Sometimes you wake up with a growling stomach and can't get back to sleep. Your mind scans through what you think is in the refrigerator or pantry to determine if it is worth the effort to get out of bed. Finally, you remember the bag of cookies tucked in the back of the pantry, and you muster the strength to get out of bed. You stumble through the dark hallway and enter the kitchen to satisfy your disgruntled stomach. When you turn on the light, you forget the hunger pangs as adrenaline surges through your body and triggers a fight-or-flight response. What caused the adrenaline rush? Cockroaches! When the lights came on, you saw roaches running from cover under the appliances, inside cabinet drawers, and under the doors into other rooms.
If you have had similar scenarios, you need the best pest control in Columbia from Redefined Pest Solutions. Our service professionals go above and beyond to do what it takes to remove cockroaches from homes. This brief article will answer common questions to help you win the war against cockroaches.
How Can I Be Sure It's Roaches In My Home?
Cockroaches are nocturnal, so while you sleep, they are active and vice versa. Although you may not see many roaches around, they leave behind the following signs that indicate if you have a cockroach infestation:
- Pepper-like dark droppings in dimly-lit areas
- Musty smell in rooms from pheromones
- Egg capsules glued to surfaces near food sources
- Fecal stains or smears
Look for evidence of cockroaches on countertops, in drawers, along tops of doors, in corners, underneath furniture, behind appliances, around drains, and in dark, humid areas of the basement. If you find a cockroach in your house, you likely have an infestation because more are hiding in the shadows.
Can Roaches In My Home Really Make Me Sick?
Yes, cockroaches in your Columbia home can make you sick because they contaminate surfaces that come into contact with food. Cockroaches feed on rotting garbage, animal feces, and polluted plant and animal materials in the sewage. As they travel over these putrid areas, they attract bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms to the spines on their cockroach legs. Later, when they travel to nests in the house, the disease-causing pathogenes on their spines fall off and pollute surfaces. In addition to shedding pathogens, they degrade surfaces in the home with their urine, feces, and saliva.
Cockroaches spread thirty-three diseases like E. coli, salmonella, typhoid fever, and cholera producing nausea, diarrhea, dehydration, cramps, and vomiting. To protect family members in your Columbia home, you need pest control for roaches.
What Attracts Roaches Into My Home?
If you find a cockroach in your house, it is because they have found food, water, and in most cases, a warm environment. American, German and brown-banded cockroaches prefer temperatures above 70? and, in the case of brown-banded cockroaches, over 80?. The one exception is the Oriental cockroach which prefers cooler temperatures and damp locations like the crawlspace. Besides the brown-banded cockroach, the other species prefer moist areas with higher humidity (i.e., around drains, basements, underneath furniture, leaky pipes, kitchen cabinets).
Of course, rotting garbage, crumbs, exposed pet food, and other food sources attract roaches. To get rid of cockroaches in your house, maintain a clean, low-moisture environment in your home and yard.
What's The Best Way To Get Rid Of Roaches?
To help get rid of cockroaches, implement these tips:
- Vacuum the floors focusing on the cracks and corners.
- Clean the eating and cooking surfaces after each meal.
- Seal any foundation cracks and gaps with caulk.
- Install door sweeps under exterior doors.
- Provide proper ventilation to humid areas in the home.
- Store food in airtight containers.
While these tips will help, the best way to kill cockroaches is to call in our service professionals from Redefined Pest Solutions. We will inspect your home for hot spots, nest locations, entry points, and attractants. We will treat the home with safe products that kill the current and future cockroach populations. Contact us today for your free inspection!
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