How to Keep Cockroaches Out of Your Apartment
Your apartment is a safe space, a haven to get away from the day and whatever took place. It’s where you wind down, relax, and rest your body and mind. Simply put, it’s where you live. However, it can also become home to free-riding roommates in the form of roaches. The close quarters of apartments unfortunately make roaches a real problem. However, there are ways you can help keep cockroaches out of your apartment.
Clean Regularly
Cockroaches absolutely adore filth and grime. In fact, it’s where they thrive. Apartments attract roaches because of the availability of food and shelter. This being said, if the complex is not kept up as it should be, it can be a prime place for roaches to nest in.
While you can’t do anything about your neighbors’ cleaning habits, you can do what you can to ensure your apartment stays clean. Cleaning often helps remove potential food sources for roaches, which is good news for you. You’ll want to routinely take out the trash, keep lids on trash bins, seal up food in containers, and tuck away pet food in the evening and night hours.
As a general rule, it’s best to keep things clean and tidy around your apartment. This said, roaches are roaming Roombas when it comes to food sources; they don’t even discriminate between food and non-food and have been known to dine on wallpaper paste!
Vacuum Too
Cockroaches can grow in size and number; one egg has the potential to become up to 50 new roaches! To help keep roaches from multiplying in your apartment, you’ll want to break out the vacuum and get to work. And don’t just do surface-deep vacuuming. Utilize your vacuum’s attachments to get behind every crevice and hard-to-reach spot to eliminate their eggs. Once you’ve done a thorough once-over, dump your vacuum’s contents in a trash bag and dispose of it away from your apartment.
Treat for and Trap Cockroaches
Roaches can enter your apartment in many ways. One of those ways is through any tiny cracks and spaces in the structure. Luckily, you can do things to tightly seal and treat your baseboards to help prevent roaches from staying past their welcome. For instance, you can lightly spread diatomaceous earth along baseboards, on outlets, and in cracks. This dehydrates bugs, and just a little bit goes a long way.
Additionally, you can opt to trap existing roaches and would-be newcomers. You can make your own homemade mix (a citrus pulp, brown sugar, cornmeal, and boric acid blend) or use roach-bait traps available in stores. Place these traps where you think roaches are entering your apartment.
Minimize Moisture Sources
Like filth and grime, moisture is a major attractor of cockroaches. They’re even known to come into homes and apartments through a shower or sink drain. A good fix is to place covers on your drains at night and when you’re not at home. Fully drain water from sinks and tubs after using.
If your apartment does have a leak, bring it to your landlord’s attention ASAP to get it fixed. Cockroaches are particularly fond of leaky conditions and will settle where it’s dark, damp, and snug for them.
Still have a roach problem and not sure how to deal with it? Vulcan Termite and Pest Control can help you get rid of roaches, as well as other less-than-loved pests in and around your apartment or home. Contact us for hassle-free pest elimination services, and we’ll be out to treat. Plus, be sure to come back to our blog for more tips on how to keep pest populations from bugging you!