Cockroaches vary in size and color. They also vary in how they behave. For example, some cockroaches don't mind crawling around in the daylight. These insects will zip across your back deck in plain view. They'll also run across the ceiling of your porch, disappear into a gap around a light fixture, and make you wonder whether or not they've gone inside to join a large population you don't see. It should provide some comfort knowing that if these daytime roaches have a large population in your home, you'll know it. The roaches that hide from view are the cockroaches that prefer nocturnal activity. They're the roaches that experts say, "If you see one, there are thousands you aren't seeing." Join us today as we offer up a quick and complete guide to cockroaches in Katy, Texas. We'll discuss facts you should know about these unsanitary pests, general cockroach identification, how to find roach activity in your home, and how to naturally prevent roaches from getting inside. As always, we want to quickly remind you that help is available if you need local cockroach control for your Katy home. Contact All-Safe Pest & Termite for service options. We use industry-leading control solutions to solve roach problems expeditiously.   

Cockroaches: Disgusting, Dangerous Pests For Katy Residents

The primary issue with cockroaches in Katy is that they are unhygienic insects. It isn't their fault. They just do what comes naturally. In nature, a cockroach will consume decaying organic materials, which are high in nitrogen. They then produce droppings that are high in nitrogen, which helps fertilize the soil. In your home, they will feed on decaying materials and leave their droppings on your floors, walls, and ceilings. When they do this, they do not provide the benefits to you that they do to nature. You don't need them to break down organic materials because you remove them from your home and send them away in the trash, and the surfaces in your home definitely don't need fertilization. The result of a roach issue is that you'll have these insects leaving their droppings and spreading bacteria and other pathogens everywhere, which is more than enough reason to not want cockroaches in Katy finding their way into your home. But there are a few more facts you should understand, including:

• When cockroaches eat decaying matter, they can get contaminated by tiny microorganisms like salmonella and hookworms.
• Cockroaches don't just eat decaying foods; they'll also eat foods in your cabinets and on your shelves. When they do, they can spread contamination.
• Cockroaches have a wide-ranging diet. In addition to your trash and leftovers, they also eat other materials, such as cardboard and paper, which can allow them to chew a hole to enter your food packages.
• When cockroaches eat rotting food in your garbage, the organisms on the rotting food are ingested and can end up in the droppings of roaches or stuck to their spiny legs.
• The droppings that cockroaches leave around your home and the microorganisms they pick up are not the only contaminants of concern. Roaches shed their skin as they grow. These cast-off skins can also pose a risk to human health as an allergen.

What can you glean from these facts regarding cockroach control? When controlling roaches in your home, it is essential to apply sanitation to reduce the risk of illness and remove food sources that attract cockroaches. Consider storing your food in hard plastic containers to keep cockroaches out. Clean up cockroach droppings and other materials and protect your trash from entry.

The Cockroaches That Call Katy Home

All cockroaches are not equal in their ability to infest your home or cause sickness. Some are definitely worse than others. Let's take a look at three common roach pests and how they differ in their ability to live in your home and impact your health.

German Cockroaches: These are widely considered the hardest cockroaches to control. They do extremely well indoors and have developed immunities and behavior patterns that protect them from conventional treatment methods. If you see a small tan cockroach with a black equal sign on its back, these are the cockroaches you have in your home.

American Cockroaches: These are middle-of-the-road cockroaches. They can survive well inside your home but may prefer to stay outdoors where conditions are more humid. They can impact your health, but indoor habitation can also limit their exposure to more harmful microorganisms. If you see huge cockroaches on your property, these are the cockroaches you're seeing. 

Oriental Cockroaches: These are the worst cockroaches in terms of health concerns, but far less likely to infest your home permanently. Their desire to stay outdoors in damp conditions and around trash receptacles increases their ability to spread the worst microorganisms. So, while they are likely to enter your home and go back outside, their short time inside can present more of a problem than ongoing habitation. 

Now that you have a general overview of cockroaches in Katy, let's look at the behavior patterns cockroaches tend to follow. You can use these patterns to locate cockroach activity in your home and also reduce activity. 

Where Cockroaches Are Most Likely To Be Active Inside Katy Homes

If you find a cockroach in your house, there are certainly more. But how do you find them – particularly at the onset of an infestation when they are more likely to avoid your detection? You need to know where cockroaches tend to hide and how to uncover the warning signs.

• Look for cockroaches in dark spaces. They'll hide in your attic, wall voids, and closets.
• Look for cockroaches in humid spaces. They gravitate to boiler rooms, bathrooms, and underneath kitchen sinks.
• Look for cockroaches in tight spaces. When you inspect your attic, check between objects or in the seam and stitching of stored furniture.
• Look around and underneath appliances. It is extra work. We understand. But cockroaches love to crawl on the sides of ovens where grease and grime are often found or underneath refrigerators where they might find food particles and juice spills.
• Look for damage caused by cockroaches. They chew holes in shirts, pants, underwear, curtains, blankets, wallpaper, documents, boxes, and other items that contain cellulose.
• Look in stacks of cardboard. Cockroaches eat the cardboard and the food debris on pizza boxes. They also love the tight spaces and dark hiding places found in a stack of cardboard.
• Look for adult roaches, cockroach nymphs, shed skins, the debris of skins, ootheca, opened ootheca casings, black droppings, or black fecal spotting on fabrics.

You are now armed with the facts you need to make your home resistant to cockroach activity. Let's zero in on some specific methods you can use to make your home a cockroach-free zone. We'll build off what we've discussed thus far. 

Everything You Can Do To Reduce Your Risk For Roach Activity In Katy

You now know what attracts cockroaches. We covered all of the reasons a cockroach wants to live inside your home. But how do you use this information to keep them out? Use the following tips to reduce cockroach activity indoors and out.

• Deep clean your kitchen because cockroaches are looking for food debris.
• Deep clean your bathroom because cockroaches eat filthy things.
• Use your fan when taking a shower or bath to reduce humidity in your bathroom.
• Repair faucets or shower heads that leak to reduce water droplets.
• Install a dehumidifier to reduce the overall humidity in your home.
• Wipe down shelves and protect your food by storing items in sealed plastic containers.
• Clean dishes as you go to remove food options for hungry roaches.
• Put food and water down for pets during mealtime and collect them afterward.
• Use expanding foam to seal gaps around pipes underneath your sinks.
• Use a caulking gun to address structural gaps indoors and out.
• Repair screens, weatherstripping, door sweeps, and other construction materials used to weather-proof your home.
• Manage your trash and remove it from your home before odors develop.
• Wash your trash receptacles periodically.
• Make sure all trash receptacles are covered.
• Keep the surface under your trash receptacles as dry as possible.
• Remove organic debris next to your home to reduce food options and limit damp habitats.
• Always check used furniture before bringing any item into your home as German cockroaches often hitchhike from one home to another.
• Remove objects in your yard because cockroaches hide underneath objects to protect themselves from the drying impact of the sun. They also like those tight spaces.
• Trim your landscape vegetation to reduce the moisture and humidity trapped by vegetation.
• Clean your gutter out so that rainwater flows down and away from your home as it should.
• Fix exterior water spigots, hoses, or sprinklers if you have any leaks.
• Mix compost properly to reduce odors that attract cockroaches to this potential food source.

If you need more information about preventing cockroach infestations in Katy, how ongoing pest control service can help keep roaches out of your home, or professional cockroach extermination, contact All-Safe Pest & Termite for assistance. Our service team can answer your questions over the phone or by text and guide you toward the service options that will work best for you.

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