June 24th, 2010 by Shaun Day

The Cockroach

Cockroaches are major carriers of pathogens and diseases around the home. They are clearly a nuisance and must be dealt with by the use of some manageable pest control. You could pay a contractor to wipe the majority of them out, but by looking into the DIY control method, you could save yourself a few hours pay, and take away the skills necessary for whether the problem reoccurs. Cockroaches can carry Salmonella, Dysentery, Gastroenteritis and other stomach complaint organisms. They are a nuisance because they can spread biological pathogens through spoiling food with their faeces. The cockroaches’ life span lasts approximately 3 months, beginning as a single egg, and ending as the shelled creature you may or may not be used to seeing around the house. As the smaller ‘roaches grow in size, they shed their skin. In densely infested areas, growing cockroaches can be a concern for those with respiratory issues, such as asthma, as the small shell particles become airborne. Their lifespan depends almost entirely on their location and access to the resources that they need to live. Just like most things on the planet, cockroaches have basic needs for survival, these are; food, water, shelter and warmth. A lack of these resources will cut the lifespan of the cockroach. Inside the home, they look to find scraps of food, spilled grease or wasted sugar. The cleanliness of the house barely comes into the equation, as the cockroaches can find scraps of food behind cupboards, freezers and cookers, and then go onto finding any organic matter in small crevices or cracks in the walls, floor or work surfaces. All cockroaches are omnivorous in nature, and will all eat almost anything organic, including normal suggestions such as pet food, meat, and spilled bakery and dairy products, as well as other organic compounds, such as book bindings, glues and each others’ species. Cockroaches are nocturnal. They rest in dark, relatively warm areas in the home, such as cavity walls, behind kitchen cupboards, under raised flooring and other such locations. They also have a very rapid breeding cycle, so will become a problem very soon if they aren’t when you detect your first cockroach.

Cockroach Pest Control

If you think you have cockroaches, you’ll first need to inspect the suspect areas. During the day they won’t be active in your home, so have a look around for telltale signs of their activity. Small grey-black specs of faeces inside cupboards is an easy tell. Check under all obvious places as stated below, such as behind kitchen cupboards. Also keep your eyes out for eggs around food in your cupboards. Cockroaches lay individual eggs in each location – the food is clearly spoilt so discard it along with the egg. If you want to confirm your suspicion, purchase some baited cockroach traps from your pest control store, and place them around the areas you suspect their activity, such as work surfaces. Because cockroaches are attracted to glue, they work very well – the cockroach is stuck in its own food effectively. In an ideal world, to remove the cockroach problem, all that is needed is to remove the food or water from their environment. It is probably impossible to remove 100% of their food and drink sources, however minimising them is beneficial. Wipe dry your sink and surfaces before going to bed, and do not leave any taps running. If you can be sure on the cockroaches’ access points to your home and to the rooms where they are a problem, block their routes and try to limit shelter as much as possible, generally making it uncomfortable to live there any longer!

Commercial Cockroach Treatment

Cockroaches may not just disappear if you follow the above instructions. Sometimes it may be necessary to use commercial products to kill off a population of ‘roaches.  Insecticidal Surface Sprays and Mini Fog Fumers are the favourite products, but there are other options available. Some chemical food baits contain chemicals to stunt growth, having no short term effects to the cockroach. One that ‘roach spreads the chemical by its faecal matter in the colony, the infestation will die off when their bodies outgrow their shells.