Have you ever had the experience of walking into a dark room, switching on the light, and spotting roaches skittering for cover? If not, then consider yourself lucky. Cockroaches are fairly common here in San Antonio and have no problem invading homes while looking for food, water, and shelter. But identifying a cockroach infestation on your property isn’t always easy. Cockroaches are nocturnal insects that prefer to hide in dark, moist areas. These filthy insects prefer to stay out of sight during the day and try their best to avoid human activity altogether. In most cases, you will never see cockroaches out in the open. Unless you know the signs of a cockroach infestation, there’s a good chance you won’t notice until your infestation has become extreme.
How to Identify Cockroach Activity in Your Home
If you see one cockroach in your San Antonio home, there are likely many more nearby that you can’t see. Cockroaches multiply quickly and can fill your wall voids and other hidden areas with hundreds of new roaches in the span of a few short months. This is why identifying early signs of a cockroach infestation is so important. A few ways you can identify cockroach activity in your home include:
- The most obvious sign of a cockroach infestation in your home is if you physically see a roach crawling around on your floors or counters. It’s important to note that if you spot even one cockroach during the daytime, you probably already have a large cockroach infestation on your hands.
- Another sign is finding cockroach egg casings, also known as ootheca. These egg casings are long, oval, and brown in color. They can hold up to 50 eggs inside, depending on the roach species.
- Finally, it is important to know what cockroach droppings look like. Depending on the species of cockroaches infesting your property, these feces might look like coffee grounds, small pellets, brown stains, or pepper grounds.
Roaches like to hide in dark, moist, and warm areas. Some of the best places to look for cockroaches include bathrooms, basements, kitchens, and laundry rooms. Each of these areas provides potential food sources, dark areas to hide, and excess moisture.
Cockroach Prevention Tips
Cockroaches invade San Antonio homes to search for easily accessible food sources. They can fit inside small cracks and gaps underneath doorways or get inside through torn window screens. To prevent roaches from invading your property, consider implementing these cockroach prevention methods.
- Replace torn window screens.
- Install door sweeps on all exterior doors.
- Seal gaps around your foundation, windows, and exterior walls.
- Keep your garbage cans tightly covered.
- Remove food items from your countertops.
- Store leftover food in the refrigerator or an air-tight container.
- Reduce excess moisture by repairing leaky pipes.
- Run dehumidifiers in any rooms that are humid.
- Store pet food away when not in use.
- Clean crumbs and food items out from under heavy appliances.
Unfortunately, once they have invaded, it’s nearly impossible to get rid of a cockroach infestation on your own. These tricky insects hide in hard-to-reach places and multiply quickly, which is why DIY cockroach treatment methods are rarely effective. If you see signs of cockroaches in or around your San Antonio home, contact the experienced pest professionals at Family Pest Control. We offer several pest control services and programs to ensure the protection of your home and family. Cockroaches, insects, and any other pests don’t stand a chance against our comprehensive pest treatments. For more information about how we control and prevent cockroaches, don’t hesitate to contact Family Pest Control today.