Your home wasn’t designed to be a cockroach motel. Unfortunately, cockroaches didn’t get that memo. They are packing their bags and getting ready to settle in. The only question is, will the doors be opened or locked when they arrive?
To help you keep cockroaches from taking over your Utah County home, it's important to be able to identify common area roaches, understand why they're such a hazard, and know how to keep them out of your home and off of your property for good.
Common Area Cockroaches
Here in Utah, we have four species of cockroaches known for invading and causing trouble around homes. We have German cockroaches, American cockroaches, Oriental cockroaches, and brown-banded cockroaches.
Out of these four roaches, American roaches are the biggest with adults reaching over two inches in length. German roaches are the most common roach species in the world and are distinguishable by their light brown color. Oriental roaches are shiny and like to congregate in dark, damp areas. Lastly, brown-banded roaches are the smallest reaching only 1/2 inch in length. As their name suggests, they are marked by two horizontal light brown bands across their bodies.
Cockroaches Equal Trouble
In many ways, cockroaches are unique from one another. However, when it comes to trouble, they are all the same. For one, cockroaches can carry and spread over 33 different kinds of bacteria, seven human pathogens, and six dangerous parasitic worms. Some common diseases cockroaches spread include salmonellosis, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis, dysentery, leprosy, plague, and cholera. They spread these diseases with the fecal matter and urine deposited throughout homes and even inside the food they crawl through. If you suspect your home has cockroaches, be extra careful about what and where you eat. Be sure to disinfect surfaces before sitting down for a meal or snack.
On top of all this, cockroaches can also trigger allergies and asthma attacks with their shed skin, fecal matter, and urine. As cockroach infestations become worse within a home, these irritants become more severe.
How You Can Keep Cockroaches Out Of Your Home
Your home is a wonderland for cockroaches, filled with fun hiding spots and tasty food. To keep roaches out, you need to reduce the factors that invite them inside. Here are ten preventative measures our experts recommend to keep them out of your Utah County home.
- Use some liquid cement or a caulking gun to seal up gaps and cracks in your home’s exterior.
- Check the window and door screens around your home, and make sure they are all in good working order.
- Make sure all of your door sweeps are in good condition.
- Inspect the gutters around your home, and make sure they are properly channeling water away from your home’s exterior foundation.
- Repair leaky piping and fixtures in and around your home.
- Use a dehumidifier inside to manage humidity levels.
- Keep your home as clean as possible, especially beneath furniture and large appliances.
- Store leftover foods and beverages away in airtight containers.
- Make sure all of your trash cans are equipped with tight-fitting, pest-proof, lids.
- Reduce the clutter in and around your home.
If you can exercise these prevention tips, you are less likely to develop a cockroach problem. However, even with perfect execution, these steps can sometimes fall short. The only way to ensure cockroaches stay out of your Utah County home is with professional pest control services.
Our Greatest Cockroach Prevention Tip
At the end of the day, keeping up with cockroach prevention is a draining and often unfruitful task. To make cockroach prevention easier, consider the benefits of high-quality pest control services courtesy of Pest Pro Pest Control today. Our team knows what your home needs to fight back against all types of dangerous, destructive, and annoying pests, including roaches.
Reach out to us today to schedule a service visit for your Utah County home. You will not regret it.