Trash cans might just be one of humanity’s greatest inventions. Just think about it. They contain every dirty thing that shouldn’t be left lying around. Things that could be carrying dangerous bacteria are out of reach in a deep plastic bag that can be removed at any time and carried out of your home. Cockroaches are a lot like tiny trashcans. The only difference is that they are capable of moving and spreading dangerous bacteria throughout your home. If you would rather not have to deal with roaches around your Bay Area home, here are seven easy cockroach control tips you should try.
What Are Cockroaches?
Cockroaches are resilient six-legged insects with a love for everything filthy. Able to withstand upwards of 900 times their body weight and flatten themselves to fit into tight spaces, cockroaches are the ideal pest to invade homes. Here in the Bay Area, there are five different species of cockroach: German, brown-banded, Oriental, American, and Turkestan. The main role of a cockroach in nature is to consume and break down dead, decaying, and rotting organisms. This behavior often finds cockroaches infesting sewers, trash heaps, and other dirty locations.
What Makes Cockroaches Dangerous?
Cockroaches are extremely dangerous pests, mainly because of their filthy lifestyles. When inside homes cockroaches will crawl though sewage, trash, and over dead and decaying organisms. This behavior can leave them teeming with dangerous disease-causing pathogens. To date, cockroaches have been connected to spreading 33 different forms of bacteria, 7 human pathogens, and 6 parasitic worms. A few of the most notable diseases cockroaches are capable of spreading are salmonellosis, typhoid fever, dysentery, plague, and leprosy.
What Attracts Cockroaches To Homes?
Your home doesn’t have to be filthy to attract cockroaches, although they do prefer it if it is. Besides open trashcans, greasy floors, and general filth, cockroaches are drawn to homes by a number of factors. Most often cockroaches come inside in search of food. Cockroaches will eat practically anything including paper, ear wax, glue, and saliva.
Another thing that will push cockroaches into homes is inclement weather. If a severe storm sweeps through the area, or winter is particularly cold, cockroaches will look to homes for shelter. If cockroaches find an ample amount of food and water, they will be likely to stick around.
How To Prevent Cockroaches
There are two ways to prevent cockroaches. The first is to eliminate factors that draw them in, the second is to make sure the exterior of your home is properly sealed. Keeping these two things in mind, here are seven control tips for you to use around your Bay Area home.
- Use a caulking gun or liquid cement to seal gaps, cracks, and holes in your home’s exterior.
- Inspect for and repair torn window and door screens around your home.
- Fix damaged weather stripping and make sure all of your exterior doors are equipped with door sweeps.
- Keep your home clean and try to limit the number of rooms where you eat food to just one or two. (Do not forget to clean beneath large kitchen appliances, as this is where cockroaches are most likely to hide.)
- Store leftover foods and beverages inside airtight containers.
- After your pets are done eating, pick up and clean out their bowls.
- Invest in high-quality pest control services.
To take your home’s cockroach control to the next level, trust the professionals here at Pay Pest. We have the treatments and experience needed to effectively eliminate and exclude dangerous roaches from your home.
Reach out to our team today for more information about our pest control services or to schedule a thorough inspection for your Bay Area home and property.