How To Keep Cockroaches Out Of Bay Area Homes

Cockroaches are tough. Really tough. A roach can survive 40 minutes submerged underwater, it can live a week without its head, and it can survive high levels of radiation. You may also be aware that roaches can survive exposure to toxic chemicals. But you might not know that we are partly to blame. Before you can truly understand how to keep cockroaches out of your Bay Area home, it is important that you know what you're up against.

Adaptation

When a cockroach is exposed to something harmful, it adapts. All roaches have the ability to alter their genes in order to survive. Over the last century, they've had to make a lot of changes because we've thrown a lot of chemicals at them. The more we've thrown at them, the stronger they've become. This is why you can spray a cockroach with a full dose of a roach control product and then watch it crawl away. Roaches share their genes with their offspring. The cockroaches in your Bay Area home can be born with a tolerance for the active ingredient in many roach sprays, which complicates the matter of trying to exterminate them.

This adaptive ability goes beyond the ability to create chemical-resistant exoskeletons. Roaches have been found to alter their taste receptors to avoid being exterminated by bait. Some German cockroach populations are born with bait aversion. You can put bait down all day, every day, and have no success getting rid of this roach species.

In light of the incredible adaptive ability of cockroaches, what on earth can control them? It requires a multi-pronged approach.

What You Can Do

Cockroaches come into your yard and get into your home for three main reasons: Water, food, and harborage. If you address these, you may be able to naturally deter cockroaches without the need for baits and sprays.

Water — Cockroaches need water to drink and they need moisture to keep their exoskeletons hydrated. If you have a damp perimeter, you can invite a roach infestation. Here are a few ways to address water and moisture.

• Clean your gutters
• Repair gutter breaks
• Trim bushes and shrubs
• Keep grass trimmed
• Remove weeds from your landscaping
• Water your landscaping in the early morning
• Remove objects that capture rainwater

Food — Cockroaches can feed on many things. If you have a garden, fruit trees, or berry bushes, roaches may feed on the vegetables and fruits. But they would much rather feed on rotting organic matter, and other unsavory things. Here are some tips for removing the food roaches prefer.

• Keep your trash in covered bins and keep your bins free of strong odors.
• Remove any rotting organic matter from your yard.
• Pick up fruit that falls from trees that are near to your home.
• If you have a dog, pick feces up from the yard. Cockroaches can feed on feces. It is disgusting but true.

Harborage — When roaches explore your exterior, they're drawn to cracks and crevices. This is because they like tight spaces. Therefore, harborage is a key factor in exclusion. When you seal cracks and crevices, you make your home resistant to roach infestations. If roaches are already inside your home, you can have some success making your home less habitable by removing clutter. But, the greatest benefit you have from removing clutter will be on the outside of your home. Before roaches get inside, they hide under wood, leaves, brush, and yard clutter. Keep your yard free of organic debris and man-made objects to reduce roach activity.

What A Professional Can Do

It is a lot of work to deter cockroaches and exclude them from your home. If you don't have the time, energy, or inclination to take the steps given above, a pest professional can handle this tough task for you. A professional will go about cockroach control in a slightly different way because it isn't possible for a technician to perform the level of pest maintenance you can perform.

Inspection. Your technician will begin by inspecting your property and determining areas that are conducive to activity, and locations that show signs of current activity.

Treatment. This will be a mixture of methods and products. A trained professional uses field-tested strategies and several products to make sure no cockroaches avoid the treatment. Baits, sprays, traps, clean-outs, exclusions, and other general pest maintenance can work to control roaches when executed correctly.

Monitoring. During the treatment process, your technician will monitor the success of the treatments. With constant pressure and determination, roach activity will cease.

Bay Area Roach Control

If you live in the Bay Area, reach out to Bay Pest for roach control. Our licensed pest control technicians have the training and experience to fully address the roach activity in your home.