The short answer: you can’t!
At least not with insecticides.
Roach eggs are protected by a shell casing called ootheca.
The casing prevents any toxic chemicals from penetrating and reaching the eggs.
You can of course smash the eggs dead.
But that doesn’t come without issues.
For one–Gross!
Two, they are difficult to find.
And three, there’s probably many of them so this method is impractical.
If you want to exterminate cockroach eggs, your best bet is to target them right after they hatch.
Killing baby cockroaches is a multiple-step approach.
Here, we’ll break it down for you step by step
1. Identify the Type of Cockroach You Have
The type of cockroach you have will determine where you should be placing your bait.
Here are four common household cockroaches.
- The German cockroach
- The Brown-banded cockroach
- The American cockroach
- The Oriental cockroach
And here’s how they look like:
Unsure which one you’re dealing with?
I recommend setting a sticky trap in places where cockroaches tend to hide, travel, and live.
Some ideal hiding spots are under appliances, on top of cabinets, and under your bathroom and kitchen sinks.
Sticky traps will catch anything that walks over it.
The trap will allow you to have a better look at what cockroach you have.
2. Find Where They Live and Travel
Some cockroaches thrive outdoors, others in warm indoor locations, still others in cold indoor places.
For this article, I will only be identifying where you can typically find indoor cockroaches.
German and American Cockroaches
German, American, and Brown Banded cockroaches are the most common household cockroach.
These cockroaches love to be in warm, damp places.
So, more often than not, you’ll find them in your kitchen and bathrooms.
They also like to hide in small crevices in between cabinets, floorboards, and under appliances.
These places give them easy access to food, warmth, and water.
Brown Banded Cockroaches
These cockroaches love to be in warm, dry places.
You typically take shelter in upper cabinets in kitchens and bathrooms and congregating near ceilings.
Also found near light fixtures, on crown molding, and electronics.
They also like to hide in small crevices in between cabinets, floorboards, and under appliances.
These places give them easy access to food, warmth, and water.
Oriental Cockroaches
You’ll find oriental cockroaches both indoors and outdoors.
Unlike the other cockroaches, Oriental roaches like to stay in cool places (below 84 F).
Oriental cockroaches also prefer a damp environment.
As such, you can expect to find them in basements, cellars, inside service ducts, toilets, bathtubs, near pipes, and radiators.
The location of Oriental cockroaches varies per household.
But, once they’ve chosen a location, they are likely to stay.
If you saw an oriental cockroach in your basement, chances are most of them hang out in your basement.
3. Apply Gel Bait Where Roaches Live and Travel
Gel bait is one of the best ways to eliminate cockroach infestations.
This control method is highly effective because it implements tertiary kills.
Here’s what I mean.
When a cockroach ingests gel bait, they don’t die right away.
Instead, roaches return to their harbored areas where they defecate.
But gel baits when ingested, turn cockroach feces into poison.
Because juvenile roaches (nymphs) rely on feces to survive, the contaminated feces will kill them.
The termination doesn’t end there.
Once the nymphs die, they pass on the poison to the other cockroaches that eat their bodies.
Bait gels are effective at capturing primary, secondary, and tertiary kills.
So how do you apply bait gels?
Bait gel can take one of two forms.
Bait stations are small stations where roaches can go and retrieve the gel bait.
While these traps are easy to place and remove where roaches will find them, they can be limiting.
They don’t fit in many areas where roaches go, such as small holes and crevices.
Tubes or syringes, on the other hand, are more flexible.
You can easily apply them into tiny cracks and holes where roaches frequent.
Apply gel bait to small crevices and holes where your cockroach lives and travel.
Great places for application are on the top, bottom, and corner of your cabinets.
Your floorboards and under your appliances are ideal locations too.
The recommended amount is a pea-sized drop for every two feet.
Gel bait remains effective for two weeks, so reapply accordingly.
4. Apply Dust Bait in Small Crevices
Dust bait is similar to gel bait, except it comes in the form of powder.
When roaches walk over the dust, it will get all over their bodies.
Because roaches regularly groom themselves by running their antennae and legs through their mouth, they will consume dust bait and die.
Use dust bait in locations that gel bait is unable to reach.
Dust bait comes with a small hand pump or tube, making them perfect for getting deep into small crevices and wall voids.
Dust baits are most effective when applied to small areas that are hard to reach with gel bait.
It’s also great to apply to large areas where people won’t usually go, like your attic or basement.
When using dust bait, only apply a very light layer.
One to two pumps is typically sufficient.
Cockroaches avoid thick layers of dust because it is hard to walk through.
Dust Bait and German, American and Brown Banded Cockroaches
Apply dust bait inside crevices along the edges and corners of cabinets.
Focus on the wall or floor junction behind the refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher.
You’ll also want to apply a thin layer into openings where pipes enter walls.
Another great place to add dust bait is under kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Dust Bait and Oriental Cockroaches
Apply dust to hard to reach areas such as small corners in basements or between shelves, boxes, or furniture.
Apply it in small crevices that are hard to reach or near piping or source of water.
Use your gut and place the dust in whichever location you believe they are hiding.
5. Use Insect Growth Regulators (IGR’s)
Adult cockroaches, pregnant females, and nymphs don’t consume the same food.
Pregnant females and nymphs rely on the feces of other adult roaches for food.
To cover all your bases, use insect growth regulators or IGRs along with gel and dust bait.
IGRs stop infestations by making adult roaches sterile.
It also blocks the roaches’ ability to turn into an adult.
If immature roaches are unable to molt into reproductive adults, the population will eventually die out.
IGR’s also affect adult cockroaches by blocking the development of viable eggs.
For these reasons, some call IGR’s “birth control” for roaches.
For easy in-home use, use IGR packets rather than sprays.
Break the pack to activate the hormone and place them where cockroaches usually travel and live.
For German, American, and Brown-banded cockroaches place them in the kitchen or bathroom.
For oriental cockroaches, please place them in basements or other damp places that you suspect them to be hiding.
For most, 1 IGR packet treats 50-75 square feet, so apply them to your home accordingly.
It is important to note that IGR’s take time to take work.
Don’t expect your infestation to shrink overnight.
Keep these packets active even after treatment.
It takes over 1-2 months for nymphs to molt and grow, so apply this method for around 7-8 months.
Most IGR applications last between 3 months, so you will only need to reapply 2-3 times before you eliminate your infestation.
6. Seal all Entry Points
Seal all entry points to prevent roaches from getting back inside your home.
If you had a roach infestation, it’s not unlikely that you got it from a source near your home.
Most commonly, roaches spread from house to house.
This is especially true if you live in an apartment building or a condo.
Do your due diligence and inspect both the inside and outside of your home carefully and thoroughly.
Examine your window and door seals for gaps.
Apply door flaps and seals to your door, to prevent roaches from crawling back in.
Check under your bathroom and kitchen sink, where pipes are protruding from the wall.
Check for tiny cracks and holes around your home.
Cover even the smallest holes you can find.
7. Apply An External Barrier Using Insecticide
The last step is to apply for external protection.
Use an outdoor insecticide and apply it around your house.
It’s good to apply it to 3 feet on the surface of your house and 3 feet wide surface of the floor from your house.
You will need to apply this every 4-6 months, depending on the concentration of your insecticide.
This step is essential, so don’t skimp on it.
It’s much better to prevent cockroaches from getting into your house than dealing with them once they are inside your home.
Don’t stumble near the finish line.
You don’t want to go through all these steps only to have the roaches come back.
Frequently asked Questions
Do Cockroaches Lay eggs?
Yes, they do.
They lay many eggs at a time.
Roaches produce and hold their eggs in an egg casing called ootheca.
The ootheca is a protective case made from protein.
Its primary role is to keep the eggs inside safe from until they are ready to hatch.
The number of eggs inside each ootheca varies from species to species.
- The American cockroach lays about 16 eggs in one case.
- The Oriental cockroach lays about 16 eggs.
- Brown-banded cockroaches lay about 10 to 18 eggs per case.
- German roaches lay up to 50 eggs per case.
Roaches go through a great deal to protect their ootheca.
Some roaches carry their ootheca while others attach them to a safe hiding place.
As such, it’s challenging to locate the roach eggs before they hatch.
Where to Look for Roach Eggs?
Different roaches hide their ootheca differently.
While some carry the ootheca around, others hide them in a secure place.
These places are typically located where it’s dark, and food is easily accessible.
Here are how 5 of the most common cockroaches hide their eggs:
American cockroach
An American cockroach will carry her ootheca for a brief period.
Eventually, she will stick her egg case in a safe location using saliva.
Usually, this will be somewhere near food sources.
German cockroaches
German cockroaches carry their eggs until just before they hatch.
They typically drop their eggs on a safe location a day before they are ready to hatch.
Sometimes the eggs will hatch while they’re still attached to their mother.
Brown-banded cockroach
The Brown-banded cockroach will carry her egg for a couple of days before depositing it.
Then they will stick their eggs on rough surfaces such as cardboards or sand.
If you have a heavy infestation, you will likely see them in clusters.
Oriental cockroaches
Oriental cockroaches deposit eggs in warm, covered areas near food.
What to Do if You Find Cockroach Eggs?
Finding cockroach eggs is not something you should take lightly.
It is a clear sign that you are dealing with an infestation.
There’s typically somewhere between 20-40 baby cockroaches in a single egg casing.
That means once the egg hatches, there will be at least twenty roaches in your home.
Take immediate action now to prevent the infestation from getting worse.
Is There a Queen Roach?
No. Cockroaches do not have a queen.
All female cockroaches produces eggs until they no longer can.
What Do Cockroach Eggs Look Like?
There are many types of cockroaches, and I won’t be able to answer talk about all of them here.
That said, I’ll talk about the four kinds of cockroaches that most commonly infest homes.
- The German cockroach is narrow and light brown.
- The Brown-banded cockroach has a short, squarish shape with a dark brown color. It’s much smaller than the other types of cockroaches.
- The American cockroach and Oriental cockroach looks very similar. They both have a dark brown color with a white lining on the side. These eggs are distinguishable only by their size.
- The oriental cockroach is much bigger than the American.
What does the cockroach nest look liKe?
Cockroaches don’t produce nests like some other insect species.
However, they do return to the same home every day.
So, if you can locate where they live, you can expect egg casings, feces, and pieces of body parts from dead roaches.
If I Don’t See Cockroach Eggs, Does That Mean I Don’t Have Any?
No.
Cockroaches are good at hiding their eggs, so you’re unlikely to see them.
Here are better ways to identify if you are dealing with cockroach eggs and a growing infestation.
- Set a trap and see if you catch different sized cockroaches. If so, you likely have cockroach eggs in your home.
- Look for cockroach droppings; these often look like ground pepper or coffee grounds.
- Look for small grey, black, or yellowish stains around your house. These are signs of nymph dropping.
- Check for dead roaches around the house, especially under appliances.
- Check for the egg and egg casings.
- Check for skin casings or body parts from molting baby cockroaches.
- Try to pick up musty, oily, pungent odor in common hiding spots. You can typically smell Cockroach odor, even with small infestations.