Stumbling upon a cockroach in your home when you least expect it is a startling experience. These creatures love to hide in the nooks and crannies of your home only to surprise you and leave you wondering if you have a home overrun with cockroaches. Everyone knows cockroaches are bad. The question is, how bad? Here is everything you need to know about the dangers of cockroaches.
Common Area Cockroaches
Many different species of cockroaches live here in Auburn, AL, but only three are known for invading homes: American roaches, German roaches, and smoky brown roaches.
Although different in appearance, these three roaches have many things in common. For one, they all have flat, oval-shaped bodies and can withstand over 300 times their body weight in pressure. Additionally, all cockroaches have a pair of long antennae that protrude from their head, which they use as extrasensory appendages. Finally, all roaches are capable of running at fast speeds and can transfer from floors to walls to ceilings without breaking pace.
Why Cockroaches Are Bad News
Besides their creepy appearance, cockroaches pose a variety of severe threats to both homes and residents. For one, cockroaches carry and spread dangerous diseases such as salmonellosis, dysentery, leprosy, gastroenteritis, and typhoid fever. Sickness vectors are picked up by roaches as they crawl through and feed on trash, sewage, and dead and decaying organisms.
On top of spreading diseases, cockroaches also trigger asthma attacks with the particulates of skin and fecal matter they release into the air. As cockroach infestations grow, this problem becomes explicitly worse.
Cockroaches also damage items throughout homes. Due to their broad and strange diets, cockroaches have been known to chew the glue out of book bindings and leave chew marks on paper products. Then, they leave behind a mess with their fecal matter.
We don’t have to explain why any one of these issues would cause problems around your home or business. In the end, cockroaches are unsanitary, dangerous, and a nuisance to have around.
Prevention Tips For Roaches
If you are ready to keep roaches out of your home and business, we are ready to help. To start, use these simple prevention tips:
- Seal gaps and cracks in your home’s exterior and around window and door frames using a caulking gun.
- Make sure all of your window and door screens are in good condition.
- Repair or replace damaged or loose weather stripping.
- Install door sweeps under exterior doors that don’t already have them.
- Use a dehumidifier inside your home.
- Fix leaky piping and fixtures around your home.
- Make sure your gutters are clean and damage-free.
- Clean beneath large appliances and furniture.
- Thoroughly clean your home at least once a week.
- Store leftover food inside airtight containers.
- After your pets have eaten, clean out their food bowls.
The more effort and time you put into preventing and deterring cockroaches around your property, the more success you will find. However, be mindful that these critters will access your home through your plumbing, and once they find their way inside, they are difficult to get rid of without professional assistance.
The Best Way To Eliminate And Prevent Roaches
If you are having trouble with a cockroach infestation inside your Auburn home or would like some help preventing these troublesome pests, get the professionals at Prewett Pest Control involved. Our team has the tools, experience, and treatments needed to effectively eliminate and deter every type of pest from your property, including cockroaches. All you have to do is give us the go-ahead, and we will get your home everything it needs to fight pests.
Give us a call today to find a pest control plan that works for you.