10 Best Roach Killers 2024 in the United States

Roaches are one of the most frustrating of house pests. Once they have entered your home, they have an appetite for almost any type of food. Your house will have to be super-clean to avoid accidentally leaving them something to eat. And they're amazing survivors: they can go an entire month without food. There are roach repellents on the market, that attempt to drive them out of your house. But if you want to eliminate them, you'll need a good roach killer. There are a lot of different methods: traps, bait, poisons. But, since so many pesticides are dangerous for humans, you'll want things that are safe for your children and pets. Here is a guide to some of the best roach killers on the market.  

Roach killers can be sorted according to the form and method of application:

• Lures/Baits: There are roach baits that you can use to draw roaches into a bait station, trap, or insecticide. These work on mixing an insecticide together with food, or insect pheromones (hormones). The roach eats the poison together with the bait. Otherwise, the lure can be used to draw roaches into an area treated with insecticide. The bait stations also can come in a disc form. This is safest around children and pets: only the roaches are small enough to get into the bait station and eat the bait with the poison. Children and pets can't come in contact with the poison.

• Contact Poisons:

  • Aerosol/Spray: These are the familiar pesticides that are sold in spray cans. Sprays such as Raid kill roaches upon contact.

  • Powder form: Boric acid is found to be effective is killing roaches—it acts as a stomach poison. The key is spreading it in thin layers, so that the roach will walk into it. They either will ingest it, or lick it off their bodies. Either way, it will be effective in killing it. Roaches that feed on the dead roach will in turn be poisoned from it.

  • Gel form: There are roach insecticides which consist of bait in gel form with imidacloprid, which can kill roaches in as little as 20 minutes.

  • Tablets: There are also tablets whose active ingredient is boric acid. The roaches consume it (so do ants) and die from it. But these have to be kept away from pets and children, who might ingest the tablets by mistake. There are also growth regulator tablets: These are products that render the female roach infertile, so it won't lay any more eggs. It also inhibits the growth of roach larvae, so they won't grow to adulthood.

• Traps: There are a series of roach traps, that attract roaches inside. Some have an adhesive inside that keeps the roaches from getting out, until they die from starvation. Others are boxes that are constructed so that the roach can't manage to get out.

Based on all the consumers' reviews we've scanned, these are the top things they mentioned about their new stuff:

• Natural Pesticides: These use essential oils that either repel or even kill insects. For example, citronella oil, mint oil, citrus oil and tea tree oil have been found to be effective in repelling and killing roaches. Another natural pesticide, diatomaceous earth, dries out roaches that come in contact with it. The roaches will die within 8-10 hours. At the same time, diatomaceous earth is harmless to humans or pets.

• Smell of Spray/Aerosol: A big drawback of roach spray is the lingering smell. Some products have introduced a lime smell to their spray, or have designed it that the smell dissipates quickly.

• Gel Application in the home: Some people prefer using the insecticide gel in small containers, like bottlecaps. If you put them out in places where you frequently see cockroaches, it should be just as effective.

• Dry Gel: The gel insecticide tends to dry up in a couple of days. The roaches will still try to eat it, but it won't be as effective. Some suggest mixing it with peanut butter, to keep it from drying.

• Residual activity: This refers to how long will the pesticide continue to work. It is important to note this, to see when you have to apply the pesticide again. The pesticide label will state how effective it is a day, a week, and a month after application. The problem with sprays is that they do not cause a “chain reaction”: it will kill only the roaches who came directly in contact with the spray.

• Where to apply roach killer: Roaches like dark, damp areas, so it's best to apply the poison, bait or traps under the stove, in back of the refrigerator, and in kitchen cabinets.

• Homemade remedies: People have noticed success with making a mixture of baking soda, sugar and water. Roaches consume the mixture, and the baking soda produces a gas in their stomach that kills them. 

Eco Defense-- is a manufacturer of organic repellents and insecticides. Their products kill and repel the typical invading pests, while being safe to use around children and pets.

Plug2Repel—is an ultrasonic electronic pest repellent. It claims to repel rodents, cockroaches, ants and spiders within three weeks.

DuPont— is a chemical company that was founded by Eleuthere Irenee du Pont in 1802. They originally manufactured gunpowder, but they quickly moved into other fields, making rubbers, polyester, and Teflon, as well as chemicals for agriculture, material science and specialty products.

Rockwell—was founded by Dr. Cisse Spragins in 1998. Their headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri. They develop and manufacture pest management products. They market a number of lures and baits to control insect pests. They make InVict Gold Cockroach Gel, which is especially effective in killing roaches.

Raid—is the brand name of a line of insecticides made by S.C. Johnson & Son. S.C. Johnson are makers of household cleaning supplies and insecticides, based in Racine, Wisconsin. They started the Raid line of products in 1956. There are Raid products that are effective for a wide range of insects.