Roaches have feelings too – the deal with cockroach bait

I. Hate. Cockroaches.

I mean seriously, who hasn’t had that terrifying nightmare about a big, creepy cockroach crawling over their face in the night.

Shudder.

My nervous sweat is soaking into the keyboard even as I write this sentence.

And it gets worse, because cockroaches are pretty much invincible.

They can live for a month without food, can go without air for 45 minutes, and remain functional even when you cut off their heads!

I’m thinking that Superman’s new name should be cockroach… man.

But, like Superman, cockroaches have a weakness, and as you’d expect, the aptly named cockroach bait is made from some seriously potent stuff. Because of this, our mates at MPI have some strict requirements on importing it into New Zealand.

So how do you get your hands on cockroach kryptonite?

While it can be imported into New Zealand, cockroach bait (or more specifically, Advion cockroach bait) requires an importation permit from MPI, declaring that the correct process for importation has been followed.

Without a permit, bringing cockroach bait into New Zealand is a breach of the Biosecurity Act 1993.

Check out MPI’s page on importation for more information.

Why are we so worried about cockroach bait? Nobody likes cockroaches.

Cockroach bait contains a bunch of different chemicals. However, the one MPI is worried about sounds relatively germane: honey. The thing is, the honey hasn’t been treated sufficiently to reduce the risk of introducing exotic pathogens to our native bee population.

While cockroaches are gross, fighting them isn’t worth harming our bees. They do a lot of good for our environment, and truth be told, I don’t think I’d survive without honey on toast for breakfast.

Well I’ve got some Advion cockroach bait, can I sell it on Trade Me?

That’s a firm no from us. While cockroach bait can be imported legitimately, MPI is still investigating the potential harm it may cause to our environment. In other words, the jury is out on cockroach bait and we don’t want it on the site until we know more.

Prepare for the roach uprising!

Yeah, most people don’t want cockroaches around. I think if we’re honest with ourselves though, we’d realise that they don’t really cause that much harm. Maybe we should try living in harmony?

In any case, we reckon we’re blessed to live in a such an untouched, beautiful country and we all need to do our part to keep it that way. You never know, cockroaches might have feelings too.

Bear in mind that if you are selling any kinds of hazardous substances, they need to be properly registered under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act before they can be sold in New Zealand.