As one of the most common – and persistent – household pests, cockroaches are a cause for concern due to the bacteria they carry as they crawl along unhygienic surfaces. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), these pests also carry infectious diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, leprosy, plague, typhoid fever, and many more viral illnesses. As such, if you have cockroaches in your home or apartment in areas such as kitchen cabinets, the attic, or in your bathroom, it’s important to get rid of them fast.
In this article, we share some tips on how you can manage and effectively remove these critters from your home.
Signs of a cockroach invasion
Before taking you through tips on how to remove these pests, it is important to firstly identify them. The following are some tell-tale signs that indicate there are cockroaches in your home:
- Droppings. Black grainy droppings found around commonly travelled routes such as cabinets, countertops, and walls.
- Moulted skin and egg cases. Nymphs, or young cockroaches shed their skin 5 to 8 times as they mature to adulthood, leaving behind brownish skins around their breeding area. Similarly, traces of egg cases – which are small, oval-shaped dark brown, can also be found in these spots.
- Odour. Cockroaches release an oily smell that is usually pungent and musty. The smell grows in its intensity the longer the infestation.
1. Clean and eliminate food sources
Cockroaches are attracted to dirt, filth and are constantly searching for new sources of food. Just like most pests, cockroaches flourish where food, moisture, and shelter are readily available. They are also omnivores, which means they eat anything. It is essential that you remove easy sources of food like dirty dishes left overnight in the sink, pet food left opened or uncovered, open cardboard boxes of snacks and cereals. Cleanliness is also a particularly important step in preventing and correcting roach invasions. This not only includes cleaning your counters, cabinets, and drawers but also taking out the trash on a regular basis.
2. Fix water leaks
Did you know cockroaches can survive up to a month without food, but only a week or two without water? Oftentimes homeowners have leaks in their homes which go unnoticed, which is why it is important to regularly inspect the faucets, sinks, refrigerators, and appliances in your home to make sure they aren’t leaking or producing excess moisture. Extra measures to wipe down the shower, tub, and kitchen sinks are also effective in deterring this pest.
3. Set cockroach baits
Part of the challenge in dealing with cockroaches is finding their nest, which may not always be feasible without the help of professionals. Even if you successfully identify their location, applying the appropriate product, or baits, can be tricky. Considered as one of the more common cockroach control methods, cockroach baits are an effective solution to dealing with these roach infestation issues. Available in three different forms – solid, gel and liquid, these baits contain a slow-acting insecticide combined with a food attractant to eradicate the critters without having to look for their hiding place.
As the effects of the toxins in the bait take several hours to act, this allows the foraging cockroaches to return to their nests where they will defecate. Following this, any other cockroach that consumes the faeces, saliva, or carcass of the infected roach will then also be affected by the cockroach bait. As such, this method is designed to successfully exterminate whole colonies of cockroaches and future cycles that may be produced.
4. Close off entryways
Once you have removed the cockroaches from your home, it’s time to seal off any possible entryways that would permit access to your home. This method would not only be effective in keeping cockroaches at bay, but also other pests as well. To prevent cockroaches from getting inside your home, use caulk or another sealant to fill possible entry points, including gaps between walls or tile, small crevices, openings around faucets and waste pipes. This is especially useful in homes such as apartments in order to reduce the easy migration of cockroaches between adjoining units.
If you have a cockroach problem on your property, do not wait around before getting the appropriate cockroach treatment – get in touch with an exterminator as quickly as possible.
With years of experience, Positive Pest Solutions is the expert of choice when it comes to cockroach control. From end of lease pest control to pest control maintenance, termite control in Melbourne and rodent control in Melbourne, we have the expertise and level of service ready to solve all your pest related problems with ease. Get in touch with our friendly and reliable team for pest control in Burwood and find out more about how we can help you today!
