Just the mention of the word “roach” is enough to send shivers down your spine. Roaches are nocturnal insects, so if you spot one during the day, it’s possible you have a cockroach infestation.
They are a common nuisance, especially here in Florida, and can be tough to eradicate. Roaches may be a nuisance anywhere they are found, so if you find any in your kitchen, bathroom, or other section of your home, you should take immediate action to eradicate them.
If you’re looking for a permanent solution to your roach problem, you’ve come to the right place, as we’ll be discussing the most effective and efficient methods in this piece.
What Type of Florida Cockroaches Are in My Home?
There are over 4,500 species of roaches worldwide, but only around 69 of them reside in the United States. While the vast majority of roach species have little interest in inhabiting your home for themselves, there are a select number that will gladly do so.
How to Identify Roaches
Roaches can typically be identified by their color and shape. Roaches have an oval, rusty brown body with a reddish brown head and legs. They could be as short as 0.75 inches or as long as 3 inches. The American cockroach, the German cockroach, and the brown-banded cockroach are the three most common types found in Florida. It’s crucial to maintain your house clean since these cockroaches are attracted to the food sources inside and surrounding your home.
German Cockroaches
In the United States, the German cockroach is by far the most prevalent species. Because of how quickly they can reproduce (hatching 20-40 roach offspring per egg case), a single female cockroach in your home might lead to an infestation of over 30,000 pests in just one year.
A female German cockroach, in contrast to most other roach species, is able to transport her egg pouches until they are ready to hatch. Consequently, it may be challenging to contain an infestation once it has begun to spread.
Cockroaches share a common appearance of a large, flat body with lengthy legs and antennae. Most of them have black or brown wings that are folded flat and rest on their backs. However, the German cockroach is typically a lighter shade of brown with two parallel dark stripes running from its head to its wings.
Brown-Banded Cockroaches
The brown-banded roach prefers dry, warm environments and is often found hiding in walls or appliances.
The flying cockroach is extremely adverse to being in or near water.
They average around half an inch in length and have a mostly brown coloration. The wings and bellies of both the male and female are marked with thin, yellow stripes.
American Cockroaches (Palmetto Bug)
In most of the United States, the American cockroach isn’t the most frequent roach species, but it is by far the largest.
It also has a rather long life span, ranking among the longest at around two years.
It’s not uncommon to hear these roaches referred to as “sewer roaches” or “palmetto bugs“. They can grow to be between 1 and 3 inches long and have a brown or reddish-brown body with a pale yellow border.
What Attracts Roaches to My Home?
There is one certainty: cockroaches of any variety are undesirable in the home.
Cockroaches are a nuisance for more reasons than one: they can cause asthma attacks, contaminate food, and even transfer disease. Because of this, they can pose significant health problems.
The good news is that figuring out what’s luring roaches into your property is the first step toward exterminating them.
Here are a few of the most typical causes of cockroaches:
1. Food sources
Because they are omnivores, roaches will consume anything. They enjoy meat, oily cuisine, sweets, carbohydrates, and sweets in particular.
Simple food sources, like pet food on the floor, crumbs on the counter, or dirty dishes in the sink attract roaches the most.
Roaches also enjoy waste, so be sure to frequently remove it from the house and to keep any garbage cans sealed.
2. Shelter
Cockroaches seek sanctuary in homes.
Depending on the species, roaches may reside inside electronics, beneath sinks, behind toilets, hollowed-out wood, or behind picture frames.
Roaches will enter homes as the outside temperature drops.
They may reside behind big appliances, in the crevices of basements, or in the attic since they enjoy peaceful, abandoned places.
3. Location
You may be wondering why you have roaches in your clean house. Check out our blog “Why Do I Have Roaches in My Clean House?” which goes into depth on this specific topic.
When you’ve taken care to stay away from frequent attractants, solving an infestation of roaches can be challenging.
Unfortunately, roaches prefer certain environments over others.
A door left open or a breach in the window seal allows species such as the American cockroach, or palmetto bug, to enter your home and begin establishing themselves without the need for unclean circumstances.
4. Water
Roaches require water to survive, just like any other animal, and they will enter any home, no matter how clean, to get it.
Open showers, pet water dishes, and dripping faucets are all typical roach attractants.
5. Landscaping
Roaches enjoy living indoors, but they will also enter your yard in pursuit of shelter, food, and water.
They will be drawn to areas with standing water, such as gutters, flowerpots, birdbaths, and areas with food supplies like fruit trees or bird seed.
Where Do Cockroaches Hide?
Roaches are nocturnal, making it difficult to detect an infestation until it has reached epidemic proportions. They’re masters of disguise and can squeeze through the tiniest of openings. The largest American cockroaches can squeeze through a hole 1/16 of an inch wide, so that’s all they need to go inside from the outdoors or hide out in the wall behind the bathroom vanity.
How Roaches Enter Your Home
Roaches are drawn to your home by shelter, food, and water, but how do they enter? Roaches frequently enter homes through very small cracks and openings in doors, windows, and other places.
Some of their preferred access locations are listed below:
1. Cracks and Gaps in Windows and Doors
Roaches most commonly enter homes through cracks and holes in the doors and windows. Roaches have the ideal entry points in improperly sealed doors and partially closed windows.
2. Holes in Pipes and Vents
Roaches can enter through cracks in pipes and vents, which is another typical entry point. Roaches are encouraged to enter an older house if the vents have gaps or are improperly sealed.
When replacing or servicing your vents, check them for holes or other openings. Also, keep an eye out for these things on your pipes and plumbing fixtures.
3. Hitching a Ride on Furniture and Other Items
Always examine used furniture and other objects for roaches before bringing them into your home. When they’re inside your house safely, these insects can hide in used objects and hole up before coming out.
How to Detect Signs of a Cockroach Infestation
Cockroach Droppings
During a cockroach infestation, the bugs’ waste products will be easy to spot. The feces of smaller roaches resemble those of coffee grinds or black pepper, whereas those of larger roaches take the shape of a cylindrical pellet. There is a correlation between the amount of feces present and the severity or length of an infestation.
Cockroach Eggs
Oval egg casings, or ootheca, can be spotted in unexpected places like the cracks between books or under couches.
Unpleasant Odors
There are some species that give off a foul odor. An overpowering greasy or musty odor may be prevalent in severely infested areas. Cockroach corpses also appear to be dispersed throughout the dwelling.
How to Get Rid of an Infestation
If you think you’ve found cockroaches in your house, it’s a good idea to get in touch with a pest control company to learn more about inspection and elimination alternatives.
5 Methods to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Want to try some more traditional methods to get rid of the roaches?
Some of the quickest methods for eliminating roaches are as follows:
1. Use Glue Traps to Identify Problem Areas
In order to find the source of an infestation and eradicate the pests, glue traps are a useful tool.
Roaches are drawn in by the trap’s scent and then caught by the adhesive strip.
Glue strips purchased from a retailer should be placed under the fridge or under the sink, as well as any other areas where roaches have been seen moving around.
- Pros: Effective, secure for use around children and animals, and quick-acting
- Cons: As soon as the strips start to accumulate dead roaches, you must switch them.
2. Set Bait Stations
Exactly what might be used to quickly eliminate cockroaches? Put out some bait. If you’ve seen roaches in a certain area, you can set up one of these long tube-shaped bait stations.
Roaches will be drawn in by the bait’s scent and will end up eating the poison. When the roach returns to its nest and dies there, the other roaches will consume it and spread the poison to themselves.
- Pros: Rapidly effective
- Cons: In addition to being unsightly and potentially dangerous to children and pets, the use of bait stations for roach control can also result in the spread of poisoned roach carcasses throughout the home.
3. Caulk all Entry Points
If new roaches are regularly invading your home, no amount of glue strips or bait stations will help. Keeping this in mind, caulk should be used to cover cracks and other potential entry locations. Check for drafts through cracks in the walls or tiles, air leaks around the windows and doors, and other signs of weatherization that may be deteriorating.
- Pros: Highly efficient, risk-free, and cheap
- Cons: Caulk degrades over time, therefore entry sites need to be checked repeatedly.
4. Use a Liquid Concentrate
Pick up some liquid roach repellent concentration from an appliance or hardware store. This powerful liquid can be diluted and then sprayed into nooks and cracks where roaches are hiding.
To get a deeper clean, you may also mix some of the concentrate with water in a mop bucket and use that to mop the floor. This strategy will eliminate roaches overnight and prevent them from returning.
- Pros: The best of all worlds – efficient, quick-acting, and cheap.
- Cons: Avoid using around children and pets due to the presence of hazardous chemicals.
5. Hire a Pest Management Professional
If you want to get rid of roaches for good, it’s best to employ a professional service like On Demand Pest Control to do it.
Your family, pets, and home will be safe from harm while trained professionals identify and eliminate roach infestations.
- Pros: Proven to be effective against the infestation of roaches both inside and outside the home; non-toxic; durable; long-lasting
- Cons: It costs more up front than DIY alternatives.
Roach Bombs: Avoid if Possible
Some folks who can’t afford to hire a professional exterminator resort to using roach bombs. Roach bombs, often known as “foggers,” release a pesticide fog into the air.
The pesticide kills its intended targets by adhering to the surfaces it coated as it falls to the floor. Roach bombs, in their typical form, are meant to be activated by placing them in the middle of the room.
Roach bombs, unfortunately, are quite poisonous, so we don’t advise using them. Eliminating a cockroach infestation can be done in a way that is less hazardous and more efficient. Check out this blog for safe alternatives to roach bombing.
- Pros: Fast-acting
- Cons: Roach bombs are toxic, combustible, and work best on flying roaches; nevertheless, they are unsafe for use in households with pets or small children, and you will need to leave the house while they are in use.
How to Get Rid of Roaches Naturally: 6 Home Remedies
You’re in luck if you’d want to avoid using poisons like bombs, foggers, or sprays to exterminate roaches. Several safe and effective home treatments can get rid of these pests, and they won’t hurt your kids or pets in the process.
Several that come highly recommended are as follows:
1. Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is a fantastic all-natural option for controlling pests. DE is made up of ground-up fossilized algae, and its particles are both sharp and drying. DE causes severe damage to the exoskeletons of roaches and eventually causes death by dehydration.
Get some DE that is food grade and lightly dust it onto any area where roaches have been seen.
- Pros: Efficient, cheap, and not harmful to children or animals
- Cons: It’s unpleasant to use DE since it leaves a mess and you have to reapply it regularly and then find and remove the dead roaches.
2. Baking Soda
One of the quickest and easiest (and likely already-stocked) methods for exterminating roaches is baking soda. Do it yourself roach bait by mixing some baking soda with a handful of diced onions.
Put this snack on a dish and set it where you’ve seen roaches. When roaches eat the baking soda, their stomachs fill with gas and they explode.
- Pros: Safe, effective, cheap
- Cons: Pets could accidentally ingest the onion solution (onions are harmful to dogs), and finding and disposing of the dead roaches is a bothersome and unpleasant task.
3. Boric Acid
Boric acid can be found in nature. Boron is present in plants and fruits as a water-like compound.
It kills roaches but has no effect on humans or pets. Boric acid causes cockroaches to become stuck on their own legs and wings. After swallowing the powder, roaches die quickly from effects on their neurological and digestive systems.
Roach control using boric acid is as simple as dusting a paper plate with a little of the powder. Place the dish with an orange peel or peanut butter in the center wherever roaches have been seen.
- Pros: Natural, inexpensive, efficient, non-toxic, and simple
- Cons: It may not be suitable for households with pets or young children, can be untidy, requires multiple applications or treatments, and necessitates the hunt for and disposal of dead roaches.
4. Borax
Borax, a popular laundry ingredient, can be used to swiftly and successfully get rid of roach infestations. The best results can be achieved by combining white sugar with borax in a 1:1 ratio. The powder should be sprinkled in any areas where roaches have been spotted. Roaches that eat the borax will rapidly dehydrate to death.
- Pros: Kills adult and young roaches equally well and affordably.
- Cons: Often messy, necessitates reapplication, and calls for hunting down and removing dead roach bodies
5. Citrus
Cockroaches may find citrus fruit unpleasant, yet humans enjoy its flavor. Particularly, the citrusy scent of lemons can keep roaches at bay. Mopping the floor with water that has been infused with a few drops of lemon oil will help keep the space smelling fresh. Roaches will flee, but humans won’t be able to smell it.
- Pros: Effective, inexpensive, and suitable for households with children and pets
- Cons: Only serves to repel roaches, not to kill them.
6. Essential Oils
Natural roach repellents like essential oils are amazing. Essential oils like peppermint and lemongrass, when diluted with water, produce the most satisfying results. Place the spray in any area where roaches have been seen.
- Pros: Effective, inexpensive, and suitable for households with children and pets
- Cons: Only serves to repel roaches, not to kill them.
Roach traps, roach spray, bug traps, bait stations, and other ways of home insect control can be used to kill or at least repel cockroaches if the natural therapies fail. Put roach bait and traps in high-traffic locations such as in and around trash cans, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, near the front door, and anywhere else you’ve seen roaches.
- Tip: Finding natural remedies with these active substances to help with roach avoidance is useful, but if there is a serious infestation, more powerful roach killers may be necessary.
- Safety: Do not use boric acid or DE on countertops, in open or drafty places, or in any area where food is cooked. Thin layers should be applied, and any observable residue should be removed quickly.
