Pest cockroach species in Tampa can present a threat to your health and property. They're linked to the spread of more than 33 kinds of bacteria, seven human pathogens, and at least six parasitic worms. They aggravate asthma symptoms, cause rashes, and sometimes bite (accidentally). While they won't damage the structure of your home, they can damage wallpaper and other materials made with cellulose or cause damage to your belongings. Roaches eat cellulose the same way silverfish do. Therefore, they're able to do similar damage to paper, cardboard, photos, fabrics, and more. You can deter cockroaches, mitigate some health threats, and reduce the risk of property damage by following this quick step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Inspect Your Home For Cockroach Activity
Experts say that seeing one cockroach in your home indicates that you could have thousands. Most cockroaches stay hidden from view. This means you can have lots of cockroaches and not know it. Here are some warning signs roaches leave around:
Cockroach feces can be found in humid spaces, cracks, gaps, and compressed areas. These feces are black and may look like droppings, streaks, or stains.
Cockroaches shed their skins many times as they develop.
Cockroaches produce egg sacs called oothecae. You may find these cases intact, or you may find just the casings.
Cockroaches have an odor. If you notice a smell that seems slightly off, cockroaches may be blamed.
Step 2: Consider Sanitation
When you clean and deep clean, you achieve two results. A high level of sanitation can prevent cockroaches that hatch in your home from being exposed to harmful microorganisms and from spreading the illness-causing organisms to you. Also, you remove some food options cockroaches need for habitation.
Clean your floors, rugs, and counters.
Clean up spills immediately.
Clean the sides of your oven.
Clean underneath your refrigerator.
Clean food-storage shelves.
Clean your bathroom area, removing hair, dead skin, and feces. These are all things that cockroaches eat.
Step 3: Consider Food Access
Cockroaches can feed on food debris and rotting organic matter in your home, but they'll also eat the foods you and your pets eat. If you protect these, you could make cockroaches want to live somewhere else.
Refrain from leaving uncovered food on your kitchen counters or island.
Store your pantry products in sealed plastic containers; cockroaches can chew through cardboard.
Store potatoes in a sealed plastic bin.
Put fruit in the refrigerator instead of in a bowl for display.
Put dirty dishes in soapy water. If left on your counter or in your dishwasher, they can provide a food source for cockroaches.
Set food down for your pets at mealtimes and pick the food up afterward.
Step 4: Keep Cockroaches Out
Once you've made your home less livable for cockroaches, you need to make it difficult for cockroaches to come back into your home after they leave. Here are some common entry points roaches utilize:
Gaps in weatherstripping, door sweeps, screen frames, and wood framing.
Openings around pipes, wires, wire conduits, and other utilities.
Cracks in foundation slabs or walls
Wood holes caused by wood-damaging pests, moisture damage, or both.
Step 5: Yard Maintenance
After making your home less livable and your exterior walls harder to breach, it is time to consider altering the conditions near your home. Cockroaches get into Tampa homes because they become active in the yard and perimeter. Fewer cockroaches near your home will result in fewer internal problems.
Address moisture issues, such as clogged gutters and plumbing leaks.
Thin out areas of your landscaping to allow the wind to keep your topsoil and plants dry.
Remove palm fronds and other organic debris.
Move objects away from your exterior walls. Roaches hide underneath.
Remove unnecessary objects from your yard.
Ensure your exterior trash receptacles have covers and are kept as clean as possible. The scent of garbage can attract roaches from a distance.
The Role Pest Maintenance Plays
All of the tips given above will not only help you reduce and deter cockroaches, but they'll also help you manage a long list of other Tampa pests. These are best practices for natural pest deterrence and may bring pest problems down below your tolerance threshold. If your threshold is zero, then control products are needed, particularly if you want to get control of cockroach pests. We recommend having a professional select appropriate products and have those products administered according to all manufacturer's safety guidelines.
For assistance with cockroach control in Tampa, contact Bold Servicing. We provide cockroach extermination and ongoing residential pest control that can give your Tampa home cockroach control all year long. Drop us a line on our contact page to schedule a service visit from one of our friendly and knowledgeable technicians. We're here to help.