Of all the common household pests known to invade New York homes, cockroaches can be one of the most startling, embarrassing, and frustrating to deal with. Not only are they scary for a lot of people to see in their homes, especially if they crawl across the kitchen counter late at night when you least expect it, but roaches also are associated with a variety of health risks to people and pets, including asthma, allergies, and salmonella, to name a few.
Even the cleanest homes end up with roaches in them sometimes, but in addition to sanitation, there are several key cockroach prevention tips that’ll help you prevent roaches in your home.
Cockroach Prevention Tip #1: Deny Access to Food Sources
Cockroaches, like humans, have a basic need to eat food! If your home is providing convenient food sources to roaches, they might just come in and stay awhile. Because of this, it’s no coincidence that roaches are most often seen in the kitchen.
To eliminate food sources that could be drawing roaches to your home, you’re going to want to make sure you’re regularly cleaning up food scraps, vacuuming your floors to eliminate crumbs, and wiping down your countertops often, especially in the kitchen. To be most effective, we recommend making a habit of cleaning your kitchen every night. You should also be mindful of how you’re storing leftovers; ideally, no food, including pet food, should be left out on your countertops or floors, and instead, should go into airtight containers or your refrigerator when not actively being eaten. Another way to eliminate food sources is by washing your dishes and not letting them pile up in the sink with food remnants on them.
Cockroach Prevention Tip #2: Check for Needed Home Repairs
Doing a thorough inspection of your home is ALWAYS a good idea if you’re looking to prevent pests in your home. Often, houses will have overlooked vulnerabilities on the exterior of the home, such as cracks and crevices that have formed through the years, which are serving as convenient entry points for a variety of household pests to make their way inside. Windows and doors are also common entryways for roaches; whether you’re leaving them wide open or a screen or weatherstripping needs to be replaced, they can easily serve as roach welcome zones.
In addition to food and shelter, roaches need water to survive. While inspecting your home, be sure to look for any leaking pipes or faucets that could be attracting thirsty pests. If you find a moist area, be sure to dry it up and repair when needed. You can also use a dehumidifier to help dry out moist areas in your home, such as your basement or crawl space, which are common areas for roaches to be found.
Cockroach Prevention Tip #3: Eliminate Clutter
While cleanliness is not the end-all-be-all when it comes to whether or not you end up with roaches in your home, it definitely does matter. The more items you have in the way, the more difficult it is to thoroughly clean an area by properly wiping down surfaces, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, etc. Boxes of clutter can also serve as hiding places for not only roaches but other common household pests like mice, as well.
Cockroach Prevention Tip #4: Take Out Your Trash Often
Waiting to take out your trash until the can is overflowing can be a cockroach infestation waiting to happen. Roaches, especially German roaches, will eat virtually anything, including trash. To best deter them, you should take your trash out often before it pours out of the can and place it into an outdoor garbage can with a secure lid. You should also give your indoor and outdoor trash cans a regular, thorough sanitization and wipe-down to help prevent roaches.
Cockroach Prevention Tip #5: Call Knockout Pest Control—We’ll Put Roaches Down for the Count
As we’ve mentioned, even the cleanest New York homes end up with roaches sometimes, and even if you’re doing all you can to prevent cockroaches, they can still find a way inside through grocery bags, luggage, or even packages you’ve gotten in the mail.
If you’re dealing with a roach infestation, it can be difficult to eliminate the issue yourself. At Knockout Pest Control, we use a fully Integrated Pest Management approach, meaning we identify, inspect, and remove roaches from New York homes, and offer professional knowledge that’ll help you not only get rid of roaches but prevent future reinfestations, too.
Knock out roaches fast—call 1-800-244-PEST.