What You Need to Know About Cockroaches

You know the old joke about cockroaches taking over the world after a nuclear war because they’re so invincible. Well, that joke is far less funny when you’ve discovered roaches in your home. To be blunt, they’re disgusting. Another adage is that you’ve got to know your enemies to defeat them. Here’s valuable information about your new enemy, the cockroach.

Infestation Evidence

The most obvious sign that you have a cockroach infestation is if you see the insects themselves. However, cockroaches are notorious for hiding. They scurry into cracks and crevices to hide from the light. By the time you actually see the insects themselves, the infestation might have taken hold.

The important information here is how to detect their presence early. One sign of a roach presence is droppings. Smaller species, such as German cockroaches, leave behind droppings that look like coffee grounds. Larger species, such as American cockroaches, leave droppings that resemble brown rice. Look for droppings near dark spots where they may have scurried.

Another early warning sign of the presence of cockroaches is their egg casings. Female cockroaches carry their eggs around with them until they’re near hatching, at which time she drops them. The eggs or their casings are oval and range in color from dark tan to dark brown, depending on the species. Female cockroaches leave their eggs in similar areas that you might find their droppings.

Living Patterns

Cockroaches aren’t like ants and bees in that they don’t live in colonies. Rather, they’re solitary pests that scurry around with the sole purpose of surviving. That said, they do tend to congregate, if only to procreate. They choose their congregation areas according to the odors of their droppings. So finding their droppings also helps find their congregation areas.

As noted, they like the dark, so any places that offers them access to dark areas is preferred. Likewise, they also prefer warm, moist areas, such as those found in kitchens and bathrooms. If you’re trying to hunt down cockroaches, look in cracks in those rooms. Likewise, you could try surprising them by turning on a light at night, since that’s when they come out for food.

Pest Resourcefulness

You might imagine that leaving out a dirty dish overnight causes cockroaches to spring from the food remains. Well, a dirty dish or an accumulation of crumbs will certainly attract the pests, but it’s not the source of their presence in your home.

Cockroaches are resourceful insects. They can’t live for very long in the open air. However, they might live just long enough to scuttle from one close home to the other. They can squeeze in through small holes or cracks in a building. They might also crawl in through cracks around doors and windows. Unfortunately, they can flatten themselves to worm their ways in.

To prevent this invasion, you’re well-served to keep your house as air-tight as possible. Examine the areas around doors and windows and seal up any areas. You can use door sweeps, sealant, screen repair methods, and even steel wool.

Multi-Pronged Attacks

The idea that cockroaches can survive a nuclear attack is a myth. However, they are difficult to exterminate, so their eradication requires a multi-pronged attack.

You might try buying over-the-counter elimination techniques such as sprays and roach motels. These are good first steps, and you might gain some control over the infestation. However, if you don’t exterminate all of the existing roaches, they’ll just propagate more. So you might start one of these control methods until you can get a professional exterminator in.

Meanwhile, also control their access to food. Don’t leave out any food debris. They will also eat solid soap, so you might consider switching to liquid soap in a container. They do need drinking water, so make sure you don’t have any leaks.

Don’t let the cockroach hordes take over your home. If you think you have a cockroach infestation, call the extermination experts at Craig & Sons Termite & Pest Control, Inc.