Signs Of A Cockroach Infestation

Cockroaches prefer dark, moist places to hide and breed, and are most active at night. Since they can flatten their bodies to fit into the tiniest places, you can find a cockroach infestation hidden in some of the most unusual places. You’ll likely find cockroaches under fridges, sinks, stoves, and even within your walls. Unlike ants or termites, cockroaches don’t live in one nest or colony. However, there are some surefire places where you’ll find a cockroach infestation in your home. 

This blog will show you some key identifiers of a cockroach infestation, including where they might be hiding and how to identify the cockroaches.

Where To Find A Cockroach Infestation

Roches love filth and free food. This is why most people find cockroach infestations under the fridge, sink, and stove. Since cockroaches can manipulate their bodies to fit into the tiniest places, they can easily travel through walls and drain pipes. Although cockroaches thrive in dirtier homes, even the cleanest homes can have a cockroach infestation. If you live in an apartment or a building with more than one home, your neighbors could be the reason you have a cockroach infestation. Cockroaches do this by squeezing into wall cracks or drain pipes. 

Here are some common places you’ll find signs of a cockroach infestation. Look out for the common signs of infestation here. 

Bathrooms

Start by checking the back of your cabinets. Cockroaches love to snack on residue, soap, toilet paper, and tissues. More importantly, this is often where we forget to clean up, causing mold and bacteria to grow and thrive. 

Next, check around the sinks, bathtubs, showers, and toilets. If you can inspect in and around the pipes to see if there are any signs of activity. 

Kitchens

As mentioned, roaches love to hide inside and under appliances like fridges and stoves. Move these items and clean the surrounding area. If you can, check the motor inside your fridge to see if the cockroaches are hiding there for warmth. 

Check the inside of all your cupboards, drawers, and cabinets. Pay very close attention to anywhere with an exposed pipe, like under your sink. 

Laundry Rooms

Just like your other rooms, check any cabinets and storage cupboards you have in your laundry room. Move your washer and dryer to see if there’s any activity behind the appliances. Next, check both the motors and inside the drum of your washing machine.

Basements

In your basement, check for cracks and gaps in baseboards, walls, and joints. You’d be surprised at what a cockroach can fit into! Cockroaches often eat paper and cardboard boxes, so be sure to also have items stored in your basement for signs of activity. 

Drains

Check your pipes for any leaks, gaps, or cracks. Seal them with silicone caulk if you spot any. Replace any damaged drain covers so there’s no way for roaches to come in or out of the drain. 

Your Neighbor 

Even though your apartment is pristine, someone in your building might not share your good habits. If you’re still seeing signs of infestations in your home, it could potentially come from another apartment in your building. 

Signs Of A Cockroach Infestation 

Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures, meaning they’re more active at night. You’re likely to see and hear more activity at night, but that doesn’t mean you won’t see them during the day. During the day, you’re likely to see more signs of an infestation, such as eggs or dead roaches. 

Cockroaches leave behind lots of evidence if they’re infesting your home. Check for these signs of infestation in the places roaches normally hide. 

Chew marks

Cockroaches eat just about everything from food to plastic. Check all your food, packaging, and waste for tears and chew marks. Be sure to also properly seal anything a roach can easily get into. 

Cockroach feces

Roaches leave droppings shortly after feeding. Feces are about 1 mm wide and vary in size depending on the species of cockroach. Smaller roaches have feces that look like coffee grounds or black pepper. Larger roaches have more cylindrical droppings.  

Cockroaches often leave brown smear marks throughout infested homes. Check your walls and baseboards for the brown, irregularly-shaped smear marks. 

Eggshells, capsules, and skins

Cockroaches lay eggs in capsules that contain multiple eggs within one sack. The sacks look like a kidney bean but can have a different color depending on the species of cockroach.  

Before a cockroach reaches full maturity, they shed their skin five to eight times. You’ll likely find eggs, capsules, and skins in some of their common hiding places.

Unusual odor

Cockroaches leave behind an unpleasant odor. The smell is often described as musty or oily. If you suspect cockroaches may have gotten into something, check the smell of the item. 

How To Get Rid of A Cockroach Infestation 

As soon as you spot an infestation, try to get rid of it right away. Identify where the cockroaches are coming from, and determine how they get in and out of your home. Where’s the fastest way to eliminate a cockroach infestation:

Step One: Clean and repair damage

Clean your house from top to bottom. Start by vacuuming carpets and furniture daily. Be sure to give an extra deep clean in the places where cockroaches are more likely to hide. All food should be fresh and sealed in air-tight containers. Even pet food should be sealed away in air-tight containers. If you have houseplants, check to see if any of them have rot or another infestation.

Also Read: 5 Steps to Get Rid of Tiny Black Bugs on Plants

Dispose of your household garbage or store it in an air-tight garbage can, and remove old boxes from your storage.

If you find any damage while searching for signs of a cockroach infestation, be sure to repair the cracks and damage on walls and pipes with caulk. This is especially important with your drains and pipes.

Step Two: Bait and trap

Once you find out where most of the roach activity is happening, place traps in the hiding places. You can do this with glue traps from hardware stores, boric acid, or diatomaceous earth. Be sure to frequently clean the traps out.

Step Three: Call an exterminator

Although cockroaches don’t bite, they do transfer pathogens that can cause serious illness and food poisoning. This is especially true if your infestation is in your kitchen. Households with small children, immunocompromised individuals, or asthma sufferers are urged to call right away. To contact a qualified pest control company near you, all you need to do is call Pest Brigade and we’ll connect you with the first available exterminator near you.