Probably one of the most notorious pests around, cockroaches are a major nuisance pest found all over the world, and Mississauga is no exception. There are over 4,000 cockroach species in the world, with only about four of those species being well regarded as pests. A cockroach infestation in Mississauga will most likely be from a species called the German cockroach, which is actually the most common species of cockroach to infest residential and commercial properties around the world. If you see cockroaches in your home, chances are that there are many more hiding nearby, and should be exterminated quickly. Cockroaches are known to be filthy creatures that pick up bacteria while travelling over sewage and other decaying matter, which can contaminate surfaces that they walk on in your home such as open food sources and eating utensils.
The first step in keeping cockroaches out of your home is understanding their diet and behavior to come up with a plan that makes your home unattractive to them. If you do, however, encounter cockroaches in your home, you should exterminate them asap as they can be dangerous to you and your family’s health. For a small infestation you can try your luck at getting rid of cockroaches on your own, but for more severe infestations, it is highly recommended to hire Pestend Pest Control Mississauga, one of the best cockroach control companies in Mississauga.
Cockroach Behavior and Diet
Cockroaches are social pests that live in groups, so if you see one in your home there are likely more living somewhere nearby inside your house. Acting fast is very important because a cockroach infestation can get out of control very quickly. Female cockroaches can live for up to one year, laying up to 400 eggs in her lifetime, so if you have several females in your house… you get the idea. Cockroaches are most often found living in dark and damp areas of the home, coming out at night to forage for food. While doing this, they can contaminate food and counter tops with their feces, urine and other bacteria that may be attached to their body.
They are not picky eaters and will eat almost anything, including other cockroaches in times of famine. Although they aren’t picky, cockroaches do prefer to eat meats, sweets, starchy and fatty foods, which is one of the main reasons they are attracted to human households. Having a safe place to sleep, near delicious food, is every cockroaches dream so if you can remove these attractants they will have no reason to settle in the first place.
Preventing a Cockroach Infestation
To avoid having the displeasure of dealing with a cockroach infestation, you must do a combination of things around the home for maximum effectiveness. Some of the most important things you need to do are:
- Seal off entry points – cockroaches can flatten their bodies to squeeze through tiny cracks. Seal off any cracks that you find in the foundation of your home, around windows or doors, and near utility lines or cables entering the home. Also put a screen in your drain lines and seal of any other areas that seem like they can be easy entrance points.
- Store food and trash properly – cockroaches are attracted to the scent of different foods in your home. To eliminate these odours, make sure to keep food and trash in tightly sealed containers, emptying the trash to an outdoor bin daily. Also keep your floors and counter tops clean of any crumbs, and clean used dishes right after use or, at the very least, soak them in soap and water.
- Minimize hiding spots – because they like to hide in damp and dark areas, fix any leaky pipes in your home, especially those under counter tops and other dark regions. Also seal any cracks in your cupboards and keep them clean of food debris. It is impossible to eliminate all their hiding spots but this should get rid of the most common ones.
By following these tips you should be able to significantly minimize your chance of getting an infestation. If, however, you believe there may be cockroaches in your home, look for the signs of a cockroach infestation detailed below.
Signs of an Infestation
The most obvious sign that you have a cockroach infestation is to actually see one in your home, however, they are nocturnal creatures that like to spend their time in the dark so actually seeing one during the day can be quite difficult. If you don’t happen to see a cockroach but notice any of the indicators below, you may have a cockroach infestation in your home.
- Cockroach feces around the home – cockroaches will defecate while they are on the move to leave a scented trail behind for other cockroaches to find them. If you notice small black pepper like capsules you may have a cockroach infestation. The amount of feces you find can also be an indicator of how large the infestation is.
- Hollow egg cases – cockroach eggs are stored in small, brown, oval shaped cases. They usually put them somewhat close to a food source, so if you find any of these tiny cases in your home there may be cockroaches breeding in your home.
- Bodies of dead cockroaches – cockroaches can live up to 1 year in ideal conditions. If you find any dead cockroach bodies in your home there is likely a cockroach infestation in your home, and they may have been there for a while.
- Cockroach odors – when cockroaches are present, especially in large numbers, they can emit musty and pungent odours. Noticing these smells in your house is reason to look deeper.
These signs should be good reason to investigate your potential cockroach infestation further. If you notice that the infestation may be a large one, call a professional cockroach exterminator in Mississauga to get the job done right. For smaller infestations, you can try using the tips below to get rid of cockroaches on your own before seeking the help of an exterminator.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
A cockroach infestation is a disturbing event to cope with. They are good at hiding so any extermination effort will take at least over a week to be effective meaning that you must knowingly live with them in your home. As with any pest, but especially with cockroaches, you should act fast as they can reproduce very quickly.
If the size of your infestation is small enough for you to manage on your own, follow these tips to get rid of cockroaches from your home:
- Use a glue trap – glue traps are an adhesive surface with a bait placed on top. When a cockroach crawls on the surface it will get stuck and eventually die. This is effective in catching roaches but will not kill other members in the nest so it may take a while to fully exterminate them using this method.
- Using gel Bait – this type of bait can be applied into cracks and crevices in areas with high cockroach activity. It uses attractive scents to lure roaches in and has poison that will kill them shortly after consumption.
- Using a poisoned bait – a popular homemade poison bait for roaches is mixing boric acid with sugar. The sugar will lure them in and the boric acid will poison the roach who is likely to return home with some of the mixture to share with other roaches. Using poisoned baits is a very effective cockroach extermination method.
Depending on your infestation level and how well you apply these treatments they could take several weeks before killing all cockroaches in your home. If you still see cockroaches around your home after 3 weeks of using these treatments, your infestation is probably too large for do-it-yourself methods to be effective. In this case, hire a cockroach control company to get rid of the problem.