What should you do if you find a cockroach in your house or see warning signs of cockroach activity? Should you immediately contact Big Blue Bug Solutions? You certainly can, but you have a few options for dealing with cockroaches if you catch them early, depending on what species you find. Join us as we look at common cockroach pests in Massachusetts, how to detect them, how to get rid of cockroaches naturally, and what cockroach control products work to stop them. If you're struggling with a roach infestation and want those roaches gone yesterday, jump to our contact page for industry-leading cockroach pest control in Massachusetts. You don't have to read an article about roach control to get relief from these frustrating insects (even if it is clever and filled with all sorts of helpful information like this one). With that said, let's get right into it. Here is everything you need to know about how to stop a cockroach infestation in Massachusetts at the start.
Identifying A Cockroach Infestation
The three most common roach pests in Massachusetts are German, American, and Oriental cockroaches, none of which originate from these regions. All pest roaches are thought to originally come from Asia or Northern Africa, and the worst of the three is not the American cockroach as you might expect. It is the German cockroach. You gotta love that German engineering.
Why is it important to properly identify the cockroaches in your Massachusetts home? Because you're going to go after these cockroaches differently.
German Cockroaches: These roaches are between ½ and ⅝ of an inch in length. They are tan and have two black lines on the back, between the head and wings. As the most common structure-infesting pests in the world, we've thrown a lot of materials at these insects. The result of ongoing contact with control materials has made these roaches resistant to conventional treatments. Professionals must use a multi-pronged strategy and several products to make sure these roaches don't escape treatment.
American Cockroaches: These cockroaches are between 1 ¼ and 2 ⅛ inches long. They are brownish-red and have two reddish brown dots on the back between the head and wings. The marking almost looks like a figure eight in some lighting and at certain angles. American cockroaches (often called palmetto bugs or water bugs) prefer outdoor environments and high humidity or moisture but do infest structures, particularly if they find humid spaces.
Oriental Cockroaches: These cockroaches are about 1 inch long and entirely black. They are the dirtiest of all roaches in our area. Their need for foul habitats makes them easier to control than the others. You may have success using sanitation to drive these roaches out.
Wood Cockroaches: These roaches vary in size depending on the species and are generally a brown coloration with tints of yellow or red. Wood roaches are the cleanest of the pest roaches because they tend to feed on natural detritus rather than garbage. You can easily tell when these are the roaches you have in your home because they don't avoid light or stay hidden from view. The solution for wood cockroaches is often exclusion work. They don't prefer to get into your home, so gently encouraging them to stay outside might keep them out.
These are the roaches you're up against. While wood roaches don't mind running around in the light, the others don't like the light and will stay hidden. You'll have to inspect your home and find evidence of an infestation.
Where Cockroaches Lay Their Eggs
Cockroaches produce a firm-walled egg case called an ootheca. Most pest cockroaches lay their oothecae like a large egg. Only one carries the ootheca, the German cockroach. That isn't the only way they differ from other roaches. Their ootheca is orange, while the others produce one that is dark brown with a reddish tint. Knowing where cockroaches lay eggs and looking for signs of these eggs helps greatly in detecting a roach infestation and tracking cockroach activity. Since German cockroaches carry theirs, they're better able to conceal their activity. Here are a few places to look for cockroach eggs.
-
Under your kitchen sink
-
In the backs of your kitchen drawers
-
In your cabinets
-
Around your oven, refrigerator, and other appliances
-
In storage rooms
-
In your boiler room
-
In dark, secluded voids
-
Up in your attic
-
In unsanitary places around your home, such as in or around trash receptacles
When you find oothecae, you may also find other evidence of an infestation. You may see black cockroach droppings, shed skins, and cockroach nymphs. You may also detect an unpleasant smell.
Have You Found Roach Eggs In Your Home?
It is important to properly interpret what it means to find cockroach eggs in your home. Cockroaches don't lay their eggs indoors and then go back outside. So if you find eggs inside, it means is you have an infestation. It also means there is a roach population growing inside your home. Cockroaches are constantly focused on reproduction as though the continuation of their species depends on it. In many ways it does. As the population of roaches increases in your home, so does its ability to impact your health and damage your property. While we believe you should immediately contact Big Blue Bug Solutions for a cockroach treatment, you do have options when dealing with Wood, Oriental, or American cockroaches.
Seal Exterior Entry Points: Cockroaches don't make holes to get into your home, they take advantage of existing holes. When you roll your sleeve up and seal potential entry points, you deter roaches from getting inside. Start by checking wire conduits, pipes, and other objects that pass through your foundation or exterior walls.
Stay On Top Of Yard Work: Along with sealing entry points, it is critical to alter the environment around your home. Doing this reduces cockroach activity and makes it less likely that a roach will find a tiny gap or crevice you missed. Remove leaves, sticks, stacked wood, grass clippings, and other organic debris.
Block Interior Routes: Once roaches get into your home, they use gaps, cracks, and holes to move from room to room. Sealing these openings makes it more difficult for roaches to get around, and they don't like it.
Keep Your Home Clean: A clean home is a cockroach-resistant home. We recommend cleaning, sanitizing, and deep cleaning around appliances. Be sure to clean your bathroom as well. While it is gross to think about, you should know that roaches feed on dead skin, hair, toothpaste, and other things in your bathroom. It is also a humid space, which is appealing to cockroaches that have a high moisture requirement, like American cockroaches and Oriental cockroaches.
Manage Your Trash: The scent of trash attracts cockroaches from a distance. Removing trash from your home routinely and getting it off your property weekly is critical. When trash sits and creates an aroma, roaches take notice. If you start to detect a smell, disinfect your receptacles. Also, make sure all of your receptacles have lids.
Manage Moisture And Humidity: Roaches will love your exterior if it is damp. Make sure your gutters are unclogged and in good working condition. On the inside of your home, address moisture and humidity. Repair leaking faucets and showerheads. Install dehumidifiers to reduce humidity. Use your fan when you take a shower or bath. Everything you do to reduce moisture and remove water options will impact the cockroaches in your home. It can, in some cases, drive roaches out.
It is a lot of work to manage cockroaches with all-natural methods, but it is worth your effort. Some of these methods offer long-lasting cockroach deterrence. Others are temporary but also work to beautify your home. Most of all, you don't have to worry about getting sick from a misapplied treatment. The treatment can be worse than the problem.
If you're not up for all this work or can only do some of the suggestions above, remember that Big Blue Bug Solutions is ready to help. We offer services for pest cockroaches and will even address a German cockroach infestation.
Total Residential Cockroach Extermination Services
At Big Blue Bug Solutions, we have more than 80 years of experience keeping pests out of homes and businesses. If you have roaches in your Massachusetts home, we have the pest control solution. We'll inspect your home, diagnose your problem, and ofter treatment advice. Based on the findings and the service you'd like, we'll address the infestation in your home and apply layers of protection to prevent future infestation. We use a mixture of treatment products and target the species in your home. We use baits, granules, sticky traps, exclusion work, liquid barrier treatments, and more. These are field-tested methods that achieve the best results. If you'd like to learn more, reach out to us. We're happy to answer your questions. Our goal is to find the best solution for you. Connect with us today.
