Cockroach Pest Control
A cockroach infestation is not only a nuisance, but also a significant health risk. Cockroaches spread a wide range of diseases, including salmonella and staphylococcus. Unfortunately, they can be surprisingly difficult to detect and even more difficult to get out of your home.
How Do Cockroaches Enter the Home?
Cockroaches can travel via a wide variety of objects, including briefcases, grocery bags, furniture, mattresses and suitcases. They may come from hotels, loved ones’ homes, or even retail outlets. Often, people unknowingly bring roach eggs into their homes, making the source of the infestation that much more difficult to track.
What Problems Can Cockroaches Cause?
Cockroaches are notorious for spreading disease and causing allergic reactions. They contaminate food and water by defecating in it. They can also cause significant damage to drapes, wallpaper, and books.
How Do You Know If You Have Cockroaches?
The most obvious way to detect cockroaches is to see them, but signs may exist long before you lay eyes on a cockroach. Look for feces, which may resemble black pepper. You may also spot egg casings, which have a brownish color and an elongated shape. Large populations of cockroaches give off a musky smell, which most people find incredibly putrid.
How Common Are Cockroaches in Alberta?
Cockroaches are not native to Canada, but they have unfortunately made their way into Alberta and other provinces. They frequently are found in homes in Alberta during the winter months, when they seek shelter in humid household environments. The City of Edmonton in particular has seen a steady increase of cockroach infestations in the past few years.
Common Types of Cockroaches in Alberta
German Cockroach
The German cockroach is the most common species of the cockroach. German cockroaches can breed at a rate of up to six generations per year. The German cockroach can fit through an opening as small as 3/8 inch in width. German cockroaches will feed on almost anything, including soap, glue and toothpaste. German cockroaches are good hitchhikers and often find their way into new structures via grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons and secondhand appliances. German cockroaches prefer to live in warm, humid places close to food and moisture sources. They are frequently found in residential and commercial kitchen environments, and bathrooms.
American Cockroach
American cockroaches will move indoors when they experience a food shortage or a significant change in the climate. In general, American cockroaches prefer warm, moist and dark environments with temperatures between 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. They often enter structures by being brought in on human belongings, coming up from the sewer system via drains or occasional mass migration from other structures, dumps, etc., during warm weather.
American cockroaches are especially common in larger commercial buildings such as restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, food processing plants, hospitals, etc., where they usually infest food storage and food preparation areas, boiler rooms, steam tunnels and basements.
Oriental Cockroach
Oriental cockroaches are believed to be of North African origin, despite their name. Oriental roaches are sometimes called “waterbugs” because they come out of drains, and “black beetle cockroaches” because of their smooth, dark bodies. They are known for their strong, unpleasant, “roachy” odor.
The Oriental cockroach feeds on all kinds of food, especially decaying organic matter and starchy foods. This species of cockroach can survive outdoors in freezing temperatures for long periods of time.
Outside, Oriental cockroaches are often found in sewers and under debris, leaves, stones and firewood. They will enter structures through door thresholds, under sliding glass doors, along utility pipes and through floor drains. Once indoors, Oriental cockroaches find harborage in basements and crawl spaces.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
The specific treatment method used to rid your home of cockroaches depends on the extent of the infestation. Several different treatments may be needed to get rid of cockroaches for good.
When to Hire a Professional Cockroach Exterminator
If you are suffering from a cockroach infestation, Alberta Health recommends hiring a professional pest control company like Assassin Pest Solution. If you rent, know your landlord is legally obliged to keep your home pest-free. Call Health Link at 811 to register a complaint if your landlord fails to fix the problem.
If you’re not sure if you have a cockroach infestation, give us a call. You can confidentially discuss your situation with us, and if needed one of our licensed and experienced exterminators will assess the situation and inform you of the findings and your options.
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