference my article on the best do-it-yourself remedies for roach infestations for more information.