Cockroach Control Services
Controlling And Preventing Cockroaches In Your Home
Cockroaches are nocturnal and spend most of their life in hiding, making them a hard pest to detect.
Because of this, most infestations are discovered while cleaning or moving.
Among the pests that commonly infest a home, few can claim to turn a resident's stomach quite the way a cockroach infestation can.
These pests are legendary all across North America for being an unsanitary menace that's built to survive nearly anything. No home, regardless of how well kept, is beyond their reach.
How Cockroaches Enter A Home
Normally, a cockroach infestation will begin from outside a home, where cockroaches may be living in piles of wood, mulch, or some similar habitat.
Cockroaches will enter a home in search of moisture, food, and new nesting sites, sometimes slipping in through openings as thin as a dime.
Several species are also attracted to light sources, and may enter a home under a front door or garage door when they see light underneath (other species of cockroach flee immediately when they see light).
Your local NAPCA Specialist can help you create a plan to permanently eliminate a cockroach issue in your home. Our specialists are experienced, certified, and highly qualified.
To schedule a cockroach control quote with your local NAPCA representative, contact us by phone or e-mail today!
To find out how long cockroach allergens can remain in a home, scientists infested an experimental kitchen with cockroaches, allowing them to live there for a year.
Five years after the cockroaches were removed from the kitchen, cockroach allergens will still present in the space!
Cockroaches & Your Health
Cockroaches are carriers of a wide variety of bacterium, fungi, and viruses -- and they will spread these contaminants on to anything they touch.
Among the dozens of harmful microbials transmitted by cockroaches are salmonella, diarrhea, typhoid fever, dysentery, food poisoning, and more.
Allergens & Cockroaches
Along with the well-known diseases that are spread by cockroaches, the bodies of cockroaches are the source of powerful allergens. These allergens can be found on nearly any part of a cockroach, including its saliva, feces, cast skins, dead bodies, egg cases, and more.
Cockroach allergens have a greater impact on asthma symptoms than pet allergens or dust mites do. It's been estimated that 23-60% of urban residents are sensitive to these allergens.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction to cockroach matter can be as mild as itchy skin, a scratchy throat, or an itchy sensation in the eyes or nose -- or as severe as skin rashes or acute asthma attacks.
Cockroaches Commonly Found In Homes
While there are 69 species of cockroach in North America, only 30 of them are associated with human habitations and are considered nuisances. Variations of each of these species are often localized to certain parts of North America and can be identified by a local pest control expert.
However, the following three cockroach species are common in homes throughout the continent:
German Cockroach
Appearance: Flat body; Light brown to tan in coloration
Size: 1/2"-5/8" (1.3cm-1.6cm)
Wings: Not fully developed; Used to break falls only
Food: Omnivorous
Activity: Nocturnal
Ootheca: 30-48 eggs per capsule
Lifespan: 145-415 days
Other: Most common species of cockroach found in homes across North America.
American Cockroach
Appearance: Flat body; Reddish brown in coloration
Size: 1.5" (4cm)
Wings: Fully developed wings; Can fly
Food: Omnivorous
Activity: Nocturnal
Ootheca: 5-50 eggs per capsule
Lifespan: At least 6 months; Up to 3 years in captivity
Other: This species is common in homes, as well as also appearing in crawl spaces, basements, damp utility closets, and other moist areas.
Oriental Cockroach
Appearance: Flat body, dark brown or black in coloration
Size: 1" (2.5cm)
Wings: Not fully developed; No flight
Food: Omnivorous
Activity: Nocturnal
Ootheca: 5-50 eggs per capsule
Lifespan: At least 6 months
Other: Also known as the "Common Cockroach" and "Black Beetle"; common to many parts of the world.
Experts on the cockroach control industry will often use cockroach bait as a primary tool to eliminate cockroaches.
Placing cockroach bait is an art -- one that is based on cockroach behavior, the species, and suspected resistance to baits by the strain of cockroaches infesting your home.
With larger infestations, baits will need to be "rotated" from time to time as the infestation builds resistance and aversion to particular bait types.
Several small placements of bait are better than larger ones. As long as your infestation is small, a well-placed, pea-sized application of bait is often more than enough.
Professional Cockroach Control
In recent years, pest control professionals have become increasingly adept at eliminating this persistent pest.
An effective professional will integrate many different tools into their efforts, including pest vacuum cleaners to remove cockroaches, sticky monitors to determine the locations and severity of the infestations, and pesticides.
Your local expert will be trained to fill cracks and crevices with insecticides, as well as warm, dark cavities in walls and other areas.
A strategy of using non-repellent dusts and insecticides, bait stations, and other methods will also be customized.
Solutions For Cockroaches
Along with traditional pest control, there are many ways that a resident can maintain their home to discourage cockroaches.
Thoroughly cleaning floors, doing all dishes right away, and storing food in cockroach-proof containers will help to eliminate their food sources. Additionally, trash should be replaced often, with a tight lid, and pet food should be removed as soon as the pets are done eating.
A homeowner should also eliminate any sources of moisture or standing water in their home, and seal all possible cockroach entryways, including cracks, crevices, and gaps along water pipe penetrations.
Take the battle to their nesting areas by reducing clutter in your home, as well as moving firewood, mulch, and other debris far away from your house.
Just How Strong Are A Cockroach's Survival Skills?
Cockroaches are incredible creatures -- ones that have survived virtually unchanged for 350 million years! Here's just a few things that make these pests near-indestructible:
- There are currently 4,500 identified species of cockroach worldwide, and it's estimated that twice that number are still unidentified. Of these, there is no species of cockroach that is listed as threatened or endangered.
- They're found in nearly every habitat on earth -- including 18,500 feet up Mt. Everest
- They can hold their breaths for up to 40 minutes. Some species of cockroach are even amphibious or semi-aquatic.
- The German cockroach is able to survive up to 105,000 rems of radiation (Humans can withstand only 5).
- If decapitated, a cockroach can live without its head for a week or longer.
- In many species of cockroach, a female needs only to mate once, and it can produce fertile eggs for the rest of its life.
- Cockroaches can live from 5-42 days without food or water, and can survive for 2-3 months on water alone.
- Cockroaches can eat almost any plant or animal matter, including leather, hair, wallpaper, wood, dead animals, -- even other dead cockroaches!
- 12 cockroaches can live up to a week eating the glue off a single postage stamp
Find A Permanent Solution For Your Cockroach Issues!
At NAPCA, our specialists are standing by to help you create a safe, reliable plan to eliminate a cockroach problem in your home. Each NAPCA representative is certified and highly qualified to control cockroaches and other indigenous pests located within your area.
To get in touch with your NAPCA specialist for a pest control quote, contact us by phone or e-mail today! We'll connect you with your local expert, who can schedule an appointment for you.
