Ways To Keep The Cockroaches In Sioux Falls At Bay

No Sioux Falls pest control plan is complete without dealing with the dreaded cockroach! There are several types of cockroaches that can easily infest your South Dakota home, and they all spread diseases and leave your home a disgusting mess. The good news is you don’t have to take a roach infestation lying down. You can be proactive about preventing one.  

What Attracts Roaches To Your Home

Cockroaches are attracted to several key things common throughout your home: moisture, shelter, and food. That means roaches are more likely to be living in multiple areas of your home, such as bathrooms, kitchens, pantries, and basements or crawlspaces. These areas provide easy access to everything roaches need to survive. 

Roaches in South Dakota are especially dependent on humans for survival during our harsh winters. They often need our homes to escape the snow and frigid temperatures. You cannot exactly turn off the heat, but if you deprive roaches of food and moisture, you can make it hard enough for them to survive in your home that they move on to easier pickings. 

Ten Ways To Kill Cockroaches In Your Home

There are plenty of ways to get rid of the cockroaches crawling around your house, but the best ways don’t have anything to do with killing off existing infestations. They’re all about prevention. To keep roaches away from your home, take measures like:

• Seal off potential roach entryways like cracks and holes in the foundation or exterior. 
• Tightly cover all indoor and outdoor garbage at all times. 
• Ensure all pantry foods are stored in airtight containers to cut off access. 
• Clean up crumbs and dirty dishes immediately after meals to get rid of roach food sources.
• Declutter throughout your home to remove roach hiding places. 

If you already have an existing roach infestation and want to try to deal with it yourself, avoid using cockroach pesticide sprays. Things like foggers and bombs contain dangerous chemicals that can wind up being a lot more toxic to humans than to resistant roaches. Instead, try:

• Sticky traps – when roaches crawl over them, they’ll get stuck and die. 
• Roach baits – DIY baits can kill roaches that eat them.
• Spread diatomaceous earth – this will kill roaches that walk across it by damaging their exoskeletons and leading to dehydration. 
• Scatter boric acid – this is harmless to pets and people but when roaches consume it, it destroys their insides. 
• Use essential oils containing smells roaches hate, like lemongrass, peppermint, or citronella. 

These methods are generally safe for you to use around your home, though you should be careful to place sticky traps and baits in places where pets and small kids cannot access them. 

What Doesn't Work When Trying To Get Rid Of Roaches 

When trying to DIY a roach infestation, you need to manage your expectations. These DIY methods might work on a smaller infestation, but they also might not. Roaches are notoriously resilient, and that means they can resist most efforts to kill them. Cockroach bombs and foggers almost never work – in addition to being potentially toxic to your home’s residents. Also, even safer and more effective pest control methods may fail, especially in the face of a large infestation. So you may wind up needing professional help. 

Professional Cockroach Control Can Be A Huge Help

If you’ve got a roach infestation you just can’t seem to shake, give Olson's Pest Technicians a call. Our professional cockroach control products and techniques are much more effective than any DIY method. So that means we can ensure you never have to deal with pesky cockroaches again!