Solved! Why Are There Suddenly So Many Cockroaches in My House?
Table Of Content
While it is relatively rare, cockroaches can bite humans, usually in environments with heavy infestations where their regular food sources are scarce. These bites can cause irritation, swelling, and sometimes infection. More commonly, however, the danger posed by cockroaches is indirect.
Targeted Pests
After eating the gel, a cockroach will slowly die, after which its body will be consumed by other roaches. The poison will kill those roaches too, and may kill even more roaches as the poison is passed on yet again. Cockroach gel bait can be a game-changer for many people, especially for those who’ve only used bombs or sprays. Large house roaches will infiltrate your home with the seasons. Or when nearby road construction upsets their usual disgusting haunts. Between the time they get in and the time you get rid of them, they’ll terrify your children, crawl onto you at night, and go to the bathroom all over your stuff.
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Cockroaches 101
Don’t wait until you’ve exterminated the roaches to start implementing the following steps—start as soon as you notice a roach problem. Use all insecticide sprays according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Spray them around cabinets, under appliances, and in other cracks and crevices where roaches are likely to travel. The downside of sprays, whether concentrated or not, is that they must be reapplied more often than baits or traps.
Five steps to getting rid of roaches in your apartment or house
These pests are outside dwellers, but they occasionally make their way inside, especially in the spring and fall. If the issue isn't severe, a vacuum should do the trick, but if you're noticing large groups of these pests, you may want to get in touch with a local pest control company for advice. Keeping your kitchen clean is a very important part of keeping roaches at bay. Wipe up crumbs and spills, and wipe down the stovetop after cooking. Keep food in airtight containers that pests can’t chew their way through. Similarly, limit roaches’ access to water by emptying pet water bowls at night.
American Cockroach Life Cycle
You may not see roaches often, even with an active infestation going on inside your home. There are many different forms of roach killers that each have a different way of working and application process. The bait station is already ready-to-use, so all you have to do is set it on your floor wherever you’ve seen roaches.
Hot Shot Liquid Roach Bait
"With insecticides, including boric acid, more can actually repel the insects and ultimately not do anything for the problem," Gore says. "Always read and understand the use directions for any insecticide being used for insects." You can also try natural methods such as diatomaceous earth or essential oil sprays.
Given the similar relationship between these treatments, I decided to roll them together. Previous sections already explained these options and how they work. This method generally involves moving out of your home for a few days and allowing the chemicals to do their thing.
Diatomaceous Earth
Keep any shrubs, plants, or even wood piles away from the house to prevent them from sheltering outside in the warm months and forcing their way in during the colder months. Since cockroach egg cases generally contain dozens of eggs, they multiply quickly and can cause large infestations. If a large infestation is in place, or cockroaches are still present despite using all of the techniques above, it might be worth using a professional service. All the user has to do is apply a thin layer of dust on the surfaces cockroaches are likely to crawl, so areas like cabinet interiors, under appliances and basement floors. Baking soda is one of the most effective ways to kill cockroaches. If enticed to ingest baking soda, gasses will build up in the cockroach’s body and cause it to die.
What Causes Roaches in the Home?
Other than seeing a cockroach, there are some clear indicators that you have unwelcome guests on your hands. Because different types of cockroaches can live in different areas of the home, keep in mind there can be separate infestations. Common signs of cockroaches include small droppings, a foul odor, shed skin and damage to packages. Defining CharacteristicsOne of the larger varieties, smokybrown cockroaches can be up to two inches long and are dark brown. Where They’re FoundBrown-banded cockroaches are found throughout much of the United States but have a strong preference for climates that regularly top 80 degrees.
How to Get Rid of ThemUnlike many other types of cockroaches, there are rarely indoor infestations of smokybrown cockroaches. If you discover just one, you can kill it or relocate it back outdoors. If it’s a recurring problem, pay attention to the materials you are bringing indoors and use cockroach-killing bait or traps. Defining CharacteristicsOne of the most common species, German cockroaches are generally about 13 to 16 mm in length, light brown in color and identifiable by two stripes behind the head.
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Plan to re-check your monitors every three weeks and record what you find. Pay close attention to how many roaches are stuck to the traps and how big or small they are. Roaches are some of the most common and resilient household pests in the world, often stumping even the most seasoned pest pros. Amanda Rose Newton is a pest specialist and horticulture expert, reviewing pest control and gardening content for The Spruce's Cleaning and Gardening Review Board.
It’s not just the obvious large openings that can be a concern; young roaches or even egg cases can find their way into small gaps or cracks. It’s a good idea to ensure that all plumbing work is finalized with the careful sealing of any open points and installing mesh screens over drains to prevent roaches from entering. While you will have to deal with disposing of the traps with the nasties inside, there is a little tab on the top of each one so you won’t have to get too close to the corpses. Thankfully, they come with sticky-tape on the back of each trap to enable you to stick it on the back of cabinets or even somewhere higher up, and out of the reach of pets and children.
This might seem obvious, but stepping on a cockroach whenever one is present is a smart idea. However, these bugs can handle up to 900 times their weight, so it’s important to really bear down and smash the thing to smithereens (we apologize for the intensity). The spines on the legs of cockroaches are ideal for picking up diseases and germs. These bugs are known to spread salmonella, cholera, dysentery, gastroenteritis, giardia, leprosy, listeria and even Typhoid fever.
In such cases, it’s a good idea to speak with nearby neighbors to understand the extent of the issue and to agree on a strategy to tackle the infestation more effectively. This article was written by Kat de Naoum, who has over ten years of commerce writing experience. Kat is also the commerce editor-at-large at Thomas-Xometry, the leading U.S. online platform for supplier discovery and product sourcing. For this article, Kat reviewed multiple roach killers, researching factors such as each product's form, length of efficacy, time needed to work, price, and whether it’s safe for pets. She also consulted Judy Black, vice president of quality assurance and technical services at Orkin, LLC, a top American residential and commercial pest control services company.
Trying these methods might inadvertently lead to increased visibility of these pests as they flee the treated areas. Or, as some of these repellents are common ingredients in food, cooking with them can also cause cockroaches to come out. If packages or secondhand furniture come from environments where cockroach infestations are prevalent, these pests may be hitching a ride right into a home. Cockroaches can hide in the folds of cardboard boxes, in the hollows of wooden furniture, or even among packing materials. Once inside a home, they can quickly find hiding places and begin to multiply, leading to a full-blown infestation in a relatively short span of time. Sewer systems are a natural habitat for cockroaches, providing them with the damp, dark environments they prefer.
The first thing you should know is that cockroaches are a gregarious species. This means that a single cockroach gets more comfortable when it is around other cockroaches. Orkin also uses monitor cards that verify the effectiveness of the treatments. Also, the company will help homeowners with improving cleaning standards and eliminating sources of water, food and shelter. Dark spaces like drawers, cabinets and under appliances are typical spaces, as are stacks of cardboard, wet environments like basements and closets, or cabinets with leaky pipes.
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