A Cockroach Infestation
There is nothing worse than learning that your home is infested with cockroaches. The first mating pair may have appeared up to a year ago, but because cockroaches are not only highly adept at hiding in the smallest of spaces you may not have noticed their presence until recently.
A solitary cockroach, dead or alive, is not indicative of an infestation. Neither are several big cockroaches. An infestation occurs when they are being bred in your home. You may have neither noticed nor identified the tiny cockroaches as they ran about exploring their new environment in the days following their birth, but their presence is indicative of a cockroach infestation which if left untreated, will cause a major hygiene problem in your home.
A female cockroaches carries up to 8 egg casings, each containing roughly 40 eggs, one of which she releases every six weeks or so. When hatched, the baby cockroach takes only 3 months to reach maturity, and incest is rife in the cockroach world. Every female in that group can easily find a mate and continue the process. Cockroaches live for up to 2 years, so you can understand how quickly a house can become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of cockroaches.
A mating pair can be responsible for 2 million cockroaches in only a year.
Once you realise you have a nest in your home, you need to find out where the nest is. Switch off all the lights in the house, wait a while, then open a room door and switch a light on. If there are cockroaches there you should see at least one of them fleeing for cover. Cockroaches move very fast. It is reckoned they can run at 3mph! The most likely places for your cockroaches are in the kitchen or the bathroom. Cockroaches need a steady water supply.
Once you have identified where the majority of them are, you can follow the steps below.
So how do you Deal with this Problem?
My first suggestion would be the tried and trusted method of all using Borax powder.
Mix a handful of borax with some sugar and place in the washed/dried upturned lid of a jar. The sugar will attract them (cockroaches have a sweet tooth) and the borax will kill them.
You should see some dead cockroaches around the place within a few days.
However, the old saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” holds true for cockroaches, and there are some that may not take the bait.
Cockroach Trap
You can lay a cockroach trap. You can either buy one in that has a sticky surface so that cockroach is stuck to it and can’t escape, or you can make your own with a clear glass jar that you either put a little water in (this works better in hotter countries) or a little bit of food. Once the cockroach enters, it cannot escape even without a lid as the glass sides are too hard and smooth for it to walk up.
Cockroaches frequently walk along walls and ceilings because they have claw-like structures at the ends of their legs that allow them the hold on the surfaces. They cannot walk on glass.
Cockroach Extermination Chemicals
You can now buy profession cockroach killing bait or sprays in any good hardware store. If you are using a fumigating spray, it is better to put everything away in cupboards, all your personal belongings, ornaments etc, in case the spray damages anything. In the kitchen, do not leave anything out, and wear a mask while you spray. It is even better if you can arrange to not only go out for the day afterwards, but arrange to stay with a relative or friend overnight to avoid breathing in the fumes.
If you have the money, call in a professional cockroach exterminator. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.
If you want to know more about cockroaches, look at this article, The Cockroach.