What causes roaches to wander into your home? If that question is keeping you up at night, we get it. There are few things as traumatizing as suddenly finding your kitchen floor pulsating with life by way of cockroach.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a horrible sight for the best of us, and a chronic nightmare for some others \u2013 but it can also come with some deeply unhygienic complications.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, roaches themselves<\/em> are fairly \u2018clean.\u2019 It\u2019s their near constant routine of washing their bodies that actually allows some traditional poisons to be so effective. In essence, the chemicals can stick to their bodies, which is later ingested when they lick themselves clean.<\/p>\n But the thing about roaches is that they will eat anything \u2013 cheese, dead animals, even poop. And therein lies the problem. It\u2019s the stuff they walk through and subsequently traipse through our homes, as well as the droppings they leave behind, that can truly cause problems: disease, allergic reactions, bacterial growth\u2026 you get the picture. And it\u2019s not one you want to deal with.<\/p>\n Obviously, the easiest way to deal with cockroaches is to not have them at all. <\/p>\n Which brings us to a simple and yet complicated truth: Given the choice, cockroaches will choose a dirty home over a clean one any day of the week. A dirty, cluttered home provides more food and more places to hide undetected. The perfect cockroach habitat.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean clean homes are immune.<\/p>\n Cockroaches aren\u2019t hard to please. Their needs are simple. Food. Water. Shelter. Heat. That\u2019s really all a cockroach needs to survive, and even thrive. And human homes provide all of these things.<\/p>\n Even the cleanest ones.<\/p>\n So is there no hope? Not at all. You can still take simple steps to make your home significantly less attractive to roaches. <\/p>\n Here are the most common things causes of roaches in your home \u2013 and what you can do to put a stop to them.<\/p>\n One of the most common causes of roaches is exposed food. Cockroaches aren\u2019t fussy. It doesn\u2019t matter what type of food you have lying out on your kitchen counters, even something common like fruit \u2013 they\u2019ll eat it.<\/p>\n Obviously, the first defense is to keep all of your perishables and foodstuffs locked and sealed away. <\/p>\n Wipe up any food spills as soon as they happen. Keep all food sealed in airtight containers<\/a>. Cockroaches can chew through thin plastic like Ziploc bags, so invest in more rigid Tupperware or even glass containers to keep them out.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also not just your food \u2013 it\u2019s your pets\u2019 as well. Cockroaches are definitely not above eating cat or dog food.\u00a0 The same also applies to the water you put out for your pet. Consider investing in a special bug-proof bowl<\/a> that will keep the bugs from accessing the food or water inside.<\/p>\n Note: <\/strong>If you have an indoor cat, don\u2019t forget about the litter. Remember, cockroaches will eat anything organic. You may not think of it as food, but they will. Empty the litter box every day, and never leave it dirty overnight.<\/p>\n Again, it\u2019s important to repeat that a roach\u2019s diet isn\u2019t the same as ours. Cockroaches will eat almost anything. It\u2019s not just the food you feed your family, although they will happily consume that if they get the chance.<\/p>\n Cockroaches will also feed on other insects, and even things that seem completely inedible like toothpaste and soap. They\u2019re also not above a little bit of cannibalism if other food sources are scarce. Some species of roach are even attracted by cardboard, books, paper and some woods.<\/p>\n In order to give cockroaches nothing to eat, it\u2019s very important to clear clutter and stay clean. Really clean. Meticulously clean.<\/p>\n Keep anything that can be cockroach food sealed up. Clear up clutter. <\/p>\n Always wipe up crumbs. Don\u2019t forget about behind the fridge or under the stove. These are favorite places for cockroaches to hang out, and any food spilled down there is easy to forget. But it could provide a banquet for cockroaches.<\/p>\n Much the same as leaving any kind of foodstuffs out in the open; roaches will be drawn to your exposed trash like a magnet. Food scraps, garbage liquid, cardboard, dark, quiet \u2013 it\u2019s the perfect place for a roach infestation.<\/p>\n A messy, dirty home with food scraps littered over the countertops and trash piling up is like heaven for these roaches \u2013 they\u2019ll be able to feast to their heart\u2019s content\u00a0and<\/em> have plenty of warm nooks and crannies to live in amongst all the rubbish lying around.<\/p>\n Always take out your rubbish before the smell begins to permeate, and make sure to keep any bin areas as clean as possible to clear away any tempting morsels of food or garbage.<\/p>\n If your house is constantly attacked by weeds in the garden, or main pathways next to doors; then this could provide yet another attractive point for those nomadic roaches in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n This goes double for anything like natural mulch or festering vegetation (think about where your mown grass is stored prior to garbage collection, for example). Keeping a tidy and clean garden, as well as clearing around doors, windows and pathways can be key steps in defending against that cockroach threat.<\/p>\n Lucky for you, roaches aren\u2019t like bed bugs and don\u2019t typically hitch a ride home on things like furniture or clothes.<\/p>\n But they do like living in cardboard boxes, appliances and electronics. People have unwittingly brought home roach infestations in cardboard boxes, used microwaves and toasters, and even computers and gaming consoles.<\/p>\n Roaches love the heated, quiet and dark spaces appliances and electronics provide so be very careful about bringing used items into your home, especially if it\u2019s coming from a roach infested home. <\/p>\n If it\u2019s an item you absolutely need, prevent bringing roaches into your home by first quarantining the item in a sealed plastic bag along with Nuvan Strips<\/a> and leaving it for a week.<\/p>\n German cockroaches<\/a> are the species most likely to invade your home. This species can live for up to a month without eating, but it can\u2019t survive more than a week without water.<\/p>\n So if you want to make your home cockroach free, you need to think carefully about the water sources.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason German cockroaches are most commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms. That\u2019s where the water is. Check all pipes to make sure nothing is leaking. High humidity is a great attractant for cockroaches.<\/p>\n Check also the condensation on the outside of water pipes. This provides a cockroach with all it needs to drink. Systematically eliminate all water sources, such as dripping taps and sweating pipes. <\/p>\n This will make your house much less attractive to cockroaches.<\/p>\n If you have pets, you also need to think about their food and water. Try to only put out food for your pet at designated feeding times, and put it away somewhere cockroaches can\u2019t get to it at all other times. <\/p>\n There\u2019s another water source you almost certainly haven\u2019t thought of: the drip catchment tray underneath your fridge. <\/p>\n In fact, this is often the most popular place in your entire house for German cockroaches to congregate. It provides darkness, warmth from the running of the fridge\u2019s motor, and a ready source of water in the form of condensation that collects in the tray at the bottom of the fridge. <\/p>\n Always check behind your fridge for cockroaches; it\u2019s the perfect place for roaches to hide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even if you manage to keep your food at feeler\u2019s length from any nearby cockroaches; the typical beastie can survive around a month without having a meal. <\/p>\n In this interim, they tend to be attracted to any dingy, dark and wet places around the home \u2013 hence their attraction to garbage bin areas, garages, basements and some areas of your kitchen.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t have to be a combination of the three, though, many homeowners report cockroaches living in storage boxes and cluttered shelves; basically anywhere private and away from the dangers of other predators\u2026like us.<\/p>\n Tip: <\/strong>Make sure to pull out appliances such as the stove and the fridge. These often provide great places for roaches to hide and still be near sources of both food and water.<\/p>\n Roaches love to find their way into your home through tiny cracks and gaps around the house. Much like other types of vermin, they can squeeze through spaces which are much, much smaller than their actual body size \u2013 German roaches can fit into cracks as thin as a dime!<\/p>\n Gaps in pipe work, under doors, in skirting boards, tiles, and walls are all perfect habitats for them to leave their waste, reproduce and travel back and forth from other locations.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not all \u2013 roaches don\u2019t just use these tiny cracks and gaps to travel into your home, they actually like to live in them<\/a>.<\/p>\n Roaches are thigmotropic, which means they like to feel something solid touching their bodies, preferably on all sides. As such, they\u2019ll seek out little cracks and crevices that offer them the comfort of a tight fit \u2013 these tiny nooks and crannies are like the roach equivalent of a luxuriously plush mattress.<\/p>\n A home with plenty of gaps and spaces in the baseboards, walls, between the counters, and so on is like a 5-star hotel for roaches so you want to plug up as many of these potential roach homes as possible.<\/p>\nWhat Causes Roaches?<\/h2>\n
1. Food<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2. Clutter and mess<\/h3>\n
3. Exposed trash<\/h3>\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n4. Overgrowth<\/h3>\n
5. Stuff you bring into your home<\/h3>\n
6. Water<\/h3>\n
7. Damp, dark and private spaces<\/h3>\n
8. Cracks and gaps<\/h3>\n
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