Cockroaches certainly have an “eek” factor and with good cause – they carry a wide range of diseases, including Salmonella and E. coli, and are known to produce allergens that can cause asthma. So, if you have cockroaches in your home or business, you will want to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
It can be tempting to have a go in getting rid of a cockroach problem yourself. However, hiring the services of a pest professional is the often the best way to go, to ensure complete elimination, especially when it comes to German cockroaches.
Indeed, the type of cockroach treatment required will depend on whether your problem cockroach is a “large cockroach” species or a “small cockroach” species.
How to get rid of large cockroaches
Large cockroach species, such as the American or Australian cockroaches, are the big cockroaches that really freak people out, as they can fly in from outside when the weather gets warm enough. They live in and around buildings, typically outside in undergrowth, sewers, drains and around garbage bins. They will also reside in roof voids and sub-floors. They don’t often set up home indoors (unless you are offering them plenty of food and water), but generally come inside by accident.
Treatments for large cockroaches involve targeting their likely breeding areas and creating a “barrier” to prevent them entering the building. A professional treatment will involve spraying the perimeter of the building and treating external breeding spots. Blowing insecticide powder into weepholes and into the roof void will treat the areas where sprays are not appropriate.
How to get rid of small cockroaches
The two main small cockroach pests are the brown-banded cockroach and the infamous German cockroach. These cockroaches have adapted to live alongside humans and are generally only found inside buildings. Their small size (the young nymphs are only a couple of millimetres long) allows them to hide in cracks, crevices and equipment, sometimes in large numbers, without being noticed.
Whether treating for German cockroaches or brown-banded cockroaches, the first critical step is to carry out a thorough inspection. It’s important to identify all the cockroach hiding spots and this is where the skills of a professional pest manager are vital. If you don’t find and treat all cockroach hiding places, it is likely the cockroach problem will return.
Treatment typically involves using a combination of cockroach baits, and specialised sprays and powders. Cockroach baits are an important tool, in that you don’t actually have to find all the hiding places, but as long as the bait is placed nearby, the cockroaches will find the bait when they leave the harbourage to go out foraging at night. The beauty of baits is that they can eliminate the population. Cockroaches feeding on the bait will return to their harbourages and cockroaches that haven’t left the harbourage will feed on their faeces and vomit (which now contain insecticide). This ensures the insecticide is pass throughout the population. As long as sufficient bait has been applied in the correct locations, even severe infestations can generally be controlled in around a week.
Tips to prevent a cockroach infestation
To reduce the chances of a cockroach problem developing inside your home, eliminating sources of water and food are essential. Keeping a clean kitchen, and not leaving dirty dishes and petfood bowls out overnight, will remove many potential food sources. Keeping garbage in sealed containers is also a good idea.
To help prevent large cockroaches coming in from outside, well-fitted insect screens create an excellent barrier. Small cockroach species are often introduced into homes by accident, inside cardboard boxes. Cockroaches love cardboard boxes, so always check them before bringing them into the house – look for egg cases as well as cockroaches.
It’s recommended to keep a good crawling insect aerosol in the house to target the occasional large cockroach coming in from outside, but if you have a major cockroach infestation or have a problem with the dreaded German cockroach, a professional cockroach treatment from Rebel Pest Professionals is probably the best option.