Roaches are resistant and highly adaptable pests, skilled at finding their way indoors and multiplying quickly to create an infestation in your home! One of the best ways you can keep a roach-free home is implementing some effective DIY prevention measures! Let’s review the reasons roaches infest and the ways you can deter them from your home.
How to Keep A Roach-Free Home
What Attracts Roaches?
There are several, everyday factors that will attract roaches inside your home, including:
- Food Sources: Cockroaches are drawn to any food source they can find. Crumbs, spills, and even pet food can attract them. They are also known to prefer sugary and starchy foods too.
- Water: To survive, roaches need water and will go looking for it in our kitchens, bathrooms, and crawlspaces. These pests only need a small amount, making leaky pipes and standing water a major attraction.
- Shelter: Roaches seek out dark warm places to hide and breed, like our storage closets. You will often find them in clutter, cardboard boxes, and pules of paper to hide.
How Can I Stop a Roach Infestation?
Roaches contaminate surfaces they touch and can trigger allergies and asthma, so stopping them before they even enter your home is important for the health of your family. Here are some easy, roach prevention tips that every Florida homeowner can utilize:
- Seal Entrances: Ensure all openings in doors, windows, and foundations are sealed. Likewise, replace old weatherstripping and make sure there are no holes in windows or screens to help stop these pests.
- Limit Moisture: Since roaches need water to survive, it’s crucial to remove any standing water throughout your property. Dripping faucets and leaky pipes will attract them inside your home, so look to repair them as soon as possible. Consider enclosing your crawlspace to ensure no moisture is found.
- Declutter Your Home: Cockroaches will find hiding places during the day, but at night emerge to seek out food and water. Decluttering and cleaning out unnecessary items in your home will help limit their hiding spaces and prevent them in the future. Remove any old newspapers, use plastic containers over cardboard, and make sure clothes are not piled on the floor.
- Tidy Your Kitchen: Your kitchen can be a paradise for roaches if it is not pest-proofed! To avoid roaches in your kitchen, clean up any spills or crumbs immediately and regularly take the trash out. When storing food in your pantry, look to use plastic or glass containers with lids on them.
While prevention can help keep cockroaches away, sometimes it’s best to get professional help! Call a pest control company near you to inspect your home and provide you with the best treatment and prevention plan to make sure you have a roach-free home.