Cockroaches are by far the filthiest pests walking the earth spreading their skankyness. Yes, I said it…Skanyness. Not only do these walking germs look ugly but they also
- Stink up your home
- Harbor diseases
- Put your health at risk
- Bread incredibly fast
- Ruin your food
- Mess up electronics
That’s just a small list of inconveniences that these little creatures plague upon us. Cockroaches love living in your home because you offer them
- Warmth
- moisture
- Plenty of food
They (Roaches) mark their territory by dropping their fecal matter, shedding their exoskeletons, and leaving trails of filth wherever they go. Often the 1st sign of an infestation is finding sheds of exoskeleton or fecal matter. Roach feces can be hard to spot if you don’t know what you are looking for. It’s black and is about the size of a grain of table salt. Roaches need water a lot more than they do food. You may think you’re leaving no food behind but the truth is you are. Think about the bread crumbs that are left behind when making toast or maybe that slow leaking faucet you have in your kitchen or bathroom. Those are perfect food sources for these dirty insects and they aren’t picky eaters.
If you’ve seen a cockroach please refrain from running to the store and buying up all the baits and sprays that claim to get the job done because you might make the infestation worse. A lot of killing agents out there on the market can cause harm to small children and pets not to mention your little friends might already be immune to the chemical agent depending on their species or can become immune if you are not laying the bait or spraying the agents are the correct time. The last thing you’d want to happen is for these unwanted guests to wait until the agent wears off then return to demolish your living style or breed around the agent as their offspring that will be immune.
To truly get rid of cockroaches you must plan your attack, you must have a game plan
First, seal up any tiny cracks in your home. This means in your walls, floors, cabinets as well as countertops. I find the best thing to use for this task is silicone caulk. I’d personally start in the kitchen as that’s where the food source is then move to the bathroom. Don’t forget around the pipes under the kitchen and bathroom cabinets as well as around the base of the toilet.
Next, clean your home really well and make sure you get rid of any extra clutter you have around your living space. When I say clutter I’m talking about
- Boxes
- Papers
- empty packing
- clothing laying on the floor
- trash cans full of trash
- Dishing in the sink
- Counter tops
Cockroaches are always hiding so the less clutter you have laying around the house the less desirable your home will be to live in for these pests.
Remove their supply of both food and water. Clean the kitchen very well, make sure you get all the grease cleaned off the stove and you’ll need to replace those little drip pans and sit underneath the eyes on the stove. Those things can get pretty nasty. If you have faucets that leak get them fixed asap. Do not leave open soda cans or food contains around the house. If you have a bag of chips that you have opened put the remaining chips in a zip lock bag or some container that has a lid.
Once you have thoroughly cleaned and seal openings in the home it’s time to set some cockroach traps. You can monitor these traps and set what areas of the kitchen, bathroom (or wherever you placed the traps) have heavy activity. Roach traps will also tell you which kind of roach you are dealing with. The most common roaches that are found in households are German and or American Cockroaches but it’s best to be sure.
Once the traps have been placed and you’ve monitored them and know exactly which species you are dealing with then it’s OK to use roach-killing sprays and such to drive them out of your home because you have a better idea of where they are located. Most people as I’ve stated before just go to the store and buy a bunch of stuff and they toss it around(blindly) and true they may kill a few but they will never get rid of cockroaches this way. Most of the time they will spray and bait the wrong areas of the house and the roaches will just walk around it or wait for it to wear off.
