PestControlBasics
Menu

Identify

Treat

Local

About

Health

Cockroaches, pests and asthma

Proteins in cockroach droppings, saliva and body parts can cause allergic reactions and trigger asthma, and cockroach allergens likely play a significant role in asthma in many urban areas.[1]

The short answer

  • Cut off food and water: keep counters, sinks and floors clean, wash dishes and wipe up crumbs right away, and store food in airtight containers.[1]
  • Seal cracks and openings around and inside cabinets.[1]
  • Use baits and traps rather than sprays. Pesticides can harm people too, and some products can make asthma worse.[1][3][9]
  • If you must use a product, keep the child with asthma away, ventilate, and follow the label.[1]
  • Skip sprays and foggers in the home of someone with asthma; CDC says they can cause asthma attacks.[9]
  • Killing the roaches does lower the allergen. In trials in city homes, careful bait placement cut cockroach numbers and allergen levels, and children in treated homes had fewer asthma symptoms.[11][12][13]

What the research found

In a study of 476 children with asthma, ages 4 to 9, in eight U.S. inner-city areas, 36.8% were allergic to cockroach allergen and half of the children's bedrooms had high cockroach allergen levels in dust.[2]

Children who were both allergic to cockroach and exposed to high levels had 0.37 hospitalizations a year versus 0.11 for the other children, more unscheduled medical visits, and more wheezing, missed school and lost sleep. The same pattern wasn't found for dust mites or cat dander.[2]

A later trial enrolled 937 children with allergic asthma, ages 5 to 11, in seven U.S. cities. For one year their families received a home-based program of education and cleanup aimed at the allergens each child was sensitive to and at secondhand smoke. Those children had fewer days with symptoms during that year (3.39 vs. 4.20 days per two weeks) and the year after (2.62 vs. 3.21), and drops in cockroach allergen on the bedroom floor tracked with fewer asthma complications.[10]

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences sums it up this way: researchers have linked the presence of cockroaches to more severe asthma symptoms, and the pests are found most often in urban areas and older buildings.[8]

UC IPM adds that allergen levels rise with the number of roaches and with conditions that feed heavy infestations, such as housing in disrepair and poor sanitation, and that indoor infestations have been identified as a risk factor for asthma in children, especially in multi-unit housing.[3]

Does getting rid of roaches lower the allergen?

Yes, though it takes months. In a trial in low-income city homes with 50 to 500 cockroaches trapped over three days, occupant education, insecticide bait and professional cleaning cut the main cockroach allergen (Bla g 1) over six months by 96% on kitchen floors and 84% in beds. Levels in beds fell below the proposed threshold for becoming sensitized (2 U/g). Kitchen floors, despite the 96% drop, stayed above the threshold linked to asthma symptoms (8 U/g).[11]

When the untreated comparison homes later got bait alone, with no cleaning or education, their allergen levels dropped by similar amounts (95% on kitchen floors, 67% in beds), and the first group's gains held through month 12 with bait alone. The researchers called the bait-only result surprising, since other studies hadn't found it.[12]

A 12-month trial in New Orleans with 102 children ages 5 to 17 who had moderate to severe asthma tested insecticidal bait as the only intervention. Treated homes had significantly fewer cockroaches, and children in untreated homes had more asthma symptoms, more unscheduled health care visits and were more likely to have reduced lung function. The authors call the bait low in toxicity and note that full integrated pest management is costly and hard to carry out; NIEHS, which funded the work, describes the result as sustained cockroach elimination with better asthma outcomes.[13][8]

The studies differ on how much has to be done. The large seven-city trial and the first Bla g 1 trial combined education, cleaning and other steps, while the bait-only results suggest well-placed bait by itself can do much of the work. All of them depend on keeping roach numbers down over time, which is what the treatment guides below are built around.[10][11][12][13]

Testing and treatment

If you suspect a cockroach allergy, see a doctor and get tested. Medicines such as antihistamines and inhaled steroids may provide short-term control of allergy or asthma symptoms, and immunotherapy (allergy shots or tablets) can change the body's response to the allergen and may give longer-term control.[8]

EPA recommends working with a doctor to identify your triggers and to build a treatment plan that includes ways to cut exposure to them.[1]

Controlling cockroaches with less exposure

  • Sticky traps are the best way to find where cockroaches are concentrated and to check whether control is working.[3]
  • Bait placed in cracks and crevices where cockroaches hide is the main tool for German cockroaches; sprays alone won't eliminate them, and foggers don't reach their hiding places.[6][3]
  • Inspect appliances, furniture, boxes and stored items before bringing them inside.[3]
  • Don't leave food, dirty dishes or pet food and bowls out on counters or floors, keep garbage in a container with a tight lid, and keep food out of bedrooms as much as you can.[8][9]
  • Fix leaky faucets and drain pipes and other moisture sources so roaches have less water.[8][3]
  • Vacuum cracks and crevices with a HEPA or triple-filter vacuum, because bits of shed skins and droppings stirred into the air can cause allergies when inhaled. Mop the kitchen floor and wash counters at least once a week.[3][8]
  • Seal cracks in cabinets, walls and baseboards and around plumbing to limit their hiding places and ways in.[9][1][6]
  • Foggers, bombs and aerosol sprays can be hazardous and may scatter roaches to other rooms without killing them. Gel baits and bait stations near hiding spots work better, though it may take 7 days or longer to see fewer roaches. The German cockroach guide has the full baiting plan, including bait rotation when roaches stop taking a bait.[3][9]

Mice and rats

Rats have been associated with medically significant allergic responses in people, and animal proteins in urine, droppings and dander from rodents can trigger asthma in people allergic to them.[4][1]

Seal entry points, remove food and shelter, and trap; follow CDC's wet-cleaning method for droppings rather than sweeping or vacuuming them.[5][7]

House mouse urine is a major source of allergens, and exposure to the proteins in it has been linked to early onset of asthma in sensitive children.[5]

Vacuuming or sweeping crumbs where mice feed is fine, but never vacuum or sweep the droppings, urine or nesting material themselves: spray them with a bleach solution or EPA-registered disinfectant, let it soak for 5 minutes, and wipe up while wearing gloves. Keeping mice out means closing every gap larger than 1/4 inch with metal or concrete (steel wool works as a temporary plug); foam, rubber, vinyl and wood don't hold. The mouse guide covers trapping step by step.[9][7][5]

Pesticides and other irritants

Asthma can be worse around products such as cleaners, paints, pesticides and air fresheners. If a product seems to make it worse, try a different one; if you must use it, keep the child away, open windows or use an exhaust fan, and follow the label.[1]

Sources

  1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Asthma Triggers: Gain Control (Cockroaches and Pests; Pets; Chemical Irritants).” www.epa.gov/asthma/asthma-triggers-gain-control (accessed 2026-11-10)
  2. New England Journal of Medicine, via PubMed, “Rosenstreich DL et al. The role of cockroach allergy and exposure to cockroach allergen in causing morbidity among inner-city children with asthma. N Engl J Med 1997;336:1356-63.” doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199705083361904 (accessed 2026-11-10)
  3. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Cockroaches (Pest Notes, Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/cockroaches/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  4. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Rats (Pest Notes, Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/rats/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  5. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “House Mouse (Pest Notes, Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/house-mouse/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  6. University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Pest Notes: Cockroaches, Publication 7467 (revised December 2019).” ipm.ucanr.edu/legacy_assets/PDF/PESTNOTES/pncockroaches.pdf (accessed 2026-11-10)
  7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “How to Clean Up After Rodents.” www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/rodent-control/clean-up.html (accessed 2026-11-10)
  8. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, “Dust Mites and Cockroaches (Allergens).” www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/allergens/dustmites (accessed 2026-11-10)
  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Controlling Asthma (common asthma triggers).” www.cdc.gov/asthma/control/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  10. New England Journal of Medicine, abstract via PubMed, “Morgan WJ et al. 2004. Results of a home-based environmental intervention among urban children with asthma. N Engl J Med 351(11):1068-80.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15356304/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  11. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, abstract via PubMed, “Arbes SJ Jr et al. 2003. Abatement of cockroach allergen (Bla g 1) in low-income, urban housing: a randomized controlled trial. J Allergy Clin Immunol 112(2):339-45.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12897740/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  12. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, abstract via PubMed, “Arbes SJ Jr et al. 2004. Abatement of cockroach allergens (Bla g 1 and Bla g 2) in low-income, urban housing: month 12 continuation results. J Allergy Clin Immunol 113(1):109-14.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14713915/ (accessed 2026-11-10)
  13. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, abstract via PubMed, “Rabito FA, Carlson JC, He H, Werthmann D, Schal C. 2017. A single intervention for cockroach control reduces cockroach exposure and asthma morbidity in children. J Allergy Clin Immunol 140(2):565-570.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28108117/ (accessed 2026-11-10)

Updated 2026-11-10. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.