Top 5 Cockroach Killing and Repelling Products in Japan
HacksCockroach season is approaching as the weather is getting warmer in Japan. At one point, have you encountered a cockroach (in Japanese ゴキブリ, pronounced “gokiburi”) and tried to look for cockroach killers or products to prevent their existence in your household? Don’t worry. You’re not the only one concerned about the roach infestation. With that said, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 products for repelling and killing cockroaches in Japan.
Top 5 types of products for repelling and killing cockroaches in Japan
Table of Contents
1. Drain cleaners; cockroaches like it messy and dirty
Cockroaches tend to enjoy the damp, moist areas, especially sewers and drainage spots including your home sink and bathroom drains. To avert cockroaches from climbing up and finding their way into your home, you can purchase drain cleaners at your local drug store or supermarket. The product that we recommend you to use is カビキラー (kabikirā).
If you directly translate it, it means mold killer in Japanese. When you spray the product inside your drain (caution: do not mix with other chemicals), this will not only make it sparkly clean but also prevent cockroaches from entering your home. Note that not all supermarkets and drug stores carry the same products, but you can find them online like on Rakuten as displayed above.
2. Repel cockroaches by using your essential oils
Similar to other insects, cockroaches aren’t a huge fan when it comes to the aroma of certain essential oils. In fact, the smell repels roaches and other insects. The main oils that cockroaches will most likely try to avoid are
They can be easily purchased at places like
MUJI
990-2990 yenTax included
KEYUCA
900-2400 yenTax included
Rakuten
1980 yen and upTax included
The scents that roaches and probably other insects are attracted to are usually garbage, food scraps sitting in your sink drain, food cooked in your kitchen and leftover food sitting somewhere in your home. To improve these situations, you can simply purchase a garbage bin that has a secure lid, change the filter mesh in your sink drain often and quickly seal and store away your food. Of course, there may be more oils that cockroaches won’t enjoy, so let us know if you know of any other oils that you use to repel those silly pests.
3. Kill cockroaches and even the surrounding ones with ブラックキャップ (Black Cap) & コンバット (Combat) poisons
Cockroaches can multiply in numbers when summertime arrives, which can be a horrifying fact to imagine. Depending on the type of cockroach, each female can lay between thirty to fifty eggs once a year. In order to decrease the number of baby cockroaches around you, you can lay out black caps in dark areas and small, tight spaces. There are two well-known brands in Japan that produce and sell black caps that contain poison: ブラックキャップ (Black Cap) & コンバット (Combat).
Both of the products differ more in size than content, but they potentially kill cockroaches, cockroach eggs, and even baby cockroaches. Inside each cap, there is foul-smelling food that consists of poison. When a cockroach brings it to its family, that cockroach as well as the surrounding ones will eventually die.
4. Set up ホイホイ (Hoihoi) sticky traps to kill cockroaches
Sticky traps aren’t always encouraged to lay around your home as they actually attract cockroaches instead of repelling them. However, sticky traps may be the best solution if you find a cockroach and you can’t catch them. A common sticky trap product that’s sold in Japan is ホイホイ (Hoihoi).
Comically, each trap is designed to look like a house. The design includes little cartoons of roaches popping out of the house with cheer. Inside the house-looking box is the adhesive material. A smelly pouch is included with the box for you to stick inside the trap. The pouch’s purpose is to lure in the cockroach by its trash-smelling odor. These should also be placed in tight, dark areas where cockroaches are most likely to hang out.
5. Get out the ゴキジェット (Gokijet) insecticide spray for killing cockroaches
If all else fails, there’s the handy ゴキジェット (Gokijet) insecticide spray to save the day. The spray is also commonly used in Japan, and the product’s purpose is to kill the cockroach not too long after contact.
The way the product works is when you spray at the cockroach in close proximity, it will create a bubble around it. Instantly, after the spray hits the cockroach, it will suffocate and ultimately kill it.
So let’s face it…
We all know that repelling and killing cockroaches can be a real pain. They can, what may seem like, be invincible especially in Japan’s humid summers, so we hope that you can be ahead of the game by using one (or all) of the products above and making sure they’re never invited into your home.
Let us know if you have any product recommendations for repelling/killing cockroaches in Japan. Smiles would love to hear from you!