How to Prevent Roaches From Getting into a Home

Roaches such as the American and German breeds can enter your home numerous ways and begin to breed and infest quite rapidly. Having been involved in the Pest Control Industry for many years I have evaluated the most common ways roaches enter a home. This article will give you some ideas on how to "stop" them from ever making it in.

Instructions

1. Check all groceries you bring into your home as you put them away. It is best to put items away right away so that in case there are any roaches you will be able to spot them quickly before they can spread elsewhere. Try and shop at stores that have higher sanitation levels.

2. Paper bags brought into the home are a major form of entry into the home. Paper bags provide nourishment and great harborage for roaches living between the seams and flaps. Sometimes you will not see an actual roach in a bag but there are instances when an egg capsule may have been laid within the bag and will hatch later. I strongly suggest that you don't store paper bags in the home but discard them for recycling. I can't tell you how many times I have discovered roaches living in paper bags stored under a kitchen sink.

3. Used furniture is another common point of entry for roaches. If you bring home used furniture it is a good idea to try and leave outdoors for a day or maybe in the garage rather than bring directly into your home. Inspect the furniture thoroughly and if you are suspicious of roaches you can put the piece into a confined area, such as a storage room or garage and set off a roach aerosol bomb. A good vacuuming is also suggested if it is a cloth couch or chair for instance, to pick up any possible egg capsules that may be in the crevices. Always dispose of the used bag into an outside trash receptacle. Roaches will also comfortably nest around wood as well, like in the corner framework or a desk or dresser, so perform a thorough inspection of the piece before bringing it inside.

4. People can also transport roaches into your home. It is unfortunate, but very possible that they will come in along with people. If someone has been in an environment where there were roaches there is always a chance that roaches or capsules may be within a pants cuff for instance. It's a good idea to even consider leaving clothes you have on outside or in the garage if you have been somewhere where roaches have been traveling until you can inspect and launder them.

5. Newspapers, magazines and books can also be a breeding ground for roaches. They can live off the glues used in book bindings for instance, so inspect any paper products coming into your home.

6. Apartment or condo living can sometimes create a real challenge in keeping roaches out of your unit if someone else in the building has roaches. You all share the same roof and usually walls as well. Regular routine exterminating throughout all units is ideal. You can also apply roach powders or perform a monthly residual treatment throughout your unit to at least kill roaches that may enter. I don't know of anything that will effectively stop them from entering, but you can at least have something there to kill them once they do enter. This coupled with high sanitation levels will serve you well.

7. Used clothing of course is a familiar way that roaches will enter a home, especially if those clothes are sitting in an old cardboard box. This is a perfect breeding ground. In these cases I suggest you take the clothes out of the box and put them into plastic bags while still outside of your home, discard the box and wash the clothes right away if you are at all suspicious. A hot water wash is always best.

8. Roaches do not generally walk in through your front door but in some special cases they have been known to do so. For instance in the summer, if you home is in close proximity to your neighbors and they have roaches or maybe are fogging or bombing their home to get rid of them, roaches that escape to the outdoors may run into your home for safety. To prevent this situation you can apply a liquid residual spray along all entry points into your home such as patio and door thresholds, windows and open drains.

Tips & Warnings

• High sanitation levels are "paramount" whenever you are dealing with roaches. If they have nothing to eat because your home is kept very clean they will be less likely to survive and breed.

• If you ever use pesticides "always" read and follow all precautions on the label.