Roaches are far from harmless. In fact, these small creatures are one of the dirtiest and most disgusting pests around. Their body and the tiny hairs located on their legs are teeming with pathogenic organisms that can easily get transferred to any surface they come into contact with. If these pathogenic organisms contaminate the food you are eating, you could end up suffering from gastrointestinal complaints such as dysentery and gastroenteritis. You could also get typhoid, salmonella infection, E. coli infection, and food poisoning from roaches. Exposure to roaches could even trigger skin allergies and exacerbate asthma symptoms. It is for health and safety reasons why you need to eliminate roaches from your home. Below are some tips for getting rid of roaches and controlling their population.
Signs of Roach Infestation
Roaches are nocturnal creatures and usually only come out at night to feed, so seeing one in broad daylight typically means you have a roach infestation. In addition to this, another way to know if you have a roach infestation is if you see small, dark pellets littering the floor. These pellets are roach droppings, and you will commonly see them near their food source such as the food pantry, under the kitchen cabinet and sink, or near and around the cooking stove.
Eliminating Entryways
The best way to eliminate roaches from your property and control their population is to look for their entryways and have them sealed. Roaches usually enter homes through drains, open vents, crawlspaces, rips in the window screen, and even through tree branches touching an open window or hole in the roof. By eliminating their entryways, you will be preventing roaches from entering your home.
Homemade Roach Killer
There are a variety of pest control products that you can purchase at any store. While they can be very effective in killing roaches, these products are actually not the best solution. In fact, they can also be pretty harmful to humans and pets. The fumes can not only trigger asthma and skin allergy attacks, but they can also cause poisoning as well.
If you want a safe yet effective way of killing roaches, then why not make your own roach killer? You can mix equal parts of powdered boric acid, flour, and sugar. Add a little water to the mix and then roll into little balls. You can place the “roach food” in the areas you commonly see roaches such as under the kitchen sink and cabinets. You could also scatter the pellets inside your cabinet. Boric acid is a very effective pest killer. When ingested, it dehydrates the insect, and because roaches need water to survive, the pest will eventually die.
If the roaches are no longer taking the bait, you can use powdered sweet cocoa instead of sugar to give it more variety. Keep on making your homemade roach killer till the pests are gone.
Pest Control Companies
If the roach infestation has become so severe that controlling their population through these measures is not enough, then it is time to call the professional. In choosing the pest control company though, ask them if they are using green products since these are safer not only for humans and animals but the environment as well.
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Jennifer Dallman is an article writer for garden sites. She specializes in safe and organic ways of preventing garden pest infestation. If you have problems with roaches, she recommends calling your pest control company like Preventive Pest Control.