What Temperature Kills Roaches?

A roach infestation is the last thing you want in your house.

Roaches create a lot of trouble for the house’s occupants as they can make a lot of mess. They leave behind all kinds of nasty things, such as fecal matter, eggs, musky and pungent smells, and bacteria.

Moreover, they are too smart and clever for their size. This is because roaches tend to hide in places that are out of sight, making detecting them difficult.

Roaches like to take refuge in dark, warm, and humid spaces. Therefore, the kitchen and bathroom are their potential targets as they are ideal places to hide out.

So, without further ado, let’s learn how roaches can be killed if we increase or decrease the temperatures of their surroundings.

Ideal Temperature for Roaches

The mating time of roaches is usually during the mid of summer. Their eggs start to hatch during a period of warmth and humidity at the end of the summer.

Baby roaches are vulnerable during their first few days as they can’t take care of themselves and require the optimal temperature to survive.

The optimal temperature lies between 77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the ideal temperature at which their metabolism, respiratory, mating, and reproductive organs work the best.

While roaches can survive slightly above or below the optimum temperature, they thrive at the optimal temperature.

Heat That Kills Roaches

Roaches will die at temperatures above 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees Celsius. They will die in a few hours if the temperature reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

However, German roaches have immense strength as they can withstand these extreme temperatures for four days. They will also die in a week or two. The higher the temperature, the less time it will take to kill all roaches.

Roaches are cold-blooded creatures unable to regulate their body temperatures, so they tend to extract heat from their surroundings. Their exoskeletons protect them from changing temperatures.

Roaches also have the ability to adapt to rising temperatures during the summer. They survive better than humans in high temperatures but will die once the temperature reaches 120 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

Cold That Kills Roaches

Roaches can also die in very low temperatures. But this does not mean that roaches die during winter.

What happens is that during winter, especially when the temperature drops to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius, roaches reduce their activities, such as reproduction and growth.

They tend to acclimate to these extreme temperatures or find warm places to hide and take refuge. However, roaches die when the temperature drops to 15 degrees Fahrenheit or -9 degrees Celsius.

Extreme temperatures kill roaches if they don’t get enough time to adjust to the temperatures.

Roaches cannot maintain their body temperature, which is required for respiration and metabolism when the temperature falls between 0 degree Celsius and 15 degree Celsius.

Their respiratory system freezes, leading to restricted breathing. Therefore, they will die eventually at extremely low temperatures.

Methods To Kill Roaches With Heat

There are several methods you can use to kill roaches through heat.

Heat will not only kill the roaches but will also kill their eggs.

These methods include:

1. Dry Heat

Professionals use this method as it can cause burns to your skin and damage your property.

The infested area is covered and sealed with insulators.

Then dry heat is passed into the affected area, and the area is cooled down.

2. Wet Heat

Wet heat means using steam to kill roaches.

You can either call a professional to carry out this method or buy a steam gun that you can use yourself.

Here are the steps you need to follow for using a steam gun:

• Remove all electronics from the infested area.
• Use the knob to preset the temperature to the maximum.
• Target the area and blow out the steam for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Repeat the process if necessary.

Methods To Kill Roaches With Cold

Cold treatment also kills roaches and their eggs.

However, currently, only one method can kill roaches in cold temperatures.

This method is known as the dry ice method. It kills the roaches immediately.

Conclusion

Roach infestation can become a menace if not dealt with as a serious problem.

Roaches can damage your belongings, stink and litter your house. They can even contaminate your food.

Roaches hide in places out of sight, making it very difficult to spot them. Already they are very tiny, so the difficulty in detecting them gets tenfold.

But when you do manage to detect them, it is essential that you take appropriate measures to eliminate them, such as using high or low-temperature methods so that they are stopped right there.