Cockroaches are one of the most common household pests that Florida residents will deal with. While these pests won’t cause structural damage, they can be a health risk to you and your family as they will transmit diseases and contaminate food. Spotting a roach inside your home doesn’t always mean your home is dirty, as roaches can easily get into the cleanest of homes to look for food, water, and shelter. One question homeowners often ask is “How can I stop roaches?” One of the best ways you can prevent them from entering your home is to understand how they can get inside in the first place and familiarize yourself with the cockroach prevention tips that you can utilize.
How Do Roaches Get Inside?
Roaches can be extremely resourceful when trying to enter homes. These small insects will flatten themselves to be able to crawl through the smallest holes and cracks leading inside a building, including openings around your foundation and utility pipes leading inside the home. Likewise, they will squeeze through any available openings around doors and windows, whether it’s gaps or if it’s been open too long. Roaches are known to hitchhike and lay their eggs on certain items to get inside the home, including luggage, backpacks, used furniture, used appliances, and packages.
How Can I Stop Roaches?
One of the best ways you can stop roaches is to create an environment they aren’t attracted to that will deter them away. Check out our common roach preventative tips to consider:
- Identifying where roaches are getting in is the first step in preventing them. If you’ve seen these pests in a certain area of your home, like the kitchen, it is likely that is where they are entering from. Inspect both the inside and outside of these areas, sealing any cracks or crevices you find with caulk.
- Consider placing sticky roach traps in the areas where their activity is the highest, as it can be closer to the nest and closer to where they are entering.
- Use weatherstripping on doors and windows.
- Before you bring in any items, inspect them for roaches, such as packages or used furniture.
- Roaches love to nest in clutter so it is crucial to clean out piles of old newspapers and magazines, cardboard boxes, and paper bags.
- After cooking or eating meals, clean up any spills or food crumbs from dining tables, countertops, stovetops, microwaves, and floors.
- Check for leaky faucets and repair them as soon as possible.
- Consider having your exterior lighting on motion sensors to reduce roach activity.
- Sweep and vacuum behind larger appliances and get rid of any food stuck in the bottom of your dishwasher.
Cockroaches are extremely resilient and once an infestation occurs, they can grow overnight! If you’ve noticed one too many roaches than you are comfortable with, contact a pest control company near you for a free evaluation and the recommended pest control treatment and prevention plan based on your current pest situation.