A Guide To Proper Cockroach Control In Louisville

If you find a cockroach in your house, you don't have to wonder if you have an infestation, but do you know that you can have a home filled with cockroaches and never see a roach? This is actually the most likely scenario. Cockroaches stay hidden during the day and only rarely show themselves at night. You are far more likely to see warning signs of cockroach activity than the roaches themselves. But cockroach signs can look like signs other pests leave around your home. How can you tell that you have roaches? Here are common signs and how to distinguish them as a sign of a cockroach infestation.

Black Droppings: Roaches are far from the only pests that leave black fecal matter for you to find. When you open a cabinet underneath your sink and find droppings, how can you tell that they are roach droppings?

• Roach droppings are about the size of coffee grounds and resemble black pepper.
• Large cockroach species deposit larger droppings that are rounded on the ends and have ridges running down the sides.
• You may find roach droppings on floors, walls, and ceilings.
• You'll likely find droppings in dark, humid spaces.

These aren't conclusive characteristics, but they'll help you distinguish roach droppings from other droppings left by common pests. For example, mice and rats will leave droppings that are much larger than coffee grounds.

Shed Skins: If you have a roach infestation, you may find cockroach exoskeletons littered in secluded spaces, cracks, and crevices. But they're not the only pests that shed their skins. How can you tell you've found cockroach skins? What do cockroach shed skins look like? They look like the shape of a cockroach before they break apart. You shouldn't have trouble identifying them. They're also tan. But, finding tiny, tan skins in the creases of a bed or upholstered furniture with no larger, cockroach-shaped skins around is more likely evidence of a bed bug infestation.

Eggs: Cockroaches leave their eggs in dark, secluded spaces. These eggs are not visible. They're hidden inside an egg pouch. You shouldn't have trouble distinguishing these pouches from the egg sacs of other insects. They look like small brown purses. But these purses don't have coins. They have tiny roach eggs. Somewhere between 14 and 50 eggs, to be exact.

A Bad Smell: When cockroaches infest your home, you may start to notice a smell. They're not the only pests that create a stink. How do you tell them apart? The odor created by cockroaches is described in many ways. You may consider it an oily, musty, mildew scent. You may detect an odor of decay. You may also detect an acidic smell. These are all associated with cockroach infestations. 

The best way to know for sure that you have a roach infestation is to go hunting for them. Check your attic. Check your basement. Pull your oven out and inspect all around it. If you see cockroaches or their tiny nymphs zipping around on surfaces, you won't have to wonder anymore. 

When you find roaches in your home, what is the next step? We strongly recommend contacting a licensed professional to address a cockroach infestation. Cockroaches have the ability to adapt to control materials and will develop skins that make them resistant. Some populations are born with a resistance to common control materials. You may turn to baits, but baits are tricky because you can use a bait that doesn't work and have no results, or a bait that works too well, and create bait-averse roaches in your home. You should know, going in, that it is often tricky to deal with cockroaches, even if they aren't resistant to control materials or have an aversion to bait, because they hide in places that are hard to treat, such as the voids between your floors and subflooring. But the most important reason to get professional help is that this is a job you'll want to get right the first time. Let's look at why this is the case.    

The Diseases And Other Health Concerns Roaches Can Create In Your Home

Cockroaches are dirty insects; there is just no getting around this fact. When they live in your home, they can make you sick long before you realize you even have a cockroach problem. They pick up harmful and invisible organisms from unsanitary spaces and bring them into your clean kitchen, cabinets, and food-storage areas. Inside your home, they can quickly go from your trash to your cutting board. They also live in bathrooms, looking for the food sources we mentioned earlier. Along with spreading germs, they also cause issues for those who suffer with asthma, increasing hospital visits for asthma-related symptoms. 

Should I Call Action Pest Control About Roaches In My House?

Why call us? Action Pest Control has the experience and professionalism to give you the best service and the greatest assurance that your home is free of cockroach activity. We have over 70 well-trained, state-certified pest management professionals on our team. We have a board-certifed entomologist on staff. We use industry-leading solutions and field-tested methods, and we back up our impeccable control services with superior customer service. If all that isn't enough, we're a top 100 pest control company in an industry with over 15,000 registered companies. It pays to hire the best when it comes to cockroaches. Take action and contact Action Pest Control if you are in Louisville or our extensive service area. 

Five Tips To Prevent Future Roach Problems In Your Home

Once the cockroaches in your home are gone, you're going to want to keep them gone, right? While Action Pest Control can help you with this as well, by providing you with year-round, ongoing pest management services for your home, you're not without options. There are many ways to deter cockroaches if you don't mind the hard work. Here are our five best tips.

• Manage your trash. Before roaches get into your home, they'll find their way to your trash receptacles. Keep trash covered. Clean your receptacles. Get your receptacles to the curb weekly. Make sure your trash does not sit in your trash receptacle unbagged.
• Remove moist habitats and other hiding places. Cockroaches will hide under the objects in your yard, particularly if they find moisture underneath.
• Remove junk piles. Cockroaches feed on decaying matter, paper, and glue. A stack of pizza boxes is a dream come true for roaches. They'll also feed on clothing and other materials in a junk pile.
• Practice a high level of sanitation indoors and outdoors. The most important cockroach fact we can share is that anything stinky will lure these pests into your yard, including dog droppings in your lawn.
• Seal your exterior walls. While it is incredibly difficult to keep cockroaches out of your home by sealing gaps and holes, you should still try. Fewer potential entry points will reduce the chances that roaches will enter your home. Pay close attention to openings that are near ground level. Inspect around water pipes, wire conduits, exterior door frames, your foundation walls, your sill plates, screens, and vents. Use a caulking gun, expanding foam, and mortar to patch holes.

When you take the time and put in the energy to do these five steps, you will have a lot of protection against future cockroach infestations. If you want to add more layers of protection and know for sure that you have the best possible protection, consider a year-round pest control service plan. If you're in Louisville, we can help you select the services that are right for you. Contact Action Pest Control today. We're here to help.