How to Keep Roaches out of Your Home

a cockroach finding crumbs on a kitchen floor

It’s easy to think of many reasons why you don’t want roaches crawling around your house. They can spread disease, trigger asthma, and cause allergic reactions. And if that wasn’t bad enough already, they can rapidly multiply and survive just about anywhere. So, the case for getting rid of them is strong, but the problem is how to get them out of your house for good.

How Hard Is It to Get Rid of Roaches?

Roaches are challenging to completely remove because of how quickly they reproduce, how adaptable they are, and how fast they evolve. Because they have a short lifespan of about 100 days, they can thrive in a lot of different types of environments, and they can develop and pass down resistances to insecticides.

Rapid Resistance

Their short lifespan and reproduction rate of every three months allows them to evolve quickly, which makes their population difficult to control. Once a mutation develops because of contact with insecticide, that mutation can be passed down genetically, making their offspring less sensitive to it.

Cross-Resistance

Roaches can develop resistance to multiple classes of insecticide at once, even if they’ve never been exposed to them. If the resistance genes are already present in the offspring, that resistance can increase dramatically within a single generation. That’s why, to effectively eliminate an infestation, any extermination plan should include a combination of chemical treatments, traps, and on-going measures to keep them away.

Behavior Resistance

Another thing that can be passed down genetically is behavior resistances. This develops when roaches learn to avoid certain food sources and bait traps and pass down those behavioral tendencies to the next generation.

What Keeps Roaches Away?

Even after eradicating the current infestation, preventative measures are needed to keep roaches away. The best thing to do is to make your home less inviting to them by taking the following actions:

  • Keep the home as clean as possible.
  • Do not leave food messes sitting around.
  • Take out the trash at the end of the day.
  • Seal any gaps or cracks around windows, doors, and the foundation.
  • Prevent any moisture from gathering within the home.

There are also various fragrances that are known to repel roaches.

  • Peppermint: a few drops of peppermint oil around kitchen cabinets or bathrooms can be disruptive to a roach’s sensory receptors and drive them away.
  • Eucalyptus: emits a strong smell that’ll repel roaches. This can be an oil solution diluted with water or fresh leaves.
  • Lavender: growing lavender around the garden or home can deter roaches, or using soaps, candles or oils.
  • Citronella: burning candles outdoors is a great repellent for roaches and mosquitoes.
  • Cedarwood: balls, chips, blocks, or oils can be placed around the house to keep away roaches and other bugs as well.

What if I just keep the light on at night? Nope. While roaches may scatter whenever a light goes on in a dark room, it doesn’t keep them from crawling around.

What Do I Do if I See Cockroaches?

If you notice a roach scurrying across your floor, the best thing to do is call a professional. Here at Royal Pest Services, we’ll provide a thorough inspection of your home to identify points of entry, potential food sources, and a treatment plan so you won’t have to worry about any unwanted roommates. Call us today at (904) 886-2847 to set up a home inspection today.

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Andy Chandra
17:49 08 Sep 21
I can not stress enough how great this company. They are bunch of professionals when it comes to customer service and following up with my concerns especially the owner of the company himself. I had termite tenting service through them and couple of my neighbors saw there was a gap hole during the tenting process and notified me. The tenting happened on the weekend and I was very concerned on the result hence I contacted Goody immediately which he was the person that did the initial inspection. Upon contacting Goody on Saturday, he advised me that he is no longer with the company and had communicated my concerns with one of his previous co-worker on Royal Pest Services. After several times texting the phone no. that was provided to me be Goody, the owner of the Royal Pest Service himself called me to address my problem on the weekend! I was surprised and also realize that the owner of the company does take pride of their service and assure me that they are rectifying the problem and advised me on solution. I am vary satisfied with the level of service and quality of this company.Anyone that need termite pest service, look no further!
Linda Springsteen
12:19 17 Jul 21
They have met my needs for over 20 years. I have my termite bond and home pest control services with them.Very pleased with the service and professional/knowledgeable staff. Highly recommended.
cindy stephens
15:38 11 Mar 21
our tech-Julius is so helpful. even if he is in our area and it's not a spray day he comes by to check on the lawn and he leaves us a note. we can ask him any question and he always give a clear answer.the office is always so helpful as well.
Richard Alleger
16:19 26 Feb 21
I met with Mike, we went over what I was hoping to accomplish with my yard and the fact that we have small children. He was helpful, informative and within 3 days Isaac had already reached out to let me know when he would be starting. It was the same week to make it all that much better! Thanks Mike and Isaac, looking forward to the results.
David Womack
18:23 19 Feb 21
I've cared for my lawn for a long time. This fall, weeds just took over and I needed help. I checked neighboring lawns and found the best looking lawns used Royal. I saw Robert Mendez spraying a neighbors lawn and talked to him as he was wrapping up. He kindly took my name and Mike called within hours. We signed up for services and Robert came back and sprayed the yard and offered some great advice. He came back 2 weeks later and retreated a couple spots and again offered some great advice. I really appreciated the personal touch and can see a dramatic improvement in such a short amount of time.
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