There is nothing more sickening than flicking the light switch in your kitchen and seeing a bunch of cockroaches hanging out on the sink, running up and down the walls and sneaking in and out of the cupboards. Alarming imagery, but many have the “pleasure” of witnessing it.
The reason for the cockroaches to be attracted to and take over your home is simple: shelter, food and water. As long as those fiendish insects have those luxuries provided by your home, they will stick around. If you don’t plan to keep living alongside а cockroach infestation, the below tips will surely come in handy when dealing and ridding of those pesky buggers for good.
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Do a thorough Clean of your Entire Home
Make time at least once a week for doing a detailed clean of your entire home. Cockroaches, as well as other pests, communicate via odours called pheromones. When they find a suitable environment, they will mark it with this very distinct smell for all their buddies to follow. Wiping down all surfaces and mopping the floors with strong detergents or even bleach will break the means of communication between the creepy crawlies.
Fill in any Cracks and Crevices
If you come across any cracks on the walls or gaps where a wall meets the floor or ceiling, be quick to fill it in with either caulk, expanding foam or even silicone, depending on the surface. You can’t even begin to imagine how flexible those sneaky pests are. They can go to great lengths and fit through even the tiniest gap to get into the all-inclusive mansion that is your home.
Maintain the Piping system Regularly
A leaking or clogged pipe provides a paradise for cockroaches. From entering into the pipelines, they are not that far from making their way into your home too. If you have any suspicions that there may be any issues along the pipes, contact a professional plumber right away. Other than that, conducting an inspection once every two years is more than enough.
Set the limits using Boric Acid
Use boric acid powder to draw a line that those pesky buggers don’t dare to cross. Dust it across doorways, near windows and wherever you feel cockroaches may be entering your home from. Even if they are brave enough and cross the line, the poisonous powder will stick to their bodies. When they join in with other roaches in the nest and engage in cleaning themselves the poison will spread to the rest of the intrusion leading it to extinction.
Be considerate when it comes to Leftovers
Leaving your unfinished meal in the kitchen or the handful of breadcrumbs that you were careless to leave on the floor is exactly the kind of feast the cockroaches are looking forward to. Eliminated any food sources such as dirty dishes, spilt food on the floor, a greasy oven after cooking. After you are done with your meal, seal all leftovers in containers and put them away in the fridge, wash the dishes, clean the kitchen countertops and finish off by sweeping and mopping the floors.
Don’t forget your pet
Develop the habit of putting away uneaten cat or dog food and also washing your companion’s bowl. Also, you may want to look into investing in a big container to store your pet’s food. It is a great way to store the food and it will make it impossible for roaches to get to it.
Taking out the Trash
As gross as it may sound your trash can be a delicacy for a cockroach so empty your bins regularly. Don’t leave this task for the morning or leave the garbage bag in front of your door to as this will serve as an invitation to the roaches to come your way.
Freshen up with some Essential Oils
If you haven’t already look into introducing some essential oil to your home. In particular, the scents of peppermint, cedarwood, tea tree or cypress prove to do the best job keeping cockroaches at bay. You can also add a few drops on the bottom and top of your bin, to keep any smell masked away from your senses and the starving cockroaches’.
Declutter Your Home
Spend some time to clear up and organise your home. The more items you stack, especially cardboard boxes and papers, the more hiding places you provide for roaches. Items that are not currently in rotation, but you might need later on could be placed in plastic storage containers or vacuumed in vacuum bags.
Cockroaches aren’t only terribly unpleasant to see crawling around in your home but can also be hazardous for your health. As good as those methods can be, in severe infestation cases, you still may not be able to get rid of the roaches. When you see things aren’t working out, don’t hesitate to hire a professional pest control company to give you a hand. The sooner you take actions, the fewer struggles you’ll have getting rid of the cockroach infestation.
