No one likes cockroaches. They’re large, quick-moving, insidious pests that can quickly take over your house. They eat human food and pet food, and carry microbes on their bodies that can be potentially dangerous to people, including tropomyosin, which has been linked with asthma. Finding one may be a sign that you have an infestation somewhere in your house.
We have all heard that cockroaches are hard to kill, but is it true? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. They can survive for a month without food, and some can go without any air for over half an hour. This can make it difficult to get rid of them once you’re infested, and they’re also very hard to find. A cockroach can fit into small crevices, some as tight as half a millimeter! So how do you know if you have cockroaches?
They’re very hard to sneak up on, since the cockroach has a nerve running from their tail to their head that allows them to know quickly if there’s something coming up behind them. But there is one good way to catch them, and that’s with light. Cockroaches are nocturnal by nature, so it’s easy to find their hiding places.
First, enter a dark room very quietly, taking your time and moving slowly. Then, simply flip on the lights and watch as the cockroaches run for the dark places. They may hide behind your sinks, under cupboards and cabinets, or even inside of them, behind loose baseboards, beneath furniture, behind a mirror or picture hung on the wall, and of course, beneath beds, in closets, and in basements and attics.
Once they enter your house it’s hard to keep them away, but there are steps you can take to keep them from coming in. First, don’t leave food out. Wash your dishes, clean up all food and liquid spills, sweep and clean in the dark corners of your house often, and store your food in tight, pest-proof containers. Roaches like to hide in cardboard boxes and woodpiles, so keep your firewood stacked away from the house.
Seal up any cracks in your foundation and walls, as well as those in your walls, floors, and ceilings. Refresh the seals and caulking around your windows, tubs, and sinks as well as around any plumbing fixtures, furnaces, and outlets. After all, they can squeeze through tiny, tight spaces, and will do so to get to food and shelter.
But how do you take care of them if you are infested? There are a variety of bait traps out there, though the ones using boric acid, or containing hydramethylnon gel are the most effective. Any bait with an egg killer agent can help you reduce the cockroach population in your house. However, while these are useful against the occasional roach, what do you do against a full infestation?
To truly remove a cockroach infestation from your house, you should hire a professional extermination service. They have more tools at their disposal to take care of the problem, the ability to answer your questions, and a guarantee that you won’t find in a small boxed trap. Exterminators can also tell you if you have more than just roaches.
Cockroaches are hardy, clever pests that wreak havoc on homes around the world. Preventing them takes only common sense, but getting rid of them takes the knowledge and experience that a professional can bring. If you think you may have an infestation, rather than play a game of hide and seek with cockroaches, win! Call an experienced and professional exterminator and get rid of the roaches forever.
If you’re concerned about any of these common pests and need some help exterminating them, you can contact Pink Pest Services for professional pest control in Sydney or call 
02 9529 5222
for immediate assistance.
