Are Cockroaches Attracted to Coffee?
Most of us cannot start our day without a good cup of coffee. But unfortunately, most coffee machines are infested with cockroaches, making this a huge problem.
Roaches will eat anything available, but coffee isn’t exactly their favorite item. However, roaches have a distinct sense of smell, and they can smell the strong aroma of coffee from afar, attracting them to your coffee machine.
If you’re worried you have a cockroach problem, particularly in your coffee machine, this article is for you.
Here, we will be going over why there are roaches in your coffee machine, how to get rid of them, the natural remedies you can use against cockroaches, and the foods they are attracted to.
Roaches in Your Coffee Machine
So what’s the deal with cockroaches in your coffee maker? After all, if roaches don’t like coffee, why are you finding them in your coffee machine?
While roaches may not be attracted to your coffee, the sugar, creamer, and other food items are usually present next to the coffee machine.
In addition, coffee machines can provide roaches with shelter, warmth, and moisture. Plus, roaches will remain relatively undisturbed inside since people typically don’t use their coffee maker more than once or twice a day.
Coffee makers are also easily accessible to these pests. They are either present in the cupboards or on the kitchen counters where cockroaches can easily reach. Plus, these machines have many tiny spaces for roaches to crawl into.
Look For Signs
If you haven’t spotted a roach in your coffee maker but are wondering if there are any present, you can look for the following signs:
- Droppings. Their feces are brown or black and maybe small or long.
- Exoskeletons. You’ll see shedded skin of roaches in your machine
- Eggs. Roach eggs can be spotted with a naked eye and are dark-brown to reddish-brown in color.
- Smell. Roaches produce a foul odor often described as a musty smell.
- Marks. Roaches leave irregular, brown smear marks wherever they have been.
Getting Roaches Out of Your Coffee Maker
You may be tempted to throw away your coffee machine after spotting any roach signs, but there are other ways to get rid of cockroaches from your coffee maker.
Clean Your Machine
If you have a simple coffee maker, you can easily disassemble it and sanitize all the parts with bleach and warm water.
If your machine is a little complicated to disassemble, you can get it professionally cleaned.
Cold Temperature
Roaches are attracted to heat, which means placing your coffee maker in a cold room or outside will drive these pests away in search of a warmer area. The following steps may guide you in this method:
- Switch off your machine and unplug it. Drain all the water and let it air dry completely.
- Put the machine in a plastic bag. The bag should be big enough for the cockroaches to escape out of the machine into the bag.
- Put the bag in a cold area. You can place it in the freezer or a cold place like the basement. The garage works too if you live in a cold area.
- Ideally, the temperature you should be searching for should be around 50-35 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure it doesn’t get colder than this, as it’ll kill the roaches, and they’ll rot in your machine.
- Leave your coffee maker at this temperature for 4-5 days.
The cold temperature will drive the roaches out of the machine into the bag. An airtight bag may suffocate the roaches, killing them in the bag. You can dispose of it later.
Dust Traps
If you want the roaches to leave the coffee machine, you can kill them using dust traps.
You can place your poison outside the machine. The roaches will walk in the dust and be poisoned. The rest of the pests may eat the dead roaches and die by consuming the poison.
Remember, dust traps only work if the roaches leave the coffee machine.
Bait Traps
Like dust traps, you can place bait traps outside the coffee machine. This bait is an odorless gel that traps the pests. Once caught, you can get rid of them.
Coffee Trap
Since the smell of coffee entices roaches, you can use this to your advantage. Place some instant coffee in a jar near the coffee machine.
The smell of coffee will attract these pests, and the jar will trap them. You can dispose of the roaches later.
Foods That Attract Cockroaches
Cockroaches feed pretty much on anything they get their hands on, including hair, roach droppings, grease, and various fruits and vegetables. Here is a list of six things that roaches are most attracted to.
Sugar
Cockroaches love sugar and can easily smell it from distant places. Therefore, keep your sugar containers tightly sealed to keep these pests away.
Of course, roaches like sugar in all forms, not just raw. This means you need to be wary of spilling juice anywhere in the house.
Fruits and vegetables also contain natural sugars, serving as a magnet for these pests, particularly in the trash.
In short, anything that contains sugar, including baked goods, is this insect’s favorite.
Starch
Another favorite food of cockroaches is starch. So naturally, these crawlies will be attracted to the slices of bread and cereals in the kitchen.
That’s not all, however. Starch is also a central component of paper and cardboard boxes, so don’t be surprised if your books or the storage boxes in your basement are chewed away.
Meat
Cockroaches are omnivores, and they love meat too. They can easily sniff out any meat leftovers, so clean up if you spill any.
Grease
Grease is an excellent source of fat for cockroaches to get their hands on. Oils and fats can easily splatter when cooking and are hard to clean off, effortlessly inviting cockroaches.
Since cockroaches like grease and starch, pizza boxes, and paper bags with food in them are a roach favorite and you should discard them ASAP.
Cheese
You probably never took roaches for cheese lovers, did you? Cheese is high in fat and protein, making it a nutritious meal for these insects. In addition, cheese has a powerful smell and draws cockroaches from a mile away.
Garbage
There is a reason why cockroaches are present in the trash. All sorts of leftover foods and the pungent smell of garbage and compost easily lure them in.
Therefore, it is crucial that you empty your trash regularly and not leave full garbage bags lying around.
Home Remedies to Remove Cockroaches
Looking for some natural remedies for your cockroach problem? Here are five methods you can try.
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous Earth (DE) may be your pick if you’re looking for a natural insecticide.
Made from fossilized algae, DE works by dehydrating the insects and killing them.
Sprinkle some DE where you believe the roaches are present and repeat the process until you see a decrease in roach activity.
Unfortunately, this method is messy and requires frequent reapplication. Plus, you’ll have to dispose of the dead cockroaches.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is deadly for roaches and kills them by creating a mixture of gasses in their stomachs leading them to burst.
To make sure the insects consume baking soda, combine it with food that roaches like. Onions are a good idea since they have a strong smell and quickly lure them out.
However, the problem with using baking soda is that it can make a mess and require you to remove dead roaches from your home.
Borax
Like baking soda, borax dehydrates the roaches, instantly killing them. However, baking soda damages their exoskeleton, whereas borax works when the roaches feed on it, internally dehydrating them.
Boric Acid
Boric acid is also lethal to roaches by acting on their nervous and digestive systems. Like baking soda, you’ll have to place the acid close to something they like to eat.
Some people mix equal parts of boric acid, sugar, and flour to make a dough. Little balls of dough are then placed all over the house or where roach activity is the highest.
The flour and sugar attract the roach to the dough ball, while boric acid works to kill them.
It’ll be several applications before you see a decrease in the number of cockroaches.
Essential Oils
Just like some smells attract roaches, some repel them too. For example, essential oils like citrus, peppermint, eucalyptus, and tea tree have strong smells that do a great job at keeping cockroaches away.
However, note that this is only a preventative measure and will keep the roaches away, not kill them.
Final Takeaway
Roaches have two purposes in life; to eat and survive. Therefore, anywhere where there is food, you’ll most likely find roaches there.
Roaches carry diseases and may help spread them. In addition, they may trigger your allergies and contaminate your food. Therefore, it is best to get rid of them quickly.
Roaches found in your coffee machine mean they are present in your home. You can try the methods we have given above to control the population, but if you see no difference, then it is best to call a professional so that your home can remain safe and clean.
