Month: February 2022
Cockroaches are the most adaptable and resilient pests that may invade your home. We need to understand what attracts them to your home. In addition to carrying infections and spreading bacteria, roaches are known to induce allergies and asthma attacks as well as contaminate food. These annoying pests are incredibly unhealthy as well. They can be both summer and winter pests.
4,500 varieties of cockroaches exist, but only thirty are called pests. Four of those 30 individuals, though, stand out as particularly adept at creating a nuisance for themselves: Cockroaches of the German, American, Australian, and Oriental varieties
Keeping cockroaches away requires determining what initially attracts them. Roaches will enter your home for one of four reasons: food supplies, water supplies, a source of warmth, and a place to shelter (or a combination of these). They are frequently attracted to the following:
- Dishes that are waiting to be washed
- Piles of garbage
- Moisture and damp
- Crumbs
- Pet food bowls
- Food containers left in the trash
- Stacks of cardboard
How to Keep Cockroaches Away
Knowing what draws roaches to your home allows you to eliminate these sources of attraction and reduce the likelihood of a roach infestation. Some cockroach avoidance strategies that you can employ in your own house are listed below…
Sanitation
Keep it as clean as you can. The most effective method of preventing cockroaches is through good sanitation.
Clean Kitchens
Concentrate on the kitchen. Don’t leave food out overnight unless absolutely necessary. Dishes should be washed every day at least. Remove crumbs and spilt food from all surfaces, including cabinets and pantries. Every night, disinfect the kitchen counters with a disinfectant spray. Don’t forget about the kitchen appliances.
Cockroaches are drawn to oil and spilt food that collects on and in your equipment, such as your refrigerator, stove, dishwashing machine, microwave, toaster, and the area under your kitchen sink. Roaches are also drawn to the region beneath the kitchen sink for a variety of reasons.
Restrict Places You Eat
Places, where you eat should be limited. Food consumption should be limited to a single room. The result is that not only is cleaning easier for you, but it also limits the number of crumbs and spills that may go unnoticed in other rooms and serve as an additional food source for roaches.
Storing Food & Pet Food
All food should be kept in airtight containers. Roaches are small enough to fit through the gaps of the conventional cardboard packaging that food is delivered in. This holds true for pet food as well. In order to prevent roaches from entering the house, pet food must be stored in a tightly sealed container on the back porch, preferably. The same goes for pet food bowls and containers, which should be emptied every night.
Garbage
Maintain a tightly fitting lid on your garbage can, and empty the kitchen trash can at the close of each day. Make certain that your outside garbage cans are clean and that they are not too close to your home.
Clean Before Bedtime
Roaches come out at night. Vacuuming the kitchen floor on a nightly basis reduces the roaches’ food supply. Make a habit of vacuuming every 2 to 3 days for the rest of your house, as well. Raccoon excrement, body parts, and egg sacs can all be removed in this manner. Use Cockroach Repellent
Block Entry Points
Block off any possible entrance points. Utility pipes and crawl spaces should be sealed off. Check that your windows and doors are secure and that you have weatherstripping installed if necessary. Fill in all of the gaps and fissures.
Remove Places Where Cockroaches Can Hide
Get rid of anything that roaches can use as a makeshift shelter, such as cardboard and paper.
Smoky Brown Cockroaches and American cockroaches prefer to reside outside but will come inside in search of food or when there is a lot of rain or hot weather. They prefer warm, wet environments such as flowerbeds or under mulch. They are also frequently found in trees. They are also prevalent in the majority of American city sewer systems. They frequently infiltrate homes through windows, garages, and beneath doors. They will also infiltrate your home through drains and plumbing. When they invade homes, they usually end up in basements, laundry rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. They are also prevalent in commercial structures such as restaurants, grocery stores, and warehouses.
Use Professional Help
Make an appointment with a pest control professional. If you believe that you have a roach problem, call a professional right away. Treatment approaches can differ depending on the type of roach you have infesting your property. A skilled pest control expert can do a complete review of your situation and develop a comprehensive treatment plan on your behalf.
Winter Pest Control
Mice and rats remain active during winter, but as it is cold outdoors they move inside and build nests in walls and roof space where they can spend a few months, often breeding. In Tennessee, there are several commonly found spiders including Wolf Spider, Brown Recluse Spider, and Black Widow Spider. A bite from the last two can be fatal as they are extremely venomous. Sometimes spiders are found inside your home, and it is a good idea to get rid of them.
Rats and Mice will usually come inside the house before the first cold days of winter, and start building their nests in a cavity, mice only need a small space, and rats are more likely to climb to the roof space where they have more opportunity to nest. The first sign of rats and mice is often scrapping or scratching at night, as they come and go to feed, alternatively, there may be mouse droppings in the kitchen.
1. Rats and Mice Carry Disease
Both rats and mice carry infectious diseases including Salmonella and Tularemia. A bite from a rat can cause Rat Bite Fever, and in the past, they were responsible for causing Bubonic Plague.
2. Mice Can Cause Cancer in Humans
This is emerging research that can’t be ignored even though it is horrible. Some mice carry a virus that may cause breast cancer. Called the Mouse Mammary Tumour Virus, which is highly transmissible to humans.
3. Vermin Damage Your Home
Rats and mice are highly destructive and can even chew through electrical wiring, and if left unchecked can gradually destroy an unoccupied house.
4. Spiders and Ladybugs
Spiders will come indoors in cold wet weather, and you don’t want venomous spiders in your house. Usually, spiders don’t remain indoors as they like to be outside. However, spiders are more likely to stay indoors during the winter. Asian ladybugs were introduced to the USA for aphid control but turned out to be aggressive insects. They will invade your house in the cold weather and hide in fabrics and walls. They release a nasty-smelling liquid and bite as well.
5. Spiders are Attracted by Warmth and Light
Keep leaf litter and junk away from your house, and if you have a woodpile, the spiders will probably live in there.
This is hard to do, but try to seal off all entrances to your home, including mesh screens within your vents.
Regular Pest Inspections
Pests are active all the year, but it is only when they enter our home that we really notice them. It may be as simple as cockroaches in warmer climates, or scuttling rats and mice. Any of these creatures have to be eliminated. There are now many nontoxic pesticides to completely get rid of spiders. If you have small children the use of pesticides is a concern, and the type of spray used will be discussed with you first.
When you have your twice-yearly pest inspection, it enables our experts to eliminate opportunities for pests to enter your home, and after a while, you won’t see a pest in your house.
Conclusion
As we have seen, pests are active all year-round and not just in winter, pest control should prevail. Spiders and ladybugs become more active during Spring and Summer, and may even enter your house at any time given the opportunity. So it is best to always be vigilant, and don’t let them in. Contact Honor Guard Pest Control today to keep spiders, ladybugs, mice, and rats out of your home during winter!