You’ve cleaned your entire house, mopping and sweeping the floors, cleaning up crumbs and vacuuming, but you keep seeing roaches! Unfortunately, even in a clean house roaches can find their way inside. Cockroaches seek out three things: water, food, and shelter. While you might think you’ve taken all the necessary precautions, there could be some elements you’re missing that can attract roaches to your home.
Roaches are thigmotactic, meaning they want to feel contact on all sides of their bodies. Because of this, they are commonly found nesting in places such as wall cracks, under sinks, in drains, and even water heaters. Every home has these features so despite your best cleaning efforts, these pests can still find a way in through small gaps or doors to reach these locations.
Even the cleanest of homes can still have the occasional leaky pipe or faucet. Roaches need moisture to survive and are constantly searching for it. Areas where moisture has accumulated is an attractant to roaches. Refrigerators and air conditioning units are two common places that these pests infest. Cockroaches enjoy dark areas equally as much as they do water. You can traditionally find these pests in basements near appliances that use water, too.
Besides what brings them inside your home, roaches are also attracted to what’s outside. Standing water in places like gutters, flowerpots, or birdbaths can also attract these pests to your property. Trash and recycling bins also provide a great food source for roaches, as they typically will eat garbage.
Once a cockroach infestation is established, it’s extremely hard to get rid of them. Here are some further precautions you can take to help prevent roaches:
- Seal any cracks and gaps that are leading into your home
- Repair any water leaks throughout your house
- Sweep daily and vacuum your house weekly
- Keep your garbage and recycle cans sealed
Tired of dealing with roaches yourself? Consider calling a professional pest control company who can inspect your home, identify where these pests are getting in from, and provide you with a customized plan to treat them.