Cockroach Series - How to Prevent Roaches

Cockroach Series - How to Prevent Roaches

In our previous article from our series on cockroaches, we discussed how to identify and get rid of roaches. Cockroaches have been around for a long time. The dinosaurs were plagued by ancient versions of them, just like we are. 

Their longevity and adaptability are of little comfort to home and business owners in the Carolinas and Virginia. Cockroaches can survive extreme temperatures and situations where there are few resources. 

 

While seeing a roach can make you feel like your house or business is gross, we learned from our last article that we do not need to abandon our property at the first sign of an infestation. However, it is always best to proactively prevent pest infestations.

In this article, we are going to help you reduce the chances of having cockroaches. 

11 Tips for Prevent a Cockroach Infestation

There are steps you can take to send them away, including:

1) Know the Enemy

Preventing a cockroach infestation begins with learning as much as you can and care to know about them. If you know what makes them tick, what gives them purpose, you can better guard your house and business against them. 

2) Learn What Attracts Roaches to Your Home

This is one of the most important steps for cockroach prevention. Here is what roaches want from your home:

  • Surgery foods spilled in your kitchen or other rooms
  • Sweet candy and juice spills
  • Any leftover garbage in inside or outside cans and dumpsters
  • All the crumbs hiding out behind your range or refrigerator 
  • Easily accessed pet food
  • Piles of firewood
  • Any excess moisture from leaking plumbing or humidity

If you know what they are looking for, you can eliminate the bait that draws them to your home or business.

3) Identify Potential Cockroach Entry Points

How can roaches get into your home? There are several easy access points through which roaches can enter:

  • Deteriorated weather stopping on windows and doors
  • Holes in roofing material
  • Unsealed crawl space sand basements 
  • Cracks in your home's foundation and walls
  • Any opening, but especially those near food or water

If you have drafty windows and doors, they are not only hurting your home's energy usage; they are giving roaches and other pests an invitation into your home.

4) Keep Your Kitchen Clean

The kitchen is one of the most common places in your home or business to find cockroaches. Maintaining cleanliness in the kitchen will go a long way in your fight to keep roaches out:

  • Sweep up all crumbs quickly
  • Clean up spills immediately and thoroughly, especially if they involve sugary drinks
  • Keep honey and maple syrup bottles clean
  • Do not leave dirty dishes in the sink 
  • Sweep and mop behind ovens, refrigerators, and other large appliances 
  • Clean the insides of trash cans
  • Do not allow water to sit

5) Seal Your Food

It is not just spilled food that will attract pests. Unsealed food is like sending an open invitation to all insects, including cockroaches. Use jars with screw-on lids and vacuum seals, as well as locking freezer bags for items like chips, cereal, flour, and other products. 

6) Limit Where You and Your Family Eat

Cockroaches do not care where they find food, so even if your kitchen is cleaned, crumbs and spilled food particles hiding in living rooms and bedrooms are just as attractive. Limit eating to designated areas to avoid undetected spills and crumbs. 

7) Take Out the Trash Frequently

Roaches love trash. It is part of what makes them so disgusting. If you want to prevent roaches, take out your trash more frequently, even when the bag is not full. 

Consider leaving trash no more than 48-hours, and taking it out immediately when there are any loose food particles inside.

8) Store Trash Away From Your Home or Business

You may find that taking out your trash frequently is still not deterring roaches from entering your home or business. That could be because your outside trash can or dumpster is too close to the building. 

Store your outdoor trash receptacles as far away from your building as possible. 

9) Don't Store Firewood Near Your House

Many roaches enjoy hiding out inside firewood piles, especially if they are a little moist. 

While it may be almost impossible to prevent roaches from hanging out near your firewood, if you can store your wood piles farther from your house, you will reduce the chances of roaches coming inside. 

10) Reduce Excess Moisture in Your Business

Roaches have an affinity for moisture. If you have leaking plumbing or excess humidity that leads to condensation, you have an environment perfect for attracting roaches. 

11) Contact Your Trusted Extermination Professionals

The best step you can take to prevent cockroaches from infesting your home is contacting your local extermination professionals. They will be able to send your roaches packing, as well as help you determine the root causes of your roach problems and make the necessary corrections. 

If you have roach problems or other pest infestations, contact Rid-A-Bug Exterminating today. We can help you get rid of roaches within 24-hours of your call.