Roach-Proofing Tennessee Kitchens For The Fall

Roach-Proofing Tennessee Kitchens For The Fall

As you’re baking your apple pies and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies this autumn, the last thing you want is a cockroach crawling around your kitchen! If you’ve ever seen a cockroach move, you know just how startling they can be. Their speed alone is baffling. Not only can these pests cause a huge scare, but they also pose health threats as well. And even worse news, when you see one, there’s likely to be many more you don’t see. An infestation could include dozens or even hundreds. Don’t let your fall be ruined by cockroaches! 

What exactly are the risks that cockroaches pose? Good question. Aside from startling you and increasing your heart rate, these pests are very filthy creatures. It’s common for them to be found in sewers, dumpster, and other unsanitary places. Filth is what they love. They’ll enjoy feeding on rotting food, garbage, and even carcasses. The problem with this—if you haven’t already guessed—is they can enter your home after and run freely on your countertops. Cockroaches will gladly crawl around the toilet bowl one moment and find themselves up around your toothbrushes the next. Just thinking about the places they’ve been is enough to make our stomachs turn. 

Their traveling and living habits bring an array of problems. Lots of bacteria can be spread from place to place through cockroaches. They’re known to collect bacteria on their bodies and disperse pathogens, spreading them to people. Some illnesses that have been spread from cockroaches include E. coli, Salmonella, typhoid fever, gastroenteritis, cholera, and many others. Food poisoning can also result from cockroaches as they can damage packaging and spoil foods. On top of that, cockroaches are also able to bite. They aren’t aggressive insects, however, they will bite in self-defense and if they are hungry enough. What is enough to cause nightmares and sleepless nights, is that cockroaches will most likely bite at night and they go for eyelids as they prefer eyelashes and dead skin! But their bite is not known to be harmful and they’re not venomous. But their bites won’t be the cause of diseases spreading.

Alright, enough of how scary cockroaches are! The better question is what can we do to prevent these infestations from occurring? Russell’s Pest Control has some prevention tips for you to put in place:

  • Make sure to take out the trash frequently and store it in sealed containers away from your home.
  • Caulk any openings or cracks around the exterior of your home that might allow cockroaches a way in.
  • Keep the kitchen clean of spills and crumbs.
  • Make sure all food is stored in air-tight containers or in the refrigerator.
  • Install screens.
  • Correct ventilation issues and moisture-prone areas. Cockroaches are likely to be attracted to moisture and can be found in kitchens, bathrooms, crawl spaces, and basements.

Inspect packages and boxes before bringing them into your home. Cockroaches can hitch a ride in a variety of items.

Controlling cockroach infestations requires persistence, patience, and probably multiple failed attempts with DIY solutions. The best thing to do if you are worried about a cockroach infestation is to get an expert involved. Russell’s Pest Control offers both home and commercial pest control services. Our professionals can eliminate more than 30 common pests in homes throughout Knoxville and eastern Tennessee. Contact Russell’s Pest Control today to find out more information! We’ll help you determine which plan is best for you. 

American, German, Or Oriental – Which Cockroach Am I Dealing With?

American

Did you know that there are several types of cockroaches that you could be invading your Tennessee home? Each one of these roaches present serious health threats when they invade your home as they likely spent time in some extremely filthy and unsanitary areas before entering your home. Russell’s Pest Control can provide cockroach control for each of the following types of cockroaches:

American Cockroaches

American cockroaches are the largest home-invading cockroaches found in our area and can reach up to 2 inches in length! They are reddish-brown in color and have a distinctive yellowish figure-eight pattern on the back of their head. These cockroaches prefer to live in damp, dark places with warm temperatures. They will enter homes if the weather becomes unfavorable or if they are in need of food. These pests can be found living in sewage systems and feeding on decaying matter and garbage. Once indoors, American roaches can often be found in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room areas as well as in basements and attics.

German Cockroaches

German cockroaches are light brown or tan in color and have two dark stripes on their back just behind their head. They are much smaller than American cockroaches, reaching only about ½ an inch in length. German cockroaches also enjoy warm, moist places to live and will feed on just about anything they can find. These roaches are commonly found in the same areas as the American cockroach, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.

Oriental Cockroaches

Oriental cockroaches are shiny black in color and about 1 inch in size. These cockroaches differ from the other species as they can survive in much colder weather conditions. Though they can survive outdoors in freezing temperatures, they prefer living in the basements and crawl spaces of our homes. Oriental cockroaches feed on a variety of different things including rotten or decaying substances and sewage, so having these pests in your home can be hazardous to your health and the health of your family members.

All of these cockroaches have the ability to spread over 30 types of bacteria and 6 kinds of parasites. As we mentioned before, these pests crawl through some extremely unsanitary substances before entering your home. When they do so, these roaches pick up bacteria, viruses, and other harmful pathogens on their bodies and legs that they can then carry inside and spread throughout the home they are invading. These roaches spread numerous disease-causing bacteria that can make you become very ill including salmonella, staphylococcus, and streptococcus. Additionally, their shed skins, waste, and saliva have qualities that can trigger allergies and even asthma attacks in some people, especially young children and the elderly.

If you are experiencing problems with cockroaches in your home, then it’s time to give us a call! Dealing with a cockroach infestation on your own is extremely difficult. Instead of struggling to control them on your own, contact Russell’s Pest Control to have one of our technicians evaluate your pest problem. We will recommend the pest control plan that’s right for you and your specific situation in order to get rid of your roach problem once and for all! We offer both home and commercial pest control programs, so if you are dealing with a cockroach infestation in your business, give us a call today!

How To Get Rid Of Roaches

How To Get Rid Of Roaches

Have you ever asked someone how to get rid of cockroaches and gotten the response, “Good luck!”? There is a good reason. Roaches are incredibly resilient insects. Do you know that a cockroach can live for weeks without its head? It’s true. And, when it finally dies from not having its head, it isn’t because of suffocation. It dies from thirst. Here are a few more reasons cockroaches are hard to get rid of, and what you need to know to rid your home or business of these resourceful bugs.

4 Ways Cockroaches Are Hard To Get Rid Of

  1. Have you ever watched a cockroach run up the wall at full speed? It is more than a little bit disconcerting. Have you ever seen them run across a table and seem to disappear when they get to the end? This is because roaches have an ability to immediately flip to the bottom of the table when they get to the end. That is some amazing mobility, but wait, there’s more! Cockroaches can go across ceilings. Some of them can even fly! If you want to get rid of roaches and keep them out, this is going to make that task hard.

  2. Cockroach eggs don’t need their mothers to hatch. How does this make cockroaches hard to get rid of? If cockroaches drop eggs in your home, they can lead to a new infestation, even if you kill the cockroach that laid them. If you’re not aware of it, you could track more cockroaches into your home without realizing it. Cockroaches can carry their eggs on their bodies in their ootheca. If you step on a roach, you could get eggs stuck to the tread of your footwear and, quite literally, track those cockroaches in.

  3. Cockroaches can go for months without eating, and these insects eat an extensive variety of foods you wouldn’t expect. So, good luck trying to starve them out.

  4. Not all cockroaches are adventurous. Have you considered using baits or poisons to kill those roaches? It is important to understand that roaches work together to survive. If you put something down to kill them, you’re only going to get a small portion of the roaches in your wall–if any.

Cockroach prevention and eradication is a science. It takes an understanding of the habits and habitats of these resilient and resourceful pests. If you want to get rid of cockroaches and keep them out, it is time to call a pest control professional.

For control of cockroaches and other invasive, illness-spreading pests in Tennessee, Russell’s Pest Control is the right choice. Our pest control team has a category 7 certification in industrial, institutional, and structural pest control as well as health-related pest control. We can protect your business and your family from the issues that can arise from having a cockroach infestation. Contact us and get started today.