Cockroaches are common pests worldwide. They are very resourceful insects that can breed, eat, and live in your home without your knowledge.
Even if they do not bite, cockroaches can still cause health problems. Breathing in cockroach waste and skin can trigger asthma symptoms and allergies. If there are cockroaches in your home, do not panic because food and water attract them, even if you clean your house regularly and keep it tidy.
How do cockroaches get into your home?
Cockroaches can find ways to enter your home. Unfortunately, there are several ways that cockroaches can do that. They can do the following:
- Crawl inside through cracks and small homes in your home
- Hitch a ride on various containers, suitcases, backpacks, and bags
- Crawl through gaps and openings around windows and doors
- Move from one place to another through holes and pipes in shared walls
Preferred hiding places
Cockroaches are good at hiding and can find places around your home where they can hide. Understanding their feeding behaviour and ideal environment can help you identify their preferred areas.
Cockroaches prefer narrow crevices and cracks. They will likely stay inside dark cabinets and drawers, under the sinks, and behind refrigerators. Cockroaches like to find food at night, and they eat a variety of non-food and food items.
Cockroach prevention and monitoring
It is important to know what you can do to monitor the presence of cockroaches in your home to prevent infestation. These include storing food in sealed containers and covering pet dishes. You should also clean stove tops, floors, and counters. Repairing plumbing leaks, and sealing holes and cracks near doors and windows helps. Monitor your home for cockroach shed skins, droppings, and eggs. Once you detect cockroaches are living in your home, contact an experienced pest control Doncaster company to quickly and safely remove cockroaches and ensure that your home will be cockroach-free in the long term.
Managing cockroach infestation
Aside from seeking professional help, you can also do several things to prevent cockroaches from entering your home.
- Locate the gaps, holes, cracks, and other openings where cockroaches can crawl. Seal any entry points you identified. Fine mesh screens can prevent them from entering through vents and gaps between floors and walls, while other gaps and cracks may need sealant.
- Cockroaches can also be found in warm places with easy access to water. You can buy sticky traps to locate the areas where they hide.
- Discard clutter that cockroaches might use for breeding and hiding. Bring out the trash each night to eliminate materials cockroaches can eat.
- Since they need moisture, repair leaky faucets and pipes, and clean the places under refrigerators and air conditioning units. Likewise, remove likely sources of standing water, including your pets’ water bowls.
It is likely to have issues with cockroaches even if you keep your house clean. Therefore, having a roach prevention program from a professional pest control company is important, as learning some DIY ways to get rid of them.