Identifying And Getting Rid Of Roaches In Your St. Louis Home
The last thing anyone wants to find is a large cockroach in your kitchen or bathroom. A significant characteristic of cockroaches is that when outdoors, they live in the worst places you can imagine, like decaying matter, garbage, and sewage. They pick up pathogens on their legs and then carry them into our homes.
Cockroaches are a common reason people seek out pest control in St. Louis. Cockroach identification can be challenging if you aren’t sure what to look out for, and these pests are incredibly good at keeping out of sight. At Arenz Pest Management, we can help you learn how to deter cockroaches from entering your home and what to do if they get in.
How To Identify A Cockroach
The most common types of cockroaches in St. Louis are the American, oriental, and German cockroaches. Most cockroaches appear similar with flat, oval-shaped bodies, six legs, antennae, and hard exoskeletons. Here are some descriptions to help with cockroach identification:
- American cockroaches are reddish-brown and have a yellow figure-eight on their heads. Mostly we find them in sewers and drains, but they will move into a structure if they experience a food shortage or a significant change in the climate.
- German cockroaches are light brown with two black stripes found on their backs. They prefer to live in warm, humid places close to a food supply, most likely the kitchen or bathroom in our homes.
- Oriental cockroaches exhibit a shiny black to dark-reddish color. They enter homes through door thresholds, sliding glass doors, and floor drains and migrate to basements and crawl spaces because they prefer damp, cool locations.
Knowing which type of roach is in your home can help you figure out how they get in and what attracts them to your home.
The Health Risks Of A Cockroach Infestation In Your Home
Perhaps the worst characteristic of cockroaches is the threat they pose to the health of our families. As we mentioned, cockroaches spend their time in the most unsavory places picking up bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, disease-causing pathogens, and parasitic worms. Cockroaches carry all of this into our homes, contaminating food, counter surfaces, and just about everything they touch.
One sign of cockroach infestation that may stand out is your family’s allergy symptoms. The cockroaches’ saliva, urine, and feces can trigger allergies and cold symptoms year-round and exacerbate asthma, especially in children. Their shed skin and excrement can also cause skin rashes.
Eliminate Factors That Attract Cockroaches Into Your Home
If you are wondering how to deter cockroaches, here are a few steps you can take to help with roach pest control:
- Store food in secure containers and avoid leaving pet food out.
- Properly ventilate crawl spaces and basements to prevent moisture build-up.
- Run water through the taps in spare bathrooms periodically.
- Keep a spotless kitchen, cleaning up any crumbs and spills, and don’t let dishes pile up in the sink.
- Be sure to seal all potential pest entrances to your home, especially around utility pipes.
These are just a few factors that attract different types of cockroaches to your home; a professional pest control company like Arenz Pest Management can help you learn even more ways to keep them out.
How To Get Rid Of Cockroaches In Your Home For Good
Cockroaches breed incredibly fast, and over-the-counter pest control products only work some of the time, and only on adult roaches. The sure way to get rid of cockroaches for good is to contact the home pest control professionals at Arenz Pest Management. Not only will we work to eliminate them, but we can also help you learn how to deter cockroaches from coming in at all. Reach out to us for immediate roach pest control to keep your home and family safe.
Tags: cockroaches | cockroach control | cockroach prevention |
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