Nobody likes to live with bugs. That’s why you should know how to control cockroaches in an apartment. After all, even if you keep your place spick-and-span, pesky pests can infest your space if neighbours don’t take the same measure of cleanliness.
This article will help you understand how to control cockroaches in an apartment or other shared living arrangements. We’ll cover all the essential steps for controlling cockroaches in an apartment, from identifying potential entry points and cleaning your home to enlisting professional help if necessary.
Ready to create a roach-free zone at home? Let’s get started!
The Signs of a Cockroach Infestation
Spotting a roach indoors is an easy sign of an infestation. But you’re not always so lucky. Some species of cockroaches are sneaky and hard to spot, so here are a few other tell-tale signs that you’re being invaded:
Roaches wander until they find snacks and can enter through cellars, garages, open windows, and even underneath doors. Depending on the species, you’ll find their droppings — the shape and size differ – but they often resemble coffee grounds or ground pepper. Eggs can be stashed in dark places like cupboards or crevices in walls and attached to surfaces, such as the undersides of furniture.
Cockroaches are also most active at night, so if you hear scratching or movement, especially in the kitchen, that spells out cockroach infestation to us. If you’re brave enough, go out to the kitchen at night and turn the lights on, that way you’ll have a good idea of if you have a roach problem.
What Attracts Cockroaches
You may be asking yourself—why are cockroaches attracted to my apartment? The short answer is food and moisture.
Cockroaches are attracted to food sources, especially starchy items—bread crumbs, cookies and chips. Therefore, keeping your kitchen and dining area clean and free from debris is essential. Don’t forget to wipe down tabletops and sweep floors after meals.
Moisture is also an attractant for cockroaches, so it’s essential to check for any possible water leaks or other sources of moisture around the home. Steam from the shower or gaps in windows can also give cockroaches the moisture they need to live.
And finally, make sure you check all entry points around your apartment—from garages and balconies to windows and doors—and seal off any cracks or crevices with caulk if necessary.
How to Reduce Places Where Cockroaches Can Hide
If you want to control cockroaches in your apartment complex, the first step is to reduce the places where they can hide. Here are some tips on how to achieve that:
- Seal Cracks and Gaps- Take an afternoon to inspect your walls’ interior and exterior thoroughly. Seal any cracks, gaps or small crevices as best as possible with a silicone-based caulk, which is waterproof and can stand up even in wet conditions. This will prevent cockroaches from getting into hidden corners of your walls and multiplying.
- Keep Counters Clean and Declutter- Cockroaches love clutter, so it’s essential to keep your counters clean. Wipe them down with a disinfectant daily, and store food items in airtight containers. Also, declutter any spaces prone to messiness, like drawers, cupboards, cabinets etc., to limit the hiding spots for roaches.
- Monitor Damp Areas- Cockroaches love moisture, so pay special attention to areas around sinks and other plumbing fixtures like toilets where there’s potential water leakage or condensation build-up. Make sure these areas are well-ventilated or take steps to reduce moisture levels if necessary—it will make a major difference when it comes to cockroach control in the long run!
Natural Ways of Getting Rid of Cockroaches
Cockroaches love dirty living spaces, but they can’t abide certain smells. If you’re looking for a natural way to keep them away, look no further than your pantry.
Standard Food Supplies: Cockroaches are repelled by certain smells, so you can use common food supplies as a natural deterrent. You could try one or all of the following:
- Coffee grounds: Roaches don’t like the smell of caffeine, and beans make for an excellent organic barrier
- Peppermint oil: This isn’t just for repelling mice; its minty aroma also prevents roaches from coming into your home.
- Orange or lemon peels: The sharp citrus smell is unappealing to cockroaches; grind up the peels and leave them near entry points.
- Bay leaves: These have a strong scent that roaches dislike; just sprinkle them around your kitchen and bathroom areas to ward off intruders.
Other natural solutions include using diatomaceous earth and boric acid. Both are safe to use in apartments, but take care when spreading the powder around if you have pets or small children in the house — they could be sensitive to it if they come into contact with too much of the substance at once.
Requesting Pest Control From Your Landlord
If you believe the pest infestation stems deeper than just a few apartments, it’s in your best interest to send a report to your landlord or managing agent. While you can arrange professional pest control treatment for your own apartment without the landlord’s permission, it is the property owner’s responsibility to organise services for the entire complex.
Start by making a report of your pest problems and include any evidence that suggests the infestation may be coming from elsewhere. Next, try finding other tenants encountering similar issues to strengthen your report.
Contacting Pest Control Professionals
If you’ve tried everything, but the cockroaches keep coming back, it’s time to get help from the pros. Professional pest control technicians can ensure the problem is dealt with quickly and effectively.
Pest control plans- Exterminators will come to your home and assess the level of infestation. Then, they’ll develop a plan to eradicate cockroaches and other pests. This is often done over multiple visits since most insects are difficult to remove permanently in one fell swoop.
Treatment options – The pest control technician may choose from a variety of treatments, such as:
- Baiting – Cockroaches are attracted to baits that contain insecticides that can kill them.
- Spraying – Insecticides can be sprayed directly on surfaces and their hiding spots to kill them on contact.
- Dusting – Insecticides can be applied as dust in cracks and crevices, which are areas where roaches may be hiding or entering from outdoors.
- Heat Treatments – Special heating equipment may be used to heat specific areas of your home where cockroaches like to hide out — especially in warm-weather months — this forces them out of their hiding places, so they’re exposed to insecticides or baits and killed off quickly.
No matter which treatment plan the pest technician decides on, make sure all tenants in your apartment complex cooperate and follow the instructions provided by the exterminator—this will ensure all roaches are eliminated once and for all!
Will pest control get rid of cockroaches?
Many people turn to pest control companies when they have a cockroach infestation, but it’s important to note the limits of what a service can do. While they can provide advice and help you identify the source of the infestation, pest control companies need access to all areas of your apartment for their solutions to be effective. In other words, if someone in another unit isn’t keeping up with their own extermination efforts, your chances of getting rid of cockroaches are significantly reduced.
In addition, most pest control services don’t offer guaranteed results, and even if they do eliminate the existing cockroaches in your apartment, there’s no guarantee that new ones won’t come back. The key to keeping roaches away from your apartment is prevention and maintenance—not extermination. Here are some tips that will help:
- Regularly clean: Vacuum your carpets and rugs at least once a week and mop hard surfaces as constantly as possible.
- Keep food sealed: Never leave open food on countertops or tables, as this will attract cockroaches. Seal the food in airtight containers whenever possible and store perishables in the refrigerator or other closed containers.
- Manage clutter: Cockroaches typically feed on paper, cardboard and other clutter that accumulates around our homes; be sure to organise items like stacks of newspapers or old boxes neatly.
- Be proactive: Investigate potential infestations using glue traps before an infestation becomes an even bigger problem.
In short, just because you live in an apartment, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck with roaches. Taking the right precautions, like sealing off entry points, using sticky traps and using the right insecticides, can help you control any cockroach infestations.
Take the time to talk to your landlord or building manager to make sure they’re taking the right steps to prevent roaches. If they are, you’ll be much better off. And if they’re not, you can take a few steps to protect your home.
At the end of the day, living in an apartment doesn’t have to mean living with cockroaches. Taking a few simple steps can help you keep your home free of creepy crawlies.
If you spot signs of a cockroach infestation, don’t wait to call Cure-All Pest Control. Our expert team will solve your pest problem and make sure your family is safe all year round! Contact us today.
Get Professional Pest Treatment
You may think your problems are behind you once you remove mould from your home, but bigger issues may be lurking behind your walls. More spores and pest colonies may be festering out of sight. That’s why it’s so important to get a professional pest inspection at least every year! If you can’t remember your last pest inspection, we highly recommend you pick up the phone and call Cure-All Pest Control now.
