Bugs … something that usually gives most people the shivers and the ring leader of such disgusting thoughts is the common cockroach. Cockroach or just “roach” is one of the nastiest, dirty, and resilient, out of control forms of pest, found literally all over the world.
They get into everything! Multiply rapidly and can survive for several months with out food and up to two weeks with out water. They love to travel, often climbing into luggage and hitching a ride home from college with an unsuspecting student, only to make them selves right at home at mom and dads house. There are a couple types of these “exchange students”, German, American, brown banded, oriental and the smoky brown. They range is size and color from under ½ an inch to almost 2 inches long.
Although many of the reasons roaches are attracted to certain homes are due to sanitation, or the lack there of, a lot of the times they are brought in. They can hitch a ride on a sofa, microwave, chair, television, box of stuff, brought in from the garage, a garage sale find, storage unit, or any area that might be a roach habitat.
They are extremely messy, leaving there droppings everywhere, and at times, their egg casings as well, that look like a brown tic-tac. A few things you could do to discourage roaches from hanging out at your pad is to:
- Discard any old boxes and piles of papers where they can hide.
- Use waste bin or trash cans with a tight fitting lid and keep trash in a closed plastic bag overnight.
- Fix leaky drains and faucets; roaches can live on water alone.
- Clean kitchen appliances thoroughly
- Empty pet food containers at night, or place them on the back porch or in a plastic bag.
- Vacuum regularly, and restrict food consumption to one room of the house. This will help keep roaches and other pests from spreading into other areas such as bedrooms.
- Thoroughly inspect any objects that you bring into your home, that might have questionable previous storage.