For residents of Maine, cockroaches are among the most irritating insects you can find in your home. These pests just can’t keep away from your homes. You might have practiced good sanitation, but you still find cockroaches crawling in your house, and you wonder how these pests got into your home.
Well, these stubborn pests sneak into your home in many ways. But before we discuss that, let’s see why roaches come indoors and why you shouldn’t allow them into your house.
Why cockroaches come into your home and how they survive
Cockroaches invade your home to look for food, water, and shelter, especially during the winter season when it’s extremely cold outside. You don’t want these insects coming into your home because they are a nuisance and can contaminate food and cause diseases.
What’s more, when a single cockroach finds its way into your home, it can be hard to control. Cockroaches are resilient and can survive without proper food for over a month. They can feed on anything they encounter during that period, such as wet cellulose, readily available in basements, wall systems, and attics.
With access to food, cockroaches can live for a very long time, with the average lifespan of males being 1 year and female cockroaches living for up to 700 days. Roaches also multiply fast. A single pest can lay about 20 to 40 eggs every 6 weeks, which hatches after 28 days and takes up to 4 months to become adult roaches.
With such a fast multiplication rate, it means if you see one or two cockroaches, there might be others lurking in the dark. This is because roaches are exceptionally good at hiding. They can shelter in the smallest spaces and cracks, hide in dark drawers, under sinks and only come out at night to search for food.
So, with such survival mechanisms, how do you deal with roaches? The best way is to know how they get into your home in the first place and then prevent them from coming indoors.
How cockroaches sneak into your home
Cockroaches are highly versatile pests and great hitchhikers. They use several ways to sneak into your home, including;
Small holes and spaces
These stubborn insects can use the smallest holes and spaces to invade your house. They crawl indoors through cracks and holes in your building. Also, they could use spaces around your windows and doors as entry points.
Hitchhiking
Usually, roaches sneak into your home through luggage, moving boxes, furniture, containers, backpacks, or hitchhike on grocery or traveling bags.
When traveling, cockroaches can easily move from one person’s luggage and hide into your traveling bag. You can then transfer them into your home unknowingly.
Moving through pipes
Piping systems can be great entry points for roaches. Since most apartments share a plumbing system, cockroaches can easily move from one apartment to the other through pipes as well as holes and spaces in shared walls.
Now that you know how these creepy pests can make their way into your house, let’s see how you can prevent them from getting in.
Preventing cockroaches from getting into your home
The best way to deal with cockroaches is to prevent them from invading your home. You can keep cockroaches away in several ways, including;
1. Practicing good sanitation
Vacuum your house often and clean all hard-to-reach places such as below sinks, countertops, behind refrigerators/stoves, and any other places with food remains and dirt. Eliminating all food debris and grease can make it hard for roaches to survive in your home.
2. Destroy all possible shelters for cockroaches
Roaches love to hide in dark places such as boxes, cabinets, and carboards. As such, you should get rid of any clutter they can use to hide and feed on.
3. Store food in airtight containers
These pests love to invade your food and contaminate it. So, ensure you store your food in sealed containers where they cannot access it.
4. Seal crack and other entry points
The common entry points for roaches are where utility pipes enter your home as well as cracks, crevices, openings in basements, attics, and crawl spaces. Seal all these entry points to keep cockroaches away. In addition, keep the attics, crawl spaces and basements, clean, dry, and well-ventilated.
5. Eliminate moist areas
Pay more attention to moist areas like bathrooms and kitchens. Remove the moisture, repair leaking pipes, and unblock clogged drains as these are good habitats for roaches.
6. Clear trash often
Keep the trash bags covered when not in use and clear the trash from time to time. This removes their source of food and reduces their lifespan significantly.
Bottomline
Cockroaches are intruders you wouldn’t want in your home. They contaminate your food, spread disease, and are a nuisance. If you notice a single cockroach indoors, there might be many more lurking in the dark places. And that means looking for ways to eliminate the infestation.
At Ants Plus Pest Control, we help residents in Maine with all things cockroaches. We are the best-qualified pest control services in eliminating cockroaches and preventing them from getting into your home. Contact us today if you notice a cockroach infestation in your home.