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cockroach insects

Limiting Food Sources for Competing Cockroaches: Why it’s a good idea

Cockroaches are difficult to control. First you need to identify where the infestation is coming from. Cockroaches thrive in warm moist environments. This is why you might see them crawling out of drains or lurking in cabinets. Next you need to limit their food source. Sprays don’t always work. While bait traps are effective, they also provide a food source for cockroaches. To get the best results from traps you need to limit the food source.

You’ve tried sprays. You’ve set traps. However, you’re still finding cockroaches in your cabinets. What should you do? First, you need to identify what species of cockroaches are infesting your home. German cockroaches are the most common. Once you identify the species, identify their hiding places.

Cockroaches are found in many places. These include baseboards, cabinets, and anywhere else you suspect cockroaches. They leave evidence wherever they roam. Wherever you find cockroach feces, casings, or dead cockroaches assume there are live ones. A flashlight is helpful when identifying cockroaches as well.

After identifying the cockroaches’ hiding places, eliminate any sources of food or water. Next clean and sanitize your home thoroughly. Limiting the food source is essential. If you don’t, cockroaches will continue infesting your home.

Once you’ve cleaned your house and eliminated food sources, you can set traps. This increases the effectiveness of the traps. As I mentioned sprays aren’t recommended. They’re toxic to humans and animals, and only work temporarily. Ultrasound devices that plug into walls aren’t effective either.

When setting the traps, place them where you suspect an infestation. By doing this, cockroaches are most likely to find the traps. Once set, check the traps each day. This will allow you to check the effectiveness of the traps. Usually most of the cockroaches will die within a day.

After several days cockroaches find the traps intimidating. Once you feel the infestation is under control, seal the traps in a plastic bag and throw them out. Continue monitoring your home for signs of cockroaches. Keeping your home clean during this process will help too, as it limits food sources.

Though traps will eliminate most of the problem, you still need to limit access to food sources. During the day cockroaches live where it’s dark. Sometimes they hide in cabinets or in the stove. They also live in outdoor gardens. At night they prefer kitchens.

There’s a number of things you can do to limit access to food sources. For example, store foods like cereal in airtight containers. Cockroaches are less likely to get into these as opposed to boxes. Also, inspect any food brought into your home. Sometimes furniture and appliances have cockroach eggs hiding in them. Inspect these items thoroughly and get rid of any eggs.

Garbage is another food source for cockroaches. Be sure to take it out regularly. Also, keep trash receptacles as far from your house as possible. To keep cockroaches outside seal any cracks in your home. Also, trim bushes and remove vines on your house. This eliminates both a hiding space and food source.

If you’ve followed these steps and still have cockroaches call an exterminator. Exterminators use special insecticides that are more effective than commercial sprays. They also use other tools like sticky traps and diatomaceous earth. Since you’ve eliminated most of their food sources, it’s easier for the exterminator to do their job.

Managing cockroaches can be challenging. But, if you want traps to work you need to eliminate their food. The fewer food sources cockroaches have, the easier it is to eliminate them. By identifying hiding places and food sources you can strategically set traps. It also helps to keep your home clean, seal any cracks, seal your food, and inspect everything that enters your house. By following these steps you will have the most success eliminating cockroaches. If you still have cockroaches after following these steps, call an exterminator.

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Categories
cockroach

Cockroaches

WHO HAS THEM?

Every house, business and location has cockroaches.  The key is you want to control them so they are out of site and out of mind.  Whether you live in an apartment, house or neighborhood in Conroe, Katy, Pearland or The Woodlands, you have cockroaches.  However, if your current eradication methods or pest control company is not up to the task of keeping them at bay, give Atak Pest Control, Inc. a call today at (281)291-9222.

WHAT KINDS OF COCKROACHES DO YOU HAVE?

According to information freely available on the internet the four most common types of cockroaches in The United States of America are the American, German, Asian and Oriental cockroaches.

TRIVIA

The name cockroach comes from the spanish cucaracha.  It originally was the spanish word for the wood louse or the sow bug, but eventually became used to mean palmetto bug aka the flying cockroach (cucaracha) from there it became to mean these little bugs that infest the supposedly clean parts of homes and bring with them diseases and other problems.

LIVING CONDITIONS

The cockroach loves it warm and cozy, just like you.  Unlike you, they can’t easily get inside of things to have a snack, so they rely on you to leave it laying around in opened containers, bags, uncovered bowls, uncleaned spills in the cabinets, on the floor, when was the last time you pulled out your refrigerator or stove!  If you feed them, they will come, just like an imaginary baseball field for ghosts.

Unless you have an Asian cockroach infestation, turning on the light will cause them to run for cover because the cockroach is nocturnal.  The Asian cockroach is not however and runs towards the light apparently trying to get to heaven or something!

THE PROBLEM

Cockroaches like ants leave a pheromone trail wherever they go.  This trail of chemicals tells other cockroaches what is going on, where the food is and whether or not there is a party happening (maybe). However, this chemical trail attracts bacteria.  These bacteria are what make you sick and is the number one reason, you should clean thoroughly and call Atak Pest Control, Inc. to help set up a barrier that will stop cockroaches in their tracks for several months at a time!

DON’T IGNORE THE PROBLEM!

Female cockroaches are sometimes seen carrying egg cases on the end of their abdomens; the egg case of the German cockroach holds about 30 to 40 long, thin eggs in a case called an ootheca.  The egg capsule may take more than five hours to lay and is initially bright white in color.  The eggs are hatched from the combined pressure of the hatchlings gulping air.  The hatchlings are initially bright white nymphs and continue inflating themselves with air, becoming harder and darker within about four hours.  Their transient white stage while hatching and later while molting has led many to claim the existence of albino cockroaches.

A female German cockroach carries an egg capsule containing around 40 eggs. She drops the capsule prior to hatching, though live births do occur in rare instances. Development from eggs to adults takes three to four months.  Cockroaches live up to a year.  The female may produce up to eight egg cases in a lifetime; in favorable conditions, she can produce 300 to 400 offspring.  Other species of cockroaches, however, can produce an extremely high number of eggs in a lifetime; in some cases a female needs to be impregnated only once to be able to lay eggs for the rest of her life.

Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockroach “Eggs and Capsules”

PREVENTION

In addition to a good pest control program such as the Home Pest Control Package provided by Atak Pest Control, Inc., cleaning and vacuuming your home and furniture regularly is the number one best way to control them.  Furthermore make sure that all liquids and solids are stored in sealed containers, because cockroaches can eat and drink quite a lot of things that are harmful to humans in general.  Make sure to repair any dripping pipes, faucets and water leaks that you have as they will provide a supply of life giving water to these and other pests.  Also make sure that holes, cracks, crevices, etc. in your walls, ceilings and floors are properly sealed off.  You want to make it as hard as possible for these infectious invaders to get into your home.

A homeopathic remedy that works fairly well if you have good exterminator and cleaning policy is the application of Diatomaceous earth.  Applied as a fine powder, Diatomaceous Earth works very well to eliminate cockroaches as long as it remains in place and dry.  Diatomaceous earth is harmless to humans and feels like talcum powder.  Most insects, including bed bugs, are vulnerable to it.  Diatomaceous Earth can be found at most livestock feed stores.

Categories
ants insects

Is there a sustainable product for killing ants and cockroaches?

Ants and cockroaches are causing different types of problems for people in routine life. Ants and cockroaches are found in every house and these are attracted due to food items spilling in home or on the floor. Those places which are not clean have many types of ants and cockroaches. It is important to keep the places clean in order to avoid ants and cockroaches.

There are many types of products in the market which can be used for elimination of ants and cockroaches. Different types of things could be made at home in order to eliminate ants and cockroaches. You can make things and use tips at home to eliminate ants and cockroaches in a natural manner.

Soapy water

Soapy water is good for killing ants and cockroaches. You can mix some soap in water in order to make a solution. This solution must be used in a spray bottle so that the ants and cockroaches could be targeted and killed on the spot. This type of spray can be made easily as you can use any type of soap for making this spray.

You can place this spray in a small bottle to make sure that you are able to use it when needed. When you see ants and cockroaches then you can use this spray directly in order to eliminate them. You can also spray soapy water on places which are hidden so that ants and cockroaches could be eliminated.

Cucumber slices

Slices of cucumber are good for providing resistance to ants and cockroaches. You can place slices of cucumber at different places so that ants and cockroaches could be avoided. It is good to use bitter cucumbers as these will provide more resistance and you will notice that ants and cockroaches are not able to enter your place.

This simple method can be used at any place and it will provide resistance for entry of ants and cockroaches. If you have ants and cockroaches at any place then this method will help in their elimination in a natural manner.

Sprays

Different types of sprays are available in the market, which are able to eliminate ants and cockroaches. These sprays must not be used near food items as these could be poisonous. These types of sprays are providing instant relief from ants and cockroaches and kill them on the spot.

You can use sprays of your choice and use them on ants and cockroaches to eliminate them at any time. If you are suffering with problems of ants and cockroaches and you are looking for a reliable and instant solution then you can try sprays from the market.

Garlic

Pieces of garlic are working well for elimination of ants and cockroaches. You can cut some slices of garlic and place them in different places where ants and cockroaches are present. These will work naturally and resist ants and cockroaches.

You can use this method at any place and get instant relief from ants and cockroaches. Slices of garlic can be used safely and provide resistance for ants and cockroaches for any place.

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