We all strive to create a warm and comfortable living space for ourselves and our beloved families. We go through a lot of trouble and invest time, energy and money to achieve the perfect home as we envision it. However, a cockroach infestation isn’t among the “luxuries” anyone would want to have in their home. Sadly, more often than not, those creepy roaches welcome themselves in our properties and settle down with us regardless of our preferences. So what attracts the cockroaches, and how do we keep them out of our cherished household?
What attracts cockroaches?
First and foremost, we need to understand what makes roaches choose our living space. It’s pretty simple: shelter, food and water. The pesky buggers choose us for the same reason that we build our homes. It is common to believe that having a clean home prevents a cockroach or any other type of infestation. As long as there is access to water and food, even a tidy, sparkling-clean home is a target.
How to stop cockroaches from coming into our homes?
Keeping roaches away using essential oils
The best essential oils for keeping not only cockroaches away but other bugs too are peppermint, cedarwood, tea tree and cypress. Think of all the benefits here! You will have a fresh scent filling your home, keeping pests away, and also take advantage of the positive effect that those oils have on your health too.
Seal away any entry points and hiding places
Cockroaches are very sneaky. You can’t even imagine the places they can fit through and in. You will be amazed at how dedicated they are to get in and what lengths they can reach! Next time you see a crack on the wall or a gap where walls meet up, however small they are, don’t hesitate to fill them in with some caulk or expanding foam.
Declutter your home
Having a lot of things can make it really hard to keep our homes tidy and well ordered. This also provides great spots for cockroaches to hide and breed in. It is important to try the best you can to keep everything well organised, put away in a distinct place and most importantly removing the things we don’t need or use.
Store food and put it away correctly
Don’t leave any food on the table after you have finished your meal. If you by any chance drop or spill any food on the floor, clean it up right away. Roaches are very good at detecting food even from far away and will crawl into your home to get a bite of it. It is best to seal away any leftovers in containers and put them away in the fridge.
Look well after your pets
Pet food can be a yummy treat for roaches and other critters too, rats for example. After you have fed your beloved companion clean after him and wash out his bowl. Don’t leave this initiative for the creepy crawlies to take. Consider keeping your pet’s food in plastic containers with lids rather than leaving it in the original packaging it comes in.
Take the garbage out regularly
Often people will leave a plastic bag, filled with domestic waste in their yard to throw away later. Doing this is a big mistake, as the smell of food waste will easily attract cockroaches. Once you have cockroaches near your home, they will most certainly make their way inside as well.
Keep it clean
Consider doing a thorough clean at least once a week or at least wiping down all the surfaces and mopping the floors. For this task, it is good to use bleach or detergents which contain bleach, or just any stronger cleaning product. This will help to remove the scent that roaches leave as means of communication to indicate where food and shelter are.
Cockroaches are a pain to deal with, but you sure have quite a few options to stop them from even coming close to your home to begin with. Our home is our safe fort, and we must do what is needed to protect it from those unwanted crawlies.
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