As of late September 2026, the routine in my Houston kitchen hasn’t changed in years: a roach skitters across the counter or pops out from under the sink, I grab the can, spray it dead and move on with my night. One shot on the bug I can see, case closed, or so I thought.
Here in Texas, in my house at least, that reflex never takes a season off. What finally made me question it was a Houston Chronicle how-to on roaches, and one line in it: “Spraying with chemicals only goes so far.” The piece explains that spray won’t work well when it lands on the areas roaches merely skitter on rather than where they live. The counter is where they skitter. It isn’t where they live.
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What Texas A&M AgriLife says
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s urban entomology program puts the starting point somewhere else entirely: “Controlling German Cockroaches begins with sanitation. Removal of food, water and harborage in the infested area allows for a more successful treatment.”…