Cockroaches: Does It Work To Starve Them Out?
When you find out you have cockroaches in your Bunker Hill, IL home, the first thing you’ll want to do is go on “cockroach control” duty. You might call a friend for advice or search the Internet for solutions. Invariably, someone will suggest that you try to ‘starve ’em out.’ The idea is simple and logical, but also misguided.
The Starving Games for Cockroach Control
Not only do cockroaches multiply quickly, but they also eat voraciously, and almost indiscriminately. Their favorite foods include those with sugar, starch, or fat. But they can eat almost anything. As omnivores, they will consume plant or animal material. Going beyond that, cockroaches will eat whatever is available: pet food, moldy or pungent foods, excrement, any plants around your home, soap, makeup, parts of your home decor (wallpaper paste, paper, glue), and book bindings. Unless you strip your home down to its foundation, chances are you will not be able to starve cockroaches out of your home.
Pest Control Strategies for Cockroaches
If you catch a cockroach problem before it grows out of one room (usually the kitchen), you might have a chance to get them under control temporarily. Keeping food up and in secured containers, sweeping and cleaning regularly, and taking the garbage out regularly might slow population growth, but eventually, you’ll want to call on a professional pest control company like Imel Pest Control to eradicate the population altogether.
Roach Prevention for Cockroach Control
To keep roaches from becoming a problem in your home, you have to prevent them from coming in, to begin with. Here are some tips for avoiding a possible roach infestation.
- Check paper products thoroughly before bringing them into your home. Cockroaches will hide in cardboard boxes and paper bags at groceries, production centers, or manufacturing plants and stay until they have a good food source.
- If you move, clean out your kitchen appliances, cabinets, and pots/pans.
- If you’ve ever had roaches in your home before, clean out your couches, chairs, beds, and other furniture.
- Don’t bring flea market items into your home without a thorough cleaning and disinfecting. This includes bed frames, toys, pictures, and other home decor.
Roach prevention is often harder than it sounds, especially if you live in an apartment building or duplex. If you think you might have a cockroach problem, give Imel Pest Control a call!
