Finding a cockroach, even a tiny one, can be enough to ruin your day. But what about a roach so big it casts a shadow? So big that someone in your family actually starts to scream?

That my friend, is a giant cockroach, and yes—it’s real. The bad news? It’s not so much their size that’s the problem. It’s what they do.

They hang around in filth, and dirt, and sewers. And when they pay your home a visit, deposit germs and allergens that can make your household sick. If they decide they like your space, they’ll settle in. Then begin to multiply. Sometimes faster than you can imagine.

The good news? You can kill most roaches—even a giant roach, faster and more easily than you might think. Beginning with products that may be around your home right now.

Ready to say goodbye to giant roaches?

Let’s go!

What Exactly Is a Giant Cockroach?

American cockroach adult, nymph, and egg sac beside penny for scale
With its reddish brown body and a cream colored cowl behind its head, the American cockroach has a distinctive appearance, even beyond its size.

If you were to start poking around homes, yards, and sewers across the United States, you’d find several different species of cockroaches, some of them fairly large. None of them come even close however, to the size of a bug called the American cockroach, also known as the “palmetto bug” or “water bug.”

Tip: Is the above American roach not the one you saw? Also see these other large cockroach species: the Oriental cockroach, the smokybrown cockroach, the Pennsylvania wood cockroach, and the Australian cockroach.

With a body that grows well past 2 inches long, and antennae that equal its body length, the American cockroach is truly massive, sometimes unforgettably so, to people who see one for the first time.

And there’s something else to know about this monster bug: its long brown wings aren’t just for looks. They work—

Meaning that the giant flying cockroach isn’t just some bizarre and hideous internet meme. It’s an honest to goodness thing.

Illustration of a huge tree roach flying in an open window
Yes, the giant flying cockroach is a thing.

Though American roaches aren’t particularly good flyers actually, they use flight, along with impressive crawling and climbing skills (they mostly live outdoors), to make their way into homes in search of food, water, and a safe place to breed and lay their eggs.

Once inside, they’ll zero in on a few favorite haunts where they’ll eat, drink, and mate—typically at night or in the shadows. Then occasionally (and to your horror), they’ll pop up in places you can actually see them.

That’s when most people try to squish them, swat them, spray them down the drain, or suffocate them with anything that seems potentially lethal, or at the very least, handy. No luck.

There are better ways.

Let’s begin with (and rate) several products you may have around your house right now—some that can kill a giant roach almost instantly, others that take a little time:

Household Products That Can Kill a Giant Cockroach

Cartoon illustration of common household roach killers-sugar and baking soda- on a kitchen table.

#1 Soap, Detergent and Fabric Softener

Rating: 4/5 – Handy, fast, and cheap (but you’ll need a lot to kill giant roaches).

Surfactants might sound like a special pest control term but it’s really just a class of products like hand soap and detergent that can also kill a giant cockroach dead. Crazy, right?

Mix shampoo, dish soap or fabric softener with water in a spray bottle. Spray enough onto a giant roach and it’ll kick the bucket in under a minute!

Tip: Smaller roaches die more quickly from surfactants, and with less spray. To kill a giant cockroach with surfactant, you’ll need to seriously douse it. Be prepared to do a lot of squirting (and clean up a slippery floor)!

#2 Borax and Sugar

Rating: 4/5 – Easy to apply and effective.

If you keep a package of borax handy for the laundry, you’ve got a great weapon to use against giant cockroaches!

Borax is deadly poisonous to roaches that ingest it, and when you leave a wispy trail in areas they walk through, it will cling to them, then kill them later after they try to groom it off. Even if the roach doesn’t ingest the powder, it can pass through its exoskeleton, killing it that way, too.

You can also combine borax (or boric acid) with sugar or sprinkle it onto small dollops of peanut butter to make a bait. Placed in cupboards and behind appliances, the mixture will begin to slowly poison roaches before the sun comes up tomorrow.

For more simple recipes, check out our guide to killing cockroaches with borax.

Tip: Borates such as borax and boric acid may be natural products, but they’re not entirely harmless. Don’t let children or pets ingest the powder or any baits you make, and keep the powder stored away.

#3 Baking Soda

Rating: 4/5 – Easy to find, cheap and effective.

Chances are you’ve got a box or two of baking soda in the pantry. If you do, you’re in luck! This kitchen staple makes a deadly recipe for giant cockroaches.

Use some diced onion, a fragrant fruit peel or some fine sugar to bait these bugs to their doom. Simply place the powder in jar lids or on paper plates and leave them out for roaches to eat overnight.

#4 Duct Tape Trap

Rating: 3/5 – As simple as it gets; only catches 2–3 at a time.

Lay a strip of duct tape sticky-side-up and start catching roaches tonight! Not technically an instant-kill solution, it’s a near-immediate way to begin knocking roaches out of commission. Don’t forget to place a small piece of bait right in the middle. Set a dozen of these and if the bait is tasty enough, you’ll find at least that many roaches in the morning.

Tip: Poorer quality duct tape won’t be sticky enough, so use the good stuff. When you do, keep the strips well away from areas pets or small children travel. You don’t want to have to unstick a terrified pet or child.

#5 Glass Jar Trap

Rating: 3/5 – Requires some setup but it’s reusable and effective.

You can make a simple glass jar trap with just one mason jar and some petroleum jelly. Add a piece of bait to the bottom of the jar and spread the petroleum jelly all around the inside of the glass. Coat it well so even a giant roach has no chance of finding a foothold to climb out.

You can attach a straw or ruler to the side to form a ramp so it’s as easy as can be for the roaches to find their way in. In the morning, empty the jar into a sturdy bag and dispose of it outside immediately. Then reload and catch some more!

#6 Beer/Wine Bottle Trap

Rating: 2/5 – A bit steep and narrow for the biggest giant cockroaches.

The strong smells of beer and wine should be enough to attract roaches to this simple DIY trap. If you don’t have petroleum jelly handy, use cooking oil to coat the inside of the bottleneck as far down as you can reach. Roaches climb up, fall in and can’t get out.

Check out even more home remedies that you can whip together to kill roaches.

Commercial Giant Cockroach Killers

Cartoon illustration of a live cockroach and a dead one outside a roach motel.

While the common household products above can help you start the job, commercial ones generally pack a bigger wallop and have more certain outcomes.

#7: Bengal Gold

5/5 – As powerful as it gets (but not cheap).

The two active ingredients in Bengal Gold Roach Spray combine to make one of the strongest insecticide formulas available to non-professionals. This product is an odorless pyrethroid spray that delivers fast knockdown and a nearly instant kill. It’s pricey but with a can of Bengal at the ready, there’s no hope of escape for the next giant cockroach you see.

#8: Ortho Home Defense Max

5/5 – Super-effective! Doubles as a preventative spray.

Ortho Home Defense is one of the most popular names in cockroach control and their kill-on-contact spray is among the best. Another pyrethroid spray, it kills roaches quickly and leaves behind a residue that’ll keep taking down bugs for up to a year on hard surfaces. Use it to kill the next giant cockroach you see and spray it anywhere you think roaches are coming from to kill future invaders.

#9 Wondercide spray

4/5 – Skip harmful chemicals without sacrificing strength.

Wondercide Pest Control Spray is an all-natural way to kill giant cockroaches with just a few sprays of their cedar oil formula. Combined with a surfactant to boost absorption, this spray delivers a nearly-instant kill and leaves behind a fresh scent.

It’s rather expensive but it’s completely safe for homes with pets and small children. It’s naturally repellent, too!

#10 Zevo

3/5 – Works well but leaves a strong smell.

Want to rotate in another eco-friendly spray? Zevo makes a line of roach-killing products that use a combination of essential oils—cinnamon, lemongrass and geraniol—to knock down roaches in seconds.

#11 Roach Motels

5/5 – Don’t kill instantly but their success rate is top-notch.

Roach motels take the duct tape concept and turn it up to 11. Place them in kitchen cabinets, behind the fridge and in the bathroom, basement and closets to catch as many roaches as possible. By morning, they’ll be stuck for good and set for their date with the dump.

Make sure you buy the large size!

Roach-Killing Products That Don’t Work

Cartoon illustration of a cockroach triumphantly standing over a roach bomb.

As you might expect, not every commercial product or home remedy is what it’s cracked up to be. Here are some to avoid:

Vinegar (and Most Other Products That Would Make a Tasty Salad)

Lots of people think the strong smell of vinegar will either kill roaches or keep them away. Unfortunately, neither is true. Cleaning with it can’t hurt but don’t count on it to solve your pest problem.

Others claim lemons, lemon peels and lemon oils kill roaches but this is also a myth. Stick to lemon-scented pyrethroid sprays, instead.

Bug Bombs

Oh, and the possibly surprising thumbs-down? Bug bombs, roach foggers—whatever you call them, they’re not the solution. While they will kill a giant cockroach caught in the open and at just the right time, they won’t kill any of the dozens more that are hiding deep in cracks and holes.

After the Emergency is Over: How to Say Goodbye to Giant Roaches Forever

Cartoon illustration of a cockroach munching on a treat in a kitchen, a stop sign in the foreground.

Ok, you’ve got what it takes to kill the next giant cockroach that dares to cross your path.

But the real problem lies waiting in the walls in the form of who-knows-how-many cockroach eggs.

So how do you get rid of cockroaches forever?

With a strategic and proven battle plan, broken into 5 steps (check them out!):

  1. Sanitation to eliminate food sources
  2. Traps to kill some roaches and monitor progress
  3. Roach bait and insecticidal dust to take down the colony
  4. A solid prevention plan for keeping them gone for good.
  5. Exclusion to keep them out.

Conclusion

Let’s face it. Going toe-to-toe with a giant cockroach can be a special kind of horror. In the past, you may have lost that fight, but it’s one you can easily win.

Armed with a few simple weapons, you can solve even a giant roach problem. Then with a plan moving forward, make sure its solved for good.

Good luck!

Write A Comment