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Cockroach Control
SO YOU'VE REALLY HAD IT WITH THOSE COCKROACHES
Don't get mad - get them! Roaches are nothing to be ashamed of. Even the best-kept homes have them. But don't throw up your hands and surrender. After all, you're bigger and smarter than they are, and you have a friend on your side... your professional pest control operator. One call, and help will be on its way.
But first, get a better undrerstanding of roaches and how to find them. Peek behind the shadows where roaches feed and breed. Discover their ugly secrets. You'll learn how your professional PCO can stop them, so that you can once again feel truly at home. And you'll learn some of the simple things you can do yourself to keep roaches from coming back.
Take heart. Once you've made up your mind that the roaches have finally got to go, your professional pest control operator and you can take care of the problem.
Cockroaches - A disaster that was waiting to happen to you
The history of the cockroach is one of nature's greatest success stories.
Cockroaches are among the oldest living things on the planet - literally older than the hills. Over 300 million years ago the Appalachian Mountains and the Alps were rising - and cockroaches were there. Eons later, the futile method of control practiced throughout human history had its start when they got underfoot of the dinosaurs.
Cockroaches are remarkable survivors. They can go weeks without food or water. And they have adapted to conditions in nearly every corner of the globe. However, of the nearly 4000 species, only five are major indoor pests in the United States: the American cockroach, the Oriental, the brown-banded, the smokey brown, and most widespread of all, the German cockroach.
These five, however, do enough damage to rank cockroaches with termites as the most destructive indoor pests in the country. But unlike termites, which consume and destroy, cockroaches contaminate and infect. Cockroaches transmit at least 13 human diseases, usually by contaminating food through simple body contact or through their saliva or excrement. Their calling cards include common food poisoning as well as typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis, allergies and leprosy.
However, they can also exact a toll in economic losses and mental distress. In restaurants, a cockroach on the floor sends diners out the door. In offices, cockroaches have been known to enter and short-circuit computers and other sensitive electronic equipment. And their mere presence is a major embarrassment in any home.
First, put out the unwelcome mat
Cockroaches ask little from life: nothing more than food, shelter, moisture and warmth... conditions they find in most homes, including some of the cleanest. But there are steps you can take to protect yours. To prevent infestation, first, deny them entrance, and second, deny them the food and shelter they need to survive.
Though your professional pest control operator (PCO) can tell you for sure, chances are the species you come up against will be the German cockroach. About half an inch long, the German is much smaller than the American and Oriental varieties, which makes it much easier to slip into the home unnoticed, and easier to hide once inside. The German also multiplies faster than most other species. Potentially, one pair of German cockroaches in one year could be responsible for a million offspring.
Like other species, the German leaves its hideouts to feed mostly at night. And though it is unusually active, it is also uncommonly crafty. So, by the time bugs are first spotted, your home could be alive with hundreds of young and adult cockroaches.
What can you do? Because German cockroaches are so small, it's hard to keep them out.
But you don't have to give them an engraved invitation. Inspect all incoming goods, especially groceries. And seal off all possible points of entry such as around pipes and cracks in the walls.
If cockroaches do get in, you can make your home an undesirable environment for them by keeping it neat and clean. Don't let trash pile up and provide breeding and hiding places. Store food in containers which cockroaches cannot penetrate. And don't feed cockroaches by letting crumbs accumulate around dining or food preparation areas. In short, anything you do to improve sanitation is a blow against cockroaches.
However, though these steps will only discourage cockroaches, they cannot eliminate them. If pressed, cockroaches can live in any warm, dark place - in closets, drawers, even in radios, tv sets and other appliances. And though they prefer to eat what you eat, they can also live on things like book bindings and furniture glue. To stamp out cockroaches, and keep them out for good, you'll need the help of a PCO using a proven effective insecticide.
You have a strong ally in the war against cockroaches
The PCO is a veteran in the war against roaches. He knows their ways and their wiles. He knows roaches are prolific breeders. So he strives to get every one of them, and leave no survivors. And that's precisely what he's trained to do.
First, he'll make a thorough inspection to positively identify the species and all areas of infestation. If necessary, he'll set out monitoring traps or apply a flushing agent to make the roaches' hiding places known. Then, following the proper safety precautions, he'll initiate treatment with the appropriate insecticide.
When roaches are numerous, it may be necessary to drill a few inconspicuous holes in walls to spray those likely to be taking shelter inside. Some roaches may try to take evasive action.
So, not only will immediate problem areas be treated, but adjacent areas too. However, the application points will be primarily the cracks and crevices roaches hide in and the perimeters they travel along. Application to exposed surfaces will be minimal.
After treatment, you'll soon notice a falling off in roach activity, but it may be some days before it ceases altogether. Your PCO will tell you what you can do to help prevent a recurrence. He'll monitor roach populations, prior insecticide treatments, sanitation conditions and prescribe additional control programs in follow-up visits. Regular visits from your PCO can give you peace of mind at a very reasonable cost. You'll rest assured that roaches are gone - and gone for good.
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