​This doesn’t necessarily and exclusively refer to the types of food that we usually eat and leave out on our dining table or on our kitchen sink. You must Remember that cockroaches will eat almost anything. It’s not just the food you feed your family, although they will happily consume that if they get the chance.

Cockroaches are voracious scavengers. They literally eat just about anything they come across with. This means that securing your food in tightly sealed containers just won’t do.

They eat a bunch of stuff. They like sweets, starches, and meats as much as they love your fallen hair, shredded skin, your newspaper, your pocketbook, and just about any type of organic matter. Cockroaches will also feed on other insects, and even things that seem completely inedible like toothpaste and soap. They’re also not above a little bit of cannibalism if other food sources are scarce.

A kitchen full of leftover food, syrup droppings, and food smudges is every scavenger’s ideal paradise. A messy and cluttered study room and bedroom are just as good.

In order to give cockroaches nothing to eat, it’s very important to stay clean. Really clean. Meticulously clean.

Wipe up any food spills as soon as they happen. Keep all food sealed in airtight containers. Cockroaches can chew through thin plastic like Ziploc bags, so invest in more rigid Tupperware or even glass containers to keep them out.

Don’t forget about behind the fridge or under the stove. These are favorite places for cockroaches to hang out, and any food spilled down there is easy to forget. But it could provide a banquet for cockroaches.

 

Recommandation:

• Keep food in sealed containers or in the refrigerator.
• Paint cabinet shelves and drawers with enamel and keep them clean.
• Rinse all recyclables clean and take them out every few days.
• Put garbage in tightly covered containers and keep them outside.
• Wash dishes, tables, counters and stove tops every day.
• Store flour, sugar, cereal, pasta and crackers in tightly covered plastic or metal containers.

 

Water Sources

Roaches need water to survive, and they’ll happily wander into your home to find it. A leaky pipe or faucet is like a water fountain for roaches. These sneaky pests will gravitate towards condensation from refrigerators or air conditioners, standing water and even your pets’ water bowls. Roaches also love to be in dark places that are seldom disturbed, and since damp areas in your home, such as basements, tend to be both dark and moist, they’re practically high-end resorts in a roach’s eyes.

When they’re not hanging out in these dank spaces, roaches also love to visit the dark corners of your cabinets and crawl under your large appliances, especially the ones that use water. Now you can understand why you so often spy roaches in your bathroom!

German cockroaches are the species most likely to invade your home. This species can live for up to a month without eating, but it can’t survive more than a week without water.So if you want to make your home cockroach free, you need to think carefully about the water sources.

There’s a reason German cockroaches are most commonly found in kitchens and bathrooms. That’s where the water is. Check all pipes to make sure nothing is leaking. High humidity is a great attractant for cockroaches.

Check also the condensation on the outside of water pipes. This provides a cockroach with all it needs to drink. Systematically eliminate all water sources, such as dripping taps and sweating pipes.This will make your house much less attractive to cockroaches.

If you have pets, you also need to think about their food and water. Try to only put out food for your pet at designated feeding times, and put it away somewhere cockroaches can’t get to it at all other times.

Cockroaches are definitely not above eating cat or dog food.  The same also applies to the water you put out for your pet. Consider investing in a special bug-proof bowl that will keep the bugs from accessing the food or water inside.

There’s another water source you almost certainly haven’t thought of: the drip catchment tray underneath your fridge.In fact, this is often the most popular place in your entire house for German cockroaches to congregate. It provides darkness, warmth from the running of the fridge’s motor, and a ready source of water in the form of condensation that collects in the tray at the bottom of the fridge.

Always check behind your fridge for cockroaches; it’s the perfect place for roaches to hide.

 

Recommandation:

• Fix all leaks.
• Clean drains.
• Keep all areas clean and dry.

 

Presence Of Damp, Dark And Hidden Places

​Cockroaches are blessed with an amazingly flexible exoskeleton. Because of this, they are able to flatten their bodies with ease and squeeze through the narrowest of holes very efficiently.Unattended cracks and holes along your walls, window frames, pipes, and conduits is like an open border. This will not only invite cockroaches into your house but other pests as well.

They are also  thigmotropic , which is a fancy way of saying that they prefer to be in close contact with something solid, ideally all around their bodies. So that means that your home offers countless resting spots for roaches, whether that means between tiles, under doors, around baseboards or in the deep recesses of your pantry. Be sure to keep up with your home repairs to avoid this problem down the line: the scary truth is that once you see one roach underneath your sink, you probably have many more lurking in the shadows.

There are  areas of the home that we just don’t think about as being access points or attractants for roaches. And while they don’t necessarily need to be fixed, they do need to be addressed in order to help prevent a roach infestation. Some items that may blend into the background or be forgotten include:

• The spaces between outside doors and floors
• Window screens that aren’t flush or that have small tears
• Air conditioner units that don’t fit properly in windows
• Crumbs underneath toaster ovens, stoves or refrigerators
• Trash cans that aren’t cleaned regularly (including bathroom trash cans)

 

Recommandation:

• Clean out junk and clutter from storage shelves, drawers and closets.
• Don’t use shelf paper.
• Get rid of unused furniture, appliances, food and clothing.
• Do home repairs: fill in cracks, seal openings around pipes, and remove chipped paint using care not to make dust if paint contains lead.
• Remove or repair loose wallpaper and plaster.

 

Uncovered Garbage:

While you may have a clean house on the inside,  roaches will be attracted to the garbage on the outside. The trash outside your dwelling is what could be causing cockroaches to enter your clean home.

​Let’s admit it, we often get tempted by the idea of not covering our bins for ease of use. However, we simply can’t deny the fact that this habit is an open invitation to a spectrum of pests especially roaches.

Our waster bins are full of all sorts of trash. But for the cockroaches, it means one thing – FOOD!

And if you are not able to empty your bin regularly, it will eventually reach the point of producing a rather unpleasant odor that gets easily picked up by guess what. . . ROACHES!

Cockroaches may not see and hear very well. However, these shortfalls are well compensated by an extra sensitive motion sensor and an extremely sharp sense of smell.

Through their antennae, cockroaches are able to pick up scents and easily home down to its source. Cockroach antennae are packed with sensory neurons that make the insect capable of picking up scent and taste as well as humidity and temperature of the environment.

If these steps don’t work, it’s time to call for professional help. There’s no need to be embarrassed; pest control specialists know how persistent and clever these bugs really are.