You’re in your kitchen preparing a meal and you see something scurry across the floor and underneath the stove. You only got a glimpse of it, but you suspect that you have seen a cockroach. A lot of people assume that roaches only come by if you have a messy house. When in fact, there are a lot of things in your home right now that could be attracting a family of roaches. Roaches will eat pretty much anything, so they could be attracted to a container of pet food that you have accessible to them. There may be cracks and crevices in your cupboards that are giving them access to crumbs. You may have spotted one roach, but does that mean there are more elsewhere? Let’s talk more about how to know if you have roaches, and what to do if you indeed have a problem.
During the reproductive phase, female cockroaches will form a shell that is designed to protect her eggs. This shell will eventually fall off, and you may spot them somewhere in your home. The exact appearance of these shells will vary based on the species of roach that you are having a problem with, but they tend to be dark in color and smaller than 10 millimeters in length – smaller than a dime.
A lot of people don’t realize that roaches produce a very strong odor where they live. It’s a very musty smell that is actually pheromones that they secrete to attract other roaches. If you have good airflow in your home and there aren’t many bugs present where your cockroaches live, you may miss this odor entirely.
While these pests are relatively small, they can produce quite a big sound. Roaches are nocturnal, so you’ll want to listen for them in the middle of the night. Their noises probably won’t wake you out of a sound sleep, but you can get up and investigate if you’re concerned about a roach infestation. You might be able to hear a light chirping or scratching sound within your walls or in your basement.
Like other insects and pests, you can often spot a cockroach infestation by looking for their waste material. They usually scurry away when they know you’re coming, but you should keep an eye out for dark particles that are about the size of a grain of sand. They’ll leave their waste behind just about anywhere they pass over, from countertops to floors.
There’s always a chance that you have one lonely cockroach that has managed to wander in through an open door or cracks and crevices around your windows. There are even species of cockroaches in the U.S. that primarily live outdoors, but they will come inside if they are short on food. They generally go back outside once they have found what they’re looking for.
If you continue to see roaches in your home, then there’s probably a group that should be taken care of. Every female cockroach can carry anywhere from 30 to 40 eggs on her back. If she wanders into your residence, those eggs will come along with her and eventually hatch. Over the course of one year, a female cockroach can encounter as many as 30,000 roaches as part of her group. It’s always crucial to take care of a problem before it really gets out of hand. So, if you’ve seen a few roaches and you know this is more than an isolated incident, you’ll want to call in the professionals for assistance.
Reach out to PestNow of Central Virginia if you are in need of professional pest control services. We can take care of roaches as well as many other insects and pests. We also offer preventive services to stop unwanted house guests in their tracks before they start looking for food, water, and shelter. We are a veteran-owned and operated local business that proudly serves the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Northern Neck areas. At PestNow CVA, we make sure that you’re getting the best of both worlds from our staff. You get access to support from the nationwide PestNow organization and you also get personalized service, individual attention, and professional expertise from the local Virginians who own and operate our three locations. We hope that you’ll give us a call the next time that you’re in need of assistance.
