Cockroaches
Cockroaches are a high risk pest to have in the home because of the range of illness they can potentially transmit and because they breed very quickly.
Cockroaches in Your Home
We recommend that you get professional pest control if you spot signs of cockroaches in your home because:
- Cockroaches can breed rapidly.
- Cockroaches produce an obnoxious odour that taints food and objects they come into contact with.
- Cockroach droppings cause asthma and eczema.
- Cockroaches carry a range of serious illnesses including dysentery, gastroenteritis, salmonella and typhoid.
Quick response, thorough inspection and a persistent treatment plan are essential to ensure a cockroach infestation does not become established or spread to neighboring properties. If you have a cockroach infestation call Rentokil on 1-888-931-8881.
Signs of a Cockroach Problem
There are three common species found in the home:
These cockroaches are brown in color and have wings, although they prefer to run or climb, they can fly short distances.
American cockroaches, also known
as the palmetto bug, tend to be found in dark, undisturbed areas that are high in humidity.
All species are usually found in greatest numbers in the kitchen or where food is stored.
Typical Signs of a Cockroach:
- Seeing live insects – cockroaches are nocturnal and hide during the day. You will most likely see them when turning on the light in the kitchen at night.
- Droppings – cockroaches leave a dust of black droppings less than 1mm wide and of varying lengths.
- Egg cases and cast skins – cockroaches shed their skin 5-8 times as they mature.
- Damage - roaches will attack organic goods including leather and books.
- Odor – established cockroach infestations produce an unpleasant, musty smell.
Cockroach Prevention Tips
Sealing entry points throughout your home can help prevent a cockroach from entering the home. Key risk areas are gaps under doors or around pipes to the outside or neighboring properties. Common wall structures like apartments or condominiums are especially susceptible.
Additionally, sealing gaps where cockroaches can hide will help by removing access to harborage (resting/breeding areas) - cockroaches are nocturnal and hide during the day in cracks and crevices in the walls, around skirting boards or behind electrical sockets.
One of the most effective ways of controlling a cockroach infestation is to stop eliminate access to food and water:
- Do not leave liquids in sinks or buckets overnight
- Store food in containers or in sealed plastic bags
- Clear used dishes and cutlery immediately
- Clean all waste food and spillages immediately
- Clean food debris from under refrigerators or stoves
- Take care with soiled napkins or dirty clothing
- Keep refuse or compost in sealed bins
- Remove pet food, water and litter trays overnight
In our collective experience, ultrasonic or electromagnetic repellers are ineffective at dealing with cockroaches and are not recommended to control or prevent cockroach infestations.
Call Rentokil Pest Control on 1-888-931-8881 for advice on how to keep cockroaches away from your home for good.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
If left untreated, cockroaches quickly establish themselves in high numbers and will spread to adjoining properties.
In some cases DIY products may be effective in getting rid of smaller cockroach problems, it can be difficult to reach all cockroach hiding places with amateur products, leaving enough of a population to increase the risk of continual breeding and more cockroaches.
An established cockroach population will often require professional pest control to ensure that it will not recur. Infestations are likely to reappear especially when surviving cockroach eggs hatch after one or two months.
Rentokil Pest Control offers a fast and effective cockroach elimination service to get rid of cockroaches in your home for good.
Call Rentokil Pest Control on 1-888-931-8882 for more advice & cockroach pest control services and get started today.