As we enter into British summer time, this can unfortunately have a few downsides when it comes to pests. Quite often during the warmer months, certain pests tend to come out more and you will notice this more in your day to day life. One of the most common pests that we encounter throughout summer, are cockroaches. These are one of the most unpleasant insects, and you most certainly would not like an infestation of them on your property.
However, sometimes you cannot prevent this, but rather have to know how to respond if you do get a cockroach problem. Here at Hunts Pest Control, we deal with a whole variety of pest problems and are trained to handle this effectively and safely. So, we wanted to give you some advice on what you should do if you have a cockroach problem.
How do you know if you have a cockroach problem?
Having a cockroach infestation at your property isn’t always immediately obvious. They do tend to house themselves in a closed, hidden area, so you won’t necessarily see them or know about them straight away. Instead, you must be wary of signs of a cockroach infestation. These may include droppings, shed skin, smear marks and an unpleasant smell.
Cockroaches are notorious for carrying an unusual and unpleasant smell. Therefore, if they are hiding away in your property somewhere, this may be one of the things you notice first. Droppings are another clear sign that you may have an insect problem on site. As for smear marks and shed skin, this is quite unique to cockroaches, so if you notice either of these two things, it is quite likely that you could be dealing with a cockroach infestation.
Identify the location
After you have noticed the signs of a cockroach infestation, you should try to locate it. Though they like to hide away, there is no specific climate or habitat that they necessarily go for. This means that there are various places that they could be gathered. Furthermore, while there are different species of cockroach, they are all commonly found in different areas, and so you must explore this in order to try and identify the infestation.
We recommend checking anywhere with cracks or access where the cockroaches could potentially get into the walls or behind the skirting boards. Furthermore, you should check every room from your kitchen, to your bathroom, to the basement. They could be anywhere, and you should try and locate the problem before doing anything else.
Keep everywhere as clean as possible
Cockroaches are actually quite dangerous as they can carry diseases such as salmonella and gastro-enteritis. They spread this through droppings and contaminating surfaces. They can also carry things like viruses and dysentery, as well as cause allergies and tapeworms. Therefore, it is incredibly unhygienic as well as dangerous to have these insects on your property.
We strongly advise that you deep clean everything and don’t leave any area untidy. This goes for after the problem is controlled, too, as there could be droppings or contaminated surfaces left behind.
Call pest control
As soon as you suspect a cockroach infestation at your property you must call pest control. We have mentioned the many risks that these insects carry, and therefore it is very important to get them cleared and removed from your property immediately.
Pest control teams are trained to do this safely and ensure that the problem is fully controlled and that your property is safe afterwards. The longer you leave a pest problem, the worse it will become and the more risks you will cause yourself.
If you would like any advice or suspect that you have a pest problem, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help.