What It Takes To Get Rid Of A Cockroach Infestation In Your Chesapeake Home

Have you ever been startled by a cockroach? These pests have a habit of catching locals off guard and giving them a fright. They also pose some really big problems inside and around homes. There is a good chance that you may not have considered these pests or the ways they might impact you, your family, and your property. To make sure you have everything you need to identify, prevent, and eliminate these invasive insects, this is what you should know about the cockroaches in Chesapeake and how to stop these bugs from bugging you locally. Contact our team at Hawk Mosquito & Pest if you would like to learn about our advanced service offerings to handle problematic insects like roaches. We can share with you some options for pest control in Chesapeake and schedule an appointment for your property. If you are just looking to learn more about roaches and would like to know some tips and tricks to prevent these pests, keep reading. We have everything you need to know.

Clear Signs Of A Cockroach Infestation In Your Home

It is not always easy to tell when roaches are around. These small bugs are great at staying out of sight and will only come out into the open when they feel it is safe to do so. Often, this means only coming out late at night after you and your family have gone to bed. If you want to identify these pests quickly and don't mind waking up in the middle of the night, set the alarm for 4 am, wake up, and go around your home flicking on lights. If you see little bugs skitter off into hiding at lightning speeds, you probably have a cockroach infestation. This, of course, is not the only way to identify these pests. Another popular method involves looking for the signs these bugs leave behind.

Here are some steps we recommend you take to spot common signs of cockroaches inside your Chesapeake home:

• Check around your home's exterior for gaps, cracks, and other damage that might allow cockroaches or other pests an easy way to get indoors. This does not directly indicate an infestation but shows the potential of one.
• Look in the back of your pantries, inside your cupboards, and under your refrigerator for tiny black specs. These are roach droppings and are a sign that these pests are nibbling on your food while you are asleep.
• Check baseboards and floorboards around your home for grease smears. Roaches have dirty bodies and often smear their grime on surfaces they travel over.
• Look under refrigerators, stoves, and in other secluded areas around your home for shed skin. Shed skin is usually pale white and can have the appearance of certain roach features. 
• Inspect hard-to-reach areas around your home for egg capsules. Some species of roaches, like German cockroaches, carry their eggs with them. This can make them a bit harder to identify.

When cockroaches invade homes here in Chesapeake, they do not immediately leave signs behind. It can sometimes take months before any clear clues present themselves. Keeping this in mind, if you even suspect these bugs are inside your home, talk with our team about identification. Our technicians are trained to stop all sorts of common pests before they become a serious problem indoors. We would be happy to pay you a visit and help you assess the condition of pest pressures inside or around your home. Identification is especially important, given how dangerous and destructive roaches are. Here is a bit more that you should know about the problems these pests bring with them.

Common Problems Cockroaches Cause

It is not hard to imagine that cockroaches are a problem. One look at these nasty little insects is all it takes to sense danger. The trick is understanding how these pests are a problem. You might think that they bite, sting, or pose a direct threat to your health. This isn't entirely the case. Although many types of cockroaches are able to bite humans, they are extremely unlikely to do so. A roach's first instinct is to run away. It is only if you trap one in your hands that it might lash out. That said, the problems the roaches cause are not insignificant. Let's break down each of these problems in a clear way so you can best understand your risk.

• Disease: Cockroaches consume things that other creatures do not. In nature, this is helpful for cleaning up our environment. Inside homes, this is a threat to your health. You see, when a cockroach crawls over and consumes things like fecal matter, rotting meat, and decaying vegetable matter, they pick up harmful bacteria, pathogens, and parasitic worms. They then carry these sickness vectors over countertops, tables, and leftover food. Common diseases you might contract from having these pests inside your home include cholera, giardia, salmonellosis, and listeriosis. 
• Respiratory Problems: When you have cockroaches in your home, you also have their feces and shed skin. These things can break down into dust-like particles and trigger asthma attacks and allergic reactions in people with respiratory problems. The more roaches there are inside your home, the more likely you will be to suffer from this medical threat. 
• Property Damage: Cockroaches are not the most destructive creatures in Chesapeake, but they are still a problem in this way. These bugs will nibble on food packaging as well as book glue, clothing, carpets, and other items. Severe infestations often lead to moderate property damage.

We would very much like to help you avoid the problems that cockroaches bring into homes. For straightforward solutions to these pests, here are some things to consider about DIY and professional cockroach control in  Chesapeake and which is best for long and short-term prevention and elimination.

Call The Experts For Total Cockroach Control For Your Home

There are numerous reasons that you should avoid cockroaches in Chesapeake. These pests have the ability to drastically affect your health and will damage your property if given the chance. Thankfully, you have options to control them here at Hawk Mosquito & Pest. Our team offers effective strategies to combat roaches in every stage of their development. It all starts with a thorough inspection of your home and property. We will find out where these bugs are hiding and determine the severity of your infestation. After this, we will offer you options for treatment. The three main control methods we use for roaches are gel baits, dusting, and foam. Your expert technician will discuss these options with you and help you make an active decision on what is best for your home and property. We will also talk you through long-term prevention and show you how you can be free of a wide range of pests year-round.

Contact us at Hawk Mosquito & Pest to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Chesapeake and find a treatment time that works for you.

Why DIY Cockroach Control Is A Waste Of Time And Money

Understanding cockroaches is only half the battle. What is most important is that you know how to combat these insects. There are several factors that make it difficult to successfully control an infestation. First, cockroaches are incredibly resilient. They are able to withstand 900 times their own body weight in pressure and five times more radiation than humans. They are also much less likely to be affected by many general pest control products. Second, these bugs are fast. The average roach is able to skitter at three miles an hour. Finally, roaches are reactive and smart. They will actively learn that certain areas are dangerous and avoid them. If necessary, these bugs will hide inside wall voids and other secluded areas until it is safe to come back out.

One thing to consider before attempting to control cockroaches on your own is the risk of using pest control products. Because roaches are so resilient, professionals often use powerful treatments to handle active infestations. When used improperly, these products can be harmful to humans and pets. If you are not a trained professional, do not try to handle these bugs on your own.

The good news is that cockroaches can be deterred using DIY techniques. If you have some time on your hands and you don't yet have cockroaches in your home, consider implementing some basic exclusion and prevention to keep these bugs at bay. Common methods for cockroach prevention include sealing gaps, holes, and cracks in your home's exterior, repairing damage to window and door screens, keeping your living areas clean and tidy, reducing clutter whenever possible, addressing moisture issues, and storing food inside air-tight containers. An even more effective option for prevention involves bringing in our trained professionals. Our team at Hawk Mosquito & Pest understands roaches and has the tools and training to help you deal with these pests before or after they become a problem. Here are some more things you should know about our service offerings.