What It Takes To Get Rid Of Cockroaches In Your Tampa Home

Cockroaches are infamously hard to eliminate. They’re surprisingly durable and can eat just about anything. You need to call Haskell Termite & Pest Control for help. Our Tampa pest control services cover cockroaches so that your home can be pest-free.

How To Tell If You Have A Cockroach Problem

There are a few signs of cockroaches in your home that you might see. You might find shed skins or egg cases stuck to cabinets or under furniture. You might also notice a musty smell, which cockroaches produce to communicate with each other. But the most common and obvious sign of a cockroach infestation is seeing a roach.

Three types of cockroaches can be seen in Tampa. 

German cockroaches are typically light brown with two darker stripes behind their heads. They’re about half an inch long. Although german cockroaches do have wings, they usually prefer to run. These roaches are found in warm, humid kitchens and bathrooms. They eat human food as well as glue and paper products.

American cockroaches are reddish brown and much bigger than other species. They can grow to be two inches long and can fly short distances. American roaches also prefer warm, damp environments and are frequently found in sewers or near drains.

Brown-banded cockroaches are dark brown with two light brown bands on their backs. They’re about half an inch long.

Roaches In Your Home Is Hazardous To Your Health

Cockroaches spread many diseases, bacteria, and parasites to humans, including E. coli, salmonella, and cholera. Their legs have little spines on them that pick these germs up and carry them wherever they walk. Unfortunately, this includes your kitchen. 

Cockroaches also cause allergies and asthma symptoms due to their saliva, feces, and debris.

Factors That Attract Roaches Into Your Home

The biggest reason cockroaches invade a house is their desire for food. They also look for their preferred environments—warm, damp, and dark—and water. If your home can provide these things, cockroaches will want to stay. 

Cockroach exclusion and prevention relies on making your home inhospitable for cockroaches.

• Seal food away

Storing your food in an airtight plastic or glass container keeps cockroaches out. They won’t be able to smell or eat your food and won’t see your home as a good food source.

• Fix additional entrance points

Cockroaches are flat and small so that they can fit through thin gaps. Any cracks in the walls, improperly fit doors, and windows with missing screens can provide entry for cockroaches. Performing these repairs around your home is necessary for cockroach exclusion.

• Avoid excesses of things like paper bags and cardboard boxes.

German cockroaches like to eat paper and glue products. Even if your food is stored away, having lots of paper bags, envelopes, and other similar items around your house can provide extra food for cockroaches. By removing extra paper products or storing them in a sealed (not cardboard) container, you can take away one more food source for cockroaches.

• Prevent excess moisture in your home

Cockroaches like to live in warm, humid environments. If you have areas of your home that tend to have excessive moisture, this could attract cockroaches. Fixing this issue makes your home less hospitable for cockroaches. 

Prevention tips are fantastic for keeping roaches out of your home. But fixing cracks in the wall won’t do much when it comes to getting rid of a cockroach infestation. That’s when it’s time to call a professional pest control company for help. 

The Best Way To Get Rid Of Roaches In Your House

Cockroaches are durable pests. That’s why do-it-yourself cockroach treatments and home pesticides don’t do the trick. If you want to get rid of cockroaches—and keep them out for good—you need to call in the professionals. Haskell Termite and Pest Control offers complete cockroach control so you can live pest-free. All it takes is one call, and we’ll come work our magic. Contact Haskell Termite and Pest Control today for cockroach and pest control in Tampa.