9 Tips to Prevent American Cockroaches

It’s crucial to note that once you see a cockroach in your house, it’s time to get rid of it. This doesn’t mean you need to call an exterminator immediately. There is a way to take care of cockroaches by yourself.

You will attract plenty of cockroaches into your house. If you were to leave food unattended or have plenty of dirty dishes in the sink. Moving forward, here are some tips to help prevent American cockroaches. This should keep you from attracting cockroaches from infesting your precious home.

9 Tips to Prevent American Cockroaches

1. Throw away cardboard boxes

Cockroaches breed in cardboard boxes. This also includes newspapers but they love cardboard more. So make you get rid of such boxes from in and around your home. It’s worse if you keep the boxes outside your house. They’ll find a way to enter and stay.

2. Check your plumbing

American cockroaches feed off on extremely moisture-diseased areas. So why shouldn’t this include faulty plumbing or leaky pipes in your kitchen? Do regular plumbing inspections to prevent American cockroaches.

If you do find an issue, take care of it immediately. Either you do the plumbing by yourself or you hire professional plumbing services like Hy-Pro Plumbing & Drain Cleaning for a quick fix.

The main areas that you need to inspect are faucets, sinks, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Even appliances that use water must be regularly maintained to prevent leaks.

3. Buy a garbage disposal system

A garbage disposal system can be a life-saver for a large family. It turns certain solid food into mush which helps you dispose of them better. With a powerful horsepower and stainless steel construction, buying one is essential.

You can discard potato peels, kitchen scraps, and fibrous veggies without thinking twice. It comes with a grinder and you can connect it with a septic tank for extra accessibility.

How does this prevent American cockroaches? If you leave food out, you’re literally feeding the cockroaches. And if you throw all the kitchen scraps in the garbage disposal system, your sink is clean and scrap-free. Leaving no room for cockroaches to make your kitchen their feast.

4. Keep your kitchen clutter-free

Clutter is a cockroach’s best friend. The more disorganized your kitchen, the harder it is to find signs of cockroaches. The game of hide-and-seek is always in favor of cockroaches then. And you’ll only notice an infestation once it gets out of hand.

So to prevent American cockroaches from taking over, keep it clean and organized. This means keeping not only your kitchen but your home organized.

A garbage disposal system can be a life-saver for a large family. It turns certain solid food into mush which helps you dispose of them better. With powerful horsepower and stainless steel construction, buying one is essential.

You can discard potato peels, kitchen scraps, and fibrous veggies without thinking twice. It comes with a grinder and you can connect it with a septic tank for extra accessibility. Check the septic tank diagram to understand how it works.

5. Fix cracks in walls and seal gaps

This is one way in which American cockroaches enter your home. They can easily crawl under doors or get through the tiniest of cracks in the walls. If your cabinets have gaps between doors, it’s time to seal them.

Looking for cracks in walls and gaps is the easy part. With a small flashlight, you can inspect every corner of your house. Including your kitchen cabinets and under doors.

The tough part is to seal them. You’ll need caulk to fill in the gaps of smaller holes or cracks. For the bigger ones, you can squeeze in foam pads or steel wool.

If you want a more professional touch, you’ll need to hire carpenters to do this for you.

6. Vacuum your house

Vacuuming the kitchen floor and other areas of your house is necessary. Do this once or twice in a day to get rid of any food scraps. And it also vacuums roach feces, eggs, and dead cockroaches from corners.

Vacuuming promotes proper sanitation. Leaving no room for cockroaches to hide or breed. Like I said before, they won’t breed in clean and disinfected spots.

7. Keep or store food in sealed containers

This is the most common cause of cockroaches. If you keep food out in the open, it will attract cockroaches. This could be human food or pet food. You will attract cockroaches even if you keep it in the refrigerator.

Sealing food in containers preserves its freshness and flavor. This means the food won’t spoil quickly. And you would be doing yourself a favor by not attracting cockroaches into your house.

No matter where you are, in the kitchen, the dining room, etc. Always keep your food sealed.

8. Disinfect everything

You would be surprised to know the number of dirty spots in your kitchen. The only solution to taking care of them is to disinfect. And this does not mean to clean it with a simple wipe. Cleaning is when you wipe a surface with soap or detergent. It may look clean but you’ve not killed all germs and bacteria.

You can make your own disinfectant at home using vinegar, lemon, and rubbing alcohol. Homemade disinfectants get rid of all germs, stains, and stickiness.

9. Get rid of mold

Mold attracts moisture which attracts American cockroaches. Though mold is found in most homes, you need to be extra careful. Look at the walls in your cabinets, behind the stove, appliances, etc.

If you have musty or humid mold, you need to take action immediately. This means hiring professionals who use high-quality and strong household cleaners. Distilled vinegar, baking soda, and chlorine bleach get rid of mold.

Final Thoughts

Believe it or not, there are over 4,000 species of roaches in the world. American cockroaches are just one of them. But they’re also more common in homes. You will find American cockroaches or German cockroaches in a house.

You can distinguish between both by their size and color. American cockroaches are big and dark brown in color. Meanwhile, German cockroaches are slightly smaller and less dark.

These tips will help you prevent them from taking over your home. These tips are not only for getting rid of or preventing cockroaches. They’re ideal for keeping your house germ-free and clean.