Though you’re bound to see plenty of insects thriving during summer, it’s actually towards the end of the season that some of those pests can become a nuisance in your home.
They love the warmth, the shelter and if there’s a water source too then they’ll head straight for it.
Depending on the species, cockroaches can tolerate both warmth and colder climates and while they will eat everything from packaging to your food morsels, cockroaches actually require very little to stay alive.
They can quickly reproduce too (a single egg of the German cockroach, common in the UK can contain up to 40 babies), so if you see the signs act early to prevent a mass infestation, which is harder to treat, and you’ll need professional assistance.
Autumn brings with it colder weather and rain, so you are more likely to spot cockroaches as they seek shelter inside.
In the UK, the most common cockroaches are the German Cockroach, the Oriental Cockroach and Brown Banded Cockroaches. The German variety is particularly attracted to damp and humid spaces of a cosily-heated home in the UK and they are terrific climbers, easily scaling smooth glass surfaces.
Oriental Cockroaches can climb rough surfaces, while Brown Banded Cockroaches are fast runners and can, in the right conditions, fly.
Baby cockroaches are very small and can be hard to spot. What’s more cockroaches are nocturnal making them hard to spot. But there are a number of tell-tale signs that might indicate a problem. Cockroaches are most often found in kitchens but if you’re actively hunting them, consider places that are warm and there are food sources such as bathrooms. Look behind cabinets and around pipework.
The biggest sign of a cockroach infestation is seeing them live and running around your home. In the kitchen they like to live under the fridge where it’s warm, and around other appliances that have a heat source. If you do see live cockroaches expect to find them in all sizes. Adult males and females differ in size as do the growing young. A live infestation has also probably been established for some time. As these pests are nocturnal it can often be more common to spot the signs before seeing the live cockroaches.
Give the pests no access points by filling any small gaps and holes in your outer walls. Fill in crevices indoors too to stop them hiding in between rooms, in walls or in the ceiling. It’s healthy to leave windows open, even if it’s just on a trickle vent, so don’t feel like you need to lock yourself away completely to hide from critters.
You are also less likely to find cockroaches and other insects if you keep rooms clear and clutter free, this is because it gives them fewer dark spaces and shelter to hide under or within. Resolving to declutter your home (and your garden too) will also be useful in the event of something bigger like a mouse invading your property, it will be much easier to deal with.
Keep your house generally clean with a good routine of vacuuming regularly, this will pick up any tiny bits of food debris that attracts small pests.
Cockroaches love damp places, so get those taps fixed and drain away any standing water to discourage cockroaches and any other pests that are attracted to water sources.
While cockroaches don’t bite and won’t actively harm human beings, their environment exposes them to harmful diseases and pathogens that can spread to humans. In this respect they are a serious health threat, most commonly contaminating the food and surfaces that come into contact with humans. They are the cause of the spread of:
Their faeces can also trigger asthma in sufferers too.
The risk to our health is so severe that an outbreak of cockroaches in an eatery would cause its immediate closure. Cockroaches come into frequent contact with sewage and rubbish. If they’re found in your home and you eat from a surface they’ve been walking on you could become seriously ill.
Our Pest Control Service
If you’re suffering from an infestation of cockroaches or other bugs, we can help. We operate emergency pest control as one of our services among seven different trades.
Just give us a call on 0330 108 4111