Roaches. How to Spot and Prevent Them.

Roaches – the pest that makes the #1 enemy for many if not all Texas residents. These pests harbor bacteria and disease which can easily cause harm to you, your family, or your pets. No one wants that! With these tips from Root Home Services on how to prevent roaches in your home you can help fight the ongoing problem we Texans face.

What They Look Like So You Can Spot Them

For roach prevention you need to know what they look like and where they hide. Thankfully these greasy insects are easy to identify whether they're in an egg or as adult roaches. Thankfully for us the appearance doesn't vary too much from species to species.

With the American cockroach being the largest one with a somewhat diamond body shape and a dark into light brown color. In the nymph stage they're long, red, and straight bodied. The eggs if you do spot them look like small dark red beans that have a ridge on them.

The Brown Banded cockroach is one of the smaller roaches throughout all stages of its life. This is fairly easy to spot thanks to its lighter brown body with two dark brown bands on its back. The egg for the species looks like a small tan bean with ridges.

The German cockroach is much like the brown banded cockroach we previously mentioned. It has a small body that is a light brown color and can grow to an average of about half an inch in size. As cockroach nymphs they're very small and dark brown which makes them hard to see in dimly lit areas. The egg for this species is a bit different than the other ones we've talked about. It has a bit more length with one light tan end leading to a darker tan end.

Regularly Cleaning Places Like Your Kitchen and Basement

The first preventative tip we can give out is simple and we should all be doing it. Regularly cleaning the areas you eat in and others like basements that are moist, dark, and undisturbed. Keeping your regular eating area clean and limiting the places you do eat give roaches little incentive to seek residence. Our kitchen is the last place we'd want that! Another key thing to remember is to frequently take out your trash. This is another way to give those pesky roaches one less opportunity for food and shelter. While we're talking about trash, be sure to clean bottles, cans, and other containers to give these pests once again one less food source.

With the basement it's just as simple to avoid leaving empty or broken-down boxes on the floor. All it does is give these pesky bugs a place to hide undisturbed. Moving things around a bit gives you an opportunity to find any start of a brood.

Regular Maintenance

Regular home maintenance is a win in two ways. Not only do you keep your fixtures working properly you give roaches less opportunity for shelter and water. One thing these little creatures love is dark moist areas like under sinks, basement pipes, and near toilets. We recommend regular upkeep in these areas and at the very least cleaning to help prevent or spot a problem.

We hope these tips for roach prevention help keep your Austin home roach free. If you, a friend, or family member have a roach problem in Austin, TX give Root Home Services a call to set up regularly scheduled treatment.