Cockroaches are searching for three things your home can easily provide: food, water, and shelter. These common household pests are highly adaptable and known to survive the harshest temperatures. Roaches are a nuisance if they’ve infested our homes, and they can also transmit over 30 different kinds of bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, and more. It’s important to understand the common types of roaches prone to infest our Florida homes and how you can prevent them from your home.
Types of Cockroaches
- American Cockroach: The largest house-infesting roach, this roach has a reddish-brown body with a yellowish figure-eight pattern on the back of its head. You’ll often find these pests in sewers, basements, bathrooms, and kitchens, as they are attracted to moist surfaces.
- Brown-banded Cockroach: Given its name from the two light brown bands appearing across its wings, these roaches prefer warmer, drier, and higher locations. You’ll often find these pests hiding in cabinets and behind picture frames. They are also known to hide their egg casings in or underneath furniture.
- German Cockroach: This roach is usually found where humans eat, such as in kitchens, and prefers warm, humid areas. You can identify them by their light brown body and the two dark brown stripes on their back.
- Oriental Cockroach: This cockroach has a dark reddish-brown to shiny black color body. They’re considered one of the dirtiest cockroaches due to their strong odor. They are commonly found in sewers and will enter homes through drains or door thresholds.
Preventing Cockroaches In Your Home
There are easy do-it-yourself preventative measures you can place around your home, so these invasive pests don’t infest. Check out our top 3 ways to prevent cockroaches from entering your home.
- Declutter Your Home: To eliminate the chance of roaches hiding in your home, it’s important to eliminate the items they will use for shelter, such as cardboard or old newspapers. Instead of cardboard boxes for storage, switch them out for plastic storage containers. Recycle and get rid of all old newspapers and unused cardboard boxes.
- Seal Entrances: If you can see daylight coming through the outside of a door or window, chances are cockroaches can get inside. Roaches can fit into the smallest crack or crevice, making it important to seal all openings. Inspect your foundation, roof, attic, or crawlspace vents for openings. If a smaller gap or hole is found, seal it with caulk. For larger holes or openings, use steel wool or foam. For chimneys and attic vents, use fine wire mesh.
- Eliminate Moisture: Roaches need water to survive and will constantly search until they find some. Check your home for leaking faucets, sinks, pipes, and even refrigerators and appliances. If there’s a leak, make sure you fix it immediately. Likewise, dry up areas in your basement using a dehumidifier. If you have a crawlspace, consider enclosing it to ensure no moisture to regulate the temperatures.
Prevention will always help to keep cockroaches from invading your home, but sometimes it’s best to call a professional when the problem has gotten out of hand. Your local pest control company will thoroughly inspect your home, identify the types of roaches that may have invaded, and provide you with the best treatment and prevention plan moving forward.
