As 84% of American homes deal with pest infestations, it’s not as if people don’t want to get rid of the pests.
The problem is that some pets, especially German roaches, are harder to get rid of than many others. Getting rid of raccoons or spiders can be a challenge, but you need to make a real effort to end a roach infestation once it starts.
Here are 6 reasons why they’re so hard to get rid of.
1. they love messy spaces
German cockroaches are often found in bathrooms and kitchens, where it’s hard to keep every nook and cranny clean and dry. Even a neat freak doesn’t have the time to wipe down the whole bathroom after a shower or the whole kitchen after a meal. If you leave anything behind, they’re going to get into it.
They’ll even eat soaps that are left out. If you use natural soaps, you might want to switch from bars to liquids. The likelihood of getting rid of an infestation goes way down if you’re not diligent about getting anything moist and organic out of your kitchen or bathroom.
While you can get a trash can with a solid lid, change your cleaning habits, and be more focused on cleaning, you can’t ensure that you’ll keep them out forever. Just a crumb can get them coming back to check what you have later on.
2. they even get into pet things
If you have a pet, it’s hard to keep things tidy all the time. Many cats and dogs eat wet foods and take their time with them. Some cats will nibble at a can of food all day long, leaving it open to being shared with roaches.
You might have to completely change your pet feeding schedule if you’re dealing with an infestation. You need to clean out any bowls they eat out of and any cans that you open for them. The type of food that you feed pets is a sweet treat to a roach.
If you have cats, you need to find an alternative to the standard litter box. By adding some obstruction, having a top-loading or a covered entry to the box, you can keep the roaches out.
3. they’ll find your humid space
You’ll find that infestation is worse under humid circumstances. Much like how they love those moist parts of your bathroom and kitchen, they also love spaces like that all-around your home. If you have space behind your refrigerator, in your garage, or in your attic liable to get humid, you need a solution.
A dehumidifier is a good way to get them out of your basement or another humid place. Before you invest in a dehumidifier, make sure that you can afford one that can handle the kind of square footage you’re dealing with. Every home and every space is different, so there needs to be a solution that is ideal for the kind of space you’re dealing with.
If you don’t have a solution that can meet your needs, you’re going to struggle to get the roaches out. You need to be thorough and find solutions that can serve the needs of your home.
4. cabinets are crumb heaven
One of the ways that roaches start living in our home without us knowing is that we have all kinds of crumbs cluttering up our cabinets. Our cabinets are where we store food items and ingredients that we don’t need today but might need soon. Most people don’t open their cabinets up for a few days at a time during some points in the week.
If cockroaches discover your unattended crumbs, a bag of chips that was left open, or even some baking flour that’s open for business, they’ll be all over it. It’s hard to make sure that everything in your kitchen is adequately clean and tidy but your cabinets are going to be their main hiding space.
You’ll see lots of evidence when you start leaving crumbs around. There will be torn up bags, crumbs everywhere, and even a stray bug or two. You need to take action quickly when you see this happening.
5. no one takes out the trash
In most households, taking out the trash is something that people play rock-paper-scissors over or leave until the very last minute. Most people don’t like taking out the trash as it gets heavy, can smell, or even just be an irritating chore. However, when you’ve got a 20-pound bag of cockroach feed sitting in your home day after day, you need to take care of it.
For families with kids, you need to get to every trash can throughout the house. Kids are notorious for throwing away smelly food items in their bedroom trash can and leaving it there for weeks. If you’re not aware of their bad habits, they could be the ones who brought in roaches, to begin with.
Take the trash out of the bathroom as well, given we’ve learned how much roaches love bathrooms.
6. they get into literally everything
If you still have things on your counter or your cupboards sitting in the bag they came in at the store, you need to take some action.
Get yourself some glass or stainless steel containers to store your food items in. Even dry goods are attractive to a roach. You don’t need to take chances.
german roaches are notoriously difficult
Even the cleanest home can get German roaches living in and infesting it. If you live next to messy neighbors or even just a place that attracts them, they could find their way to you easily. Sometimes you need to call in the pros to solve the issue.
If you want to know what to look for in an exterminator, check out our guide for tips.
