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Cockroaches 101
How to Handle Cockroaches in your Home
The cockroach is one of the most common pests in the home and definitely one of the most undesirable. According to the World Health organization (WHO), cockroaches have been known to be a carrier of intestinal diseases, such as dysentery, diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever.
There are many species of cockroaches around America, including: Oriental, German, American, Brown banded, Smokey brown, etc. The American cockroach may be the most common roach species in the U.S., it is the largest and lives the longest – with lifespans of about two years. It sometimes goes by the name “sewer roach” or “palmetto bug” and can grow to 1-3 inches in length. The American cockroach is mostly brown or reddish-brown with light yellow edges around their bodies
What draws cockroaches to your home?
Cockroaches are mostly drawn into our homes by: left-over food particles on surfaces and in drains; greasy or oily surfaces; dirty dishes left for too long; cooked food left open for extended periods of time; breeding spaces like dark corners, cracks and crevices, and open vents; quiet, forgotten areas including underneath large appliances, corners of basements, and in the attic; garbage heaps or uncovered garbage cans; and also drains. Standing water e.g. from pet bowls or pools around the compound in gutters and even flowerpots can encourage cockroaches to establish themselves in your home.
How to Get Rid of Roaches from your House
The best way to get rid of cockroaches is from the outside in; start by limiting their numbers outside your home to reduce or eliminate those ‘available’ to enter your home.
Once you figure out and destroy their breeding grounds and entry points, your problem is half-solved. Here are a few tips on how to do it:
i. Destroy breeding grounds: In general, cockroaches need just three things to survive: food, water, and shelter. To ensure cockroaches are discouraged from breeding, eliminate these things from your environment. Keep your garbage cans tightly closed, remove woodpiles, leaf piles, stagnant water, and overgrown underbrush, trim plants and bushes, and also drain off standing water.
ii. Identify their entry points and block them: You can use glue strips or sticky traps around any place you suspect that the cockroaches may be using to enter your home, such as cracks around doors or windows, vents or foundations. Check the traps regularly; the one that has more cockroaches stuck on it is the one with the most traffic. Once you know where the cockroaches enter your home from, you can easily come up with a solution to keep them out.
Call Domain Pest Control 512-813-7378. If you hire a professional exterminator to get rid of cockroaches from your home: they will inspect your home to determine the extent of the infestation and method of extermination along with how to prevent future attacks. They will then use an eco-friendly chemical treatment to flush out and kill the cockroaches and even advise you on a regime to follow to keep the cockroaches from coming back.
How to Keep Cockroaches Out
So you have expunged the roaches out of your home for now, but how do you prevent them from coming back in future?
a. Keep the house clean at all times: You can maintain a clean house by cleaning dishes immediately, cleaning up any crumbs or spills, mopping and sweeping floors regularly, taking out the garbage frequently and emptying containers of standing water, including pet bowls and other containers.
b. Store food properly: Leftover food particles and garbage heaps are perfect breeding grounds for cockroaches. Make a habit of storing food in airtight containers. Always store perishable food items in the refrigerator, and avoid leaving fruits and vegetables on the counter.
c. Wipe kitchen appliances clean: Cockroaches love greasy surfaces, and having these in your kitchen is encouraging them to settle in. Make sure you keep the stovetop, dishwasher, and all the other cooking appliances clean and free from grease layering. For extra protection, add a few drops of lemon oil to your cleaning water as cockroaches hate the scent of citrus.