Common Types of Roaches in Fort Myers Homes

Common Types of Roaches in Fort Myers Homes

The last thing you want to see is a cockroach scurrying across your kitchen floor, but unfortunately, Fort Myers’ warm and humid climate is a haven for these unwelcome guests! Luckily, knowing which types of roaches are most common in Fort Myers homes can help you keep them out of your home and know what action to take if you spot one!

Types of Roaches in Fort Myers

American Cockroach

The American cockroach, also known as the “Palmetto Bug”, is one of the largest roaches you’ll find in Florida. These bugs can grow up to 2 inches long and are a reddish-brown color. You’ll often find them in dark, damp places like exterior ornamental areas, sewers, and under appliances. They’re not picky eaters and will consume anything from food crumbs to decaying matter.

German Cockroach

German cockroaches are small but mighty. Measuring about ½ inch long, these light brown roaches are the most common species to invade homes. They multiply fast, so spotting one could mean there’s already an infestation. They love warm, humid areas, especially kitchens and bathrooms, where they can find food and water easily.

Brown-Banded Cockroach

Brown-banded roaches are about the same size as German cockroaches but have distinctive brown bands across their wings. Unlike other roaches, they prefer drier areas and are often found in living rooms or bedrooms – even inside our furniture! They also tend to hide in high places like shelves and cabinets.

How to Prevent a Roach Infestation

Cockroaches are more than just creepy—they can carry bacteria and trigger allergies. Here are a few more tips to keep them out of your Florida home:

  • Regularly sweep, mop, and wipe down surfaces to eliminate crumbs and spills that can attract roaches.
  • Keep your kitchen clean, store food in airtight containers, and empty the trash regularly.
  • Declutter your home, especially areas like closets, and vacuum regularly to remove potential hiding spots.
  • Roaches love garbage, so make sure your trash cans have tight lids and are emptied regularly.
  • Repair any plumbing issues and reduce humidity in your home as roaches are highly attracted to water.
  • Consider using motion sensor outdoor lights as it can attract roaches that fly, such as the American roach.
  • Seal any cracks or gaps around windows, doors, and plumbing, and keep your home dry by fixing leaks.

While roaches are a common pest in Fort Myers, taking steps to keep your home clean and less attractive to them can make all the difference! If you notice signs of an infestation, consider calling your local pest control company near you to help get things under control. These professionals will provide you with a thorough inspection, determine entry points, and recommend the best treatment and prevention plan for your roach situation.

Why Are Roaches in My Florida Home?

Why Are Roaches in My Florida Home?

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.

Are There Roaches in Sanibel Home?

Are There Roaches in Sanibel Home?

It’s always alarming spotting a roach in your home. These pests are highly adaptable and seek out human environments for a food and water source. Once they’ve infested your home, it can be difficult to control and eliminate them as they reproduce rapidly! The first step in preventing roaches is understanding the signs of cockroaches and the factors that could attract them into your Florida home.

Common Signs You Have Cockroaches

  • Smear Marks: Roaches seek out areas with moisture, where they will produce dark, irregularly shaped spear marks as they rest or crawl along walls. You can find these smears where the wall and floor meet.
  • Droppings or Egg Casings: Depending on the roach species, droppings will vary but you can often find them near floor corners, cabinets, under the fridge, and under the stove.
  • Musky Odor: If there’s a large number of roaches that have infested a home, a strong musky odor may be present in your home. This smell can indicate live or dead roaches.
  • Allergies: Roaches contain proteins known to trigger allergy symptoms, including a stuffy nose, wheezing red itching eyes, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and an increased use of inhalers.
  • Live Roaches: An obvious sign that roaches have infested your home is actually seeing them present on your property. If you’re seeing them during the day, overcrowding from an infestation could force them out into open areas.

Common Roach Prevention for South Florida Homes

The best way to avoid roaches from entering your Sanibel property is placing preventative measures throughout! Check out our tips on preventing cockroaches:

  • Seal gaps and openings including in walls, around electrical sockets, around doors and windows, and along your foundation with silicone-based caulk or steel wool.
  • Keep counters, sinks, floors, and tables clean of drink spills and food crumbs.
  • Vacuum on a frequent basis; we recommend at least once a week!
  • Don’t leave pet food outside overnight, instead bring it indoors and store your pet food in a plastic container with a tight lid.
  • Consider enclosing your crawlspace to help reduce moisture and prevent household pests like roaches, mice, termites, and more.

If you’ve noticed the above signs of cockroaches, it’s best to call your local Florida pest control provider. These professionals will identify the type of roach, any entry points, and the best treatment and ongoing prevention for your home.

Getting Rid of Roaches in your Augusta Home

Getting Rid of Roaches in your Augusta Home

Augusta Pest Control: Eliminating Roaches

Having an influx of roach activity in your home is never ideal! Cockroaches are year-round pests and are known for their rapid rate of multiplying. The most common roaches found in Augusta homes include the American roach, German roach, and brown-banded roach. Once these roaches have invaded, it can be extremely difficult to get rid of them. Whether you see one roach, multiple roaches, or want to get ahead of the prevention game, consider these cockroach prevention tips below!

Clean Up

To survive, roaches need water and food, typically looking to our homes to search for both. The best way to discourage them from entering is to eliminate their food and water sources. After you’ve cooked or had a meal, it’s important to clean up all the dishes, washing them and putting them away instead of leaving them out at night. Likewise, clean up any leftover spills and crumbs from your meal as soon as possible. Don’t forget to clean your appliances too, as well as wiping down your stovetop, as roaches prefer areas with warmth and the likelihood of spilled food.

Eliminate Entry

Using their small bodies, roaches will enter homes through the smallest gap, hole, or crevice. At least once a year, consider inspecting your windows, doors, foundations, roof, attic vents, crawlspace vents, and even electric, gas, and plumbing lines for points of entry. A good rule of thumb is if you can see daylight shining in, roaches can get inside! Utilize caulk to seal smaller holes and steel wool or foam for larger holes. Consider utilizing a chimney cap and attic vents too.

Reduce Moisture

Moisture provides roaches with a reason to infest, making it essential to eliminate it. These pests only need a small amount to survive. While you’re inspecting for roach entry points, make a note of any leaking faucets, sinks, or pipes and repair them as soon as possible. Likewise, don’t forget to check behind appliances like your refrigerator for excess moisture. Also, consider enclosing your crawlspace to help control moisture underneath your home.

Call a Pro

While placing preventative measures around your home can deter roaches away, sometimes it’s best to call a professional for some extra help. If you’ve noticed roaches on your property or are looking to prevent them before they infest, consider contacting your pest control company. These professionals can thoroughly inspect your home, identify the type of cockroach present, identify areas of entry, and provide you with the best treatment and prevention options!

7 Signs You Have Cockroaches

7 Signs You Have Cockroaches

Cockroaches are household pests known for spreading bacteria and triggering allergies and asthma. These nocturnal pests come out at night to feed and hide in cracks and crevices during the day. Roaches are attracted to moisture and are most commonly found in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, basements, and drains. Because they are nocturnal, you may not notice you have a roach problem until a full blown cockroach infestation has set in. Spotting the signs of cockroaches can help you head off an infestation before it gets out of hand. Here are 7 signs you may have cockroaches.

Roaches Next Door

If your neighbors mention having a roach problem, especially if you live in an apartment, condo, or townhouse, the odds are likely that they will make their way over to your home, as well. One way to help prevent this is by getting rid of what attracts roaches in your home. Don’t put open food containers in the trash; don’t leave crumbs on the floor; clean up messes as they happen; keep garbage cans sealed; and try not to store outdoor trash cans near your home.

Smear Marks

Roaches are attracted to moisture so they are often found in areas of high moisture in your home. In these areas, they will often produce dark, irregularly-shaped smear marks as they rest or crawl along walls. These smears are often seen on horizontal surfaces and where the wall and floor meet.

Droppings

Roaches leave droppings behind wherever they are. The size and shape of droppings vary between species. Some species leave behind a small brown stain. German cockroaches leave behind pepper-like specks that can also resemble coffee grounds. The larger American cockroach species leaves behind droppings closer to a grain of rice. The most common places to check for droppings are floor corners, cabinets, under the fridge, and under the stove. It is important to clean any droppings up when you find them as they are known to spread bacteria.

Egg Casings

Egg casings are long, hollow, light brown tubes that hold cockroach eggs, anywhere from 20 to 50 at a time. Although most species leave egg casings behind once the eggs are laid, some species actually carry them with them until their offspring hatch. Egg casings are usually found at the base of the refrigerator, in cabinets that store food, and near leaky pipes. If you find a casing that still has eggs in it, dispose of it by flushing it down the toilet.

Musky Odor

Roaches and their feces give off a musky, unpleasant odor. While one roach usually doesn’t emit a strong enough odor to be detected by humans, when larger numbers of roaches get together the smell gets stronger and more easily detected. While the smell is usually associated with live roaches, dead cockroaches can also emit the odor as part of the decomposition process.

Allergy Symptoms

The feces and exoskeleton of cockroaches contain proteins that can trigger allergies and asthma. If you don’t usually have allergies and have symptoms appear without a known trigger; or your current allergy and asthma symptoms seem to get worse without a known trigger this may indicate the presence of cockroaches in your home. Symptoms include stuffy nose, wheezing, red itching eyes, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and the increased use of your inhaler.

Live Roaches

If you see one roach, the odds are likely that there are many others present. Roaches are nocturnal and usually spotted at night. If you are seeing roaches during the day, overcrowding from an infestation may be forcing them out in the open.

The best way to avoid a roach infestation is to prevent them in the first place. Prevent cockroaches by:

  • Thoroughly cleaning your home each week.
  • Storing all food in tightly sealed containers.
  • Cleaning up yard debris such as leaves or fallen tree limbs.
  • Not letting shrubs, trees, or woodpiles touch your home.
  • Remembering to clean under forgotten spaces such as under the fridge, stove, and inside cabinets.

If you have a problem with roaches or any other pest, contact your local pest control company for a free analysis and comprehensive treatment plan.

 

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