Durham's Step-By-Step Cockroach Prevention Guide

Step 1: Identify The Cockroaches In Your Home

Though it will benefit you greatly to roll your sleeves up and do all the steps in this guide, no matter what kind of roaches you have in your Durham home, it is important to identify German cockroaches or brown banded cockroaches if you can.

German Cockroach

This is a tan-colored roach with two dark lines on its back. When it becomes an adult, it's wings cover the lines and they look a little bit like an equal sign on the back of the head. Nymphs are wingless, all black, and may have a tan band running down the center. At full size, a German cockroach is about 5/8 inches in length.

Brown Banded Cockroach

This is a dark brown, yellow and orange roach with pronounced banding across the wings. The nymphs have no wings and their yellowish coloration is quite noticeable. At full size, a brown banded cockroach is about 1/2 an inch long.

Step 2: Address Food Sources In Your Home

Cockroaches eat a surprising number of things, many of which you would not consider to be food. While they can feed on the food in your kitchen and pantry, they'll also eat food that is rotting in your trash. In fact, they prefer it. Cockroaches can also eat the grime and oil on the sides of your oven, hair and dead skin in your bathroom, moist cardboard in a storage room, the fibers in certain clothing, and the waste in your cat's litter box.

We could go on, but you get the point. When you are hiding food sources, you need to do more than keep roaches from getting into your food, such as:

• Clean and deep clean your home. Make sure to clean around appliances, and don't neglect cleaning your bathroom thoroughly.
• Put pet food down only during the day. Cockroaches are nocturnal.
• If you have a litter box, make sure your cats are covering their droppings.
• Put dirty dishes in soapy water or clean them as you dirty them. Keep in mind that roaches may be able to gain access to your dishwasher.
• Clean juice spills up immediately.
• Make sure your trash bins are covered.
• If you throw food away that could create a stink, put them in a plastic bag first.

Step 3: Address Moisture In Your Home

Many cockroach species, particularly species that prefer to be outside, will not do well inside a home that is dry and free of moisture sources. In some cases, addressing moisture may be all that is needed to correct an infestation. That's how important it is.

• Fix all leaky faucets and showerheads.
• Address any other plumbing issues.
• Use your bathroom fan to vent moisture.
• Refrain from taking baths and showers before you go to bed so that droplets of water don't linger into the night when cockroaches are active.
• If necessary, wipe showers and sinks down after use.
• Install dehumidifiers in areas of your home that stay humid.

Step 4: Seal Potential Entry Points

Inspect the exterior of your home and seal any gaps and cracks that roaches can use to get inside. Keep in mind that it doesn't take much of an opening to give entrance to a roach.

• Make sure the seals around your exterior doors are complete.
• Make sure all pipes, wire conduits, and other foundation penetrations have good seals.
• Repair cracks in your foundation, damaged screens, and damaged ventilation caps.
• Repair rotting wood or areas where wood-damaging pests have created holes. If you don't have the finances to make repairs, use a caulking gun to fill in the holes, temporarily.
• Use a caulking gun to seal any gaps between your foundation and sole plates.
• As an added measure, inspect the interior of your home and seal any gaps you find.

Step 5: Remove Exterior Attractants

• Rake or blow leaves away from your home and out from underneath structures.
• Address any moisture issues, such as a clogged gutter system.
• Move wood and brush piles away from your exterior.
• Address dense vegetation and weeds in your landscaping.