Is Your Home the Site of a Roach Infestation?

Here’s a terrifying statistic: according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), 63% of homes in the U.S. contain cockroaches and their participles. Humans have a natural aversion to these critters due to their unpleasant aesthetic, invasive nature, and their ability to carry and spread potentially dangerous diseases like E.coli or parasitic worms. This means that a critical aspect of keeping your home and family healthy is being able to identify the signs of a roach infestation so you can act quickly to eliminate the problem before it gets out of control. You’re already in the right place to counter an infestation, but let’s go over how you can spot if there’s a problem in the first place and when it is time to get pest control West Palm Beach involved.

Howto Find a Cockroach Infestation?

Know Where to Look

As if you needed more reasons todislike roaches, it turns out they're exceptionally good at hide-and-seek, especiallythe hiding part. Cockroaches prefer to live in dark and humid places, sothey are often found in:

• Kitchens – especially behind refrigerators
• Bathrooms – under sinks or behind the toilet
• Narrow cracks and crevices
• Garages

More specifically, you'll want tolook in cupboards, cabinets, hidden areas with pipework, or near dishwashers. Cockroaches will findfood wherever they can fit it, so it's a good idea to look in hard-to-reachplaces where food particles might have fallen, such as in the cavities by astove or in a pantry. 

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Identifying the Signs

Five major red flags can tip youoff to the presence of roaches:

1. Seeing One: We know this sounds a little obvious, but there's more to it. Roaches are nocturnal insects that tend to hide where food is abundant. If you start seeing cockroaches in the daytime, that might be a sign of food-scarcity and overpopulation, which means that there could be a large colony reaching its limits somewhere in your home. 
2. Damage: Cockroaches are not picky about what they eat. These omnivorous scavengers will consume any organic food source available to them. So, keep an eye out for unusual signs of damage not just to food packaging, but also to leather and books.
3. Egg Capsules: Roaches lay down capsules that contain multiple eggs. Each species has a unique shape to their eggs, but for the most part, the capsules are made of eight to eighteen segments, and they tend to be reddish to dark brown in color.
4. Smell: If they are found in large enough numbers, roaches can produce a pungent odor that has been described as "musty." The smell can also come from the decomposition process of a dead cockroach. The smell can linger in the air and even affect the taste of food. 
5. Feces / Droppings:  Due to their varied diet and rapid metabolism, one of the first signs of the presence of roaches in your home will be a considerable number of droppings. Depending on the type of each, the appearance of the droppings can range from specks of pepper to brown stains, to coffee grounds or oval pellets.

Findingthe Source

How Roaches Enter the Home

Homes provide the idealconditions for cockroaches. They require food, warmth, moisture, and darkness,and all the little crevasses throughout a house make it easy for a roach tofind a place to settle. Cockroaches are very resourceful and can find their wayinto your home in several different ways, including:

• Crawling through small holes or cracks
• Getting inside a bag, suitcase, backpack, oranother container that finds its way into your home
• Openings around doors or windows
• Pipes or holes in shared walls

What Attracts a Cockroach?

One of the most common causes of roaches inthe home is exposed to food. This doesn't just mean leaving an opened bag ofchips in the kitchen; pet food left out in the open is a sure-fire way to getroaches through the door. Other variables that would make your home anattractive destination to these critters are:

• Unchecked sources of water like leaky pipes ordrains
• Overgrowth such as weeds near doors
• Uncovered or overflowing waste bins or garbagecans
• Other roaches – if you find one in your home,there are likely more somewhere

MostCommon Types of Roaches and How to Spot Them

There are over 4,500species of cockroaches throughout the world; however, only 30 of thosespecies are actually considered to be pests. Of those 30, three species, inparticular, excel at invading homes in the U.S. – the American, German, andBrown-banded Cockroaches. If you have a home infestation, it is likely a resultof one of these three species of roaches.

Brown-banded Cockroaches

This roach gets its name as aresult of twolighter bands they have across their bodies. Male roaches have full andfunctional wings, while female wings are underdeveloped and prohibit them fromflying.

Brown-banded roaches tend toprefer higher locations than other species and are often found in upper cabinetsin kitchens and bathrooms.

German Cockroaches

This species is the most commonlyfound worldwide. Although they can be found just about anywhere, they are mostcommon in restaurants, food processing facilities, hotels, and hospitals. Theyare light brown to tan coloring with two dark, parallel stripes located ontheir backs.

German roaches prefer warmand humid locations close to sources of food and moisture. They reproducequickly, and large populations are known to emit a strong odor. 

American Cockroaches

Also known as the Bombay canaryor the Palmetto bug, this is the largest of the house-infesting roaches andoften comes from the outside of the homes. American cockroaches are typicallyreddish-brown with a yellowish figure-eight pattern on the back of the head.

These roaches can grow to over 2”in length and are capable of flying short distances. They are most commonlyfound in sewer systems and drains.

Threats

Regardless of the species,cockroaches can be dangerous as they transmit disease and bacteria. It’s beenreported that roachesspread at least 33 kinds of bacteria like Salmonella and seven differenttypes of human pathogens. The sticky and ridged nature of their bodies and legsmeans that roaches can easily pick up germs as they crawl through decayingmatter or sewage, which can be easily transferredonto food or cooking surfaces.

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Preventionand Removal

Keep it Clean

Basic sanitation will be the firstline of defense for keeping roaches away. Thorough, regular cleaning of thehome in general and with particular focus on the kitchen can prevent theaccumulation of food remnants that can be attractive to insects. Don't neglectcleaning hard-to-access places like behind the refrigerator or stove and useplenty of disinfectant spray when you do so.

Store and Consolidate Food

Properly sealed food containersare your best friend! Roaches can easily fit into tinyopenings in standard cardboard packages. Proper storage extends to petfood, which should be regularly put in plastic containers and kept outside ofthe home to keep roaches from being attracted to the inside of the house.Another pro-tip associated with food is limiting where you eat – if you onlyeat in one room, then cleaning up becomes easier. 

Call a Professional for Your Pest Control West Palm Beach Needs

Sometimes even the most thorough of cleaning and a watchful eye is not enough. Cockroaches are highly adaptive and resourceful, so if you find yourself playing whack-a-mole with a never-ending string of insectoid invaders, then it might be time to find an expert to fight this battle for you. If you have roaches in your home and need them effectively removed, give us a call, and we help you reclaim your home. Don't waste your time with DIY fixes and false promises, choose the best pest control West Palm Beach from the state