Our cockroach extermination services and tips
Are you finding cockroaches in your house or apartment and don’t know what to do? To carry out a successful cockroach extermination, you’ll need to put in place a careful plan that includes an effective treatment and preventive measures. Elite Pest Control can help you with this.
Damage caused by cockroach species found in Quebec
Quebec cockroaches typically enter homes from other dwellings through water lines and cracked sewage pipes. Alternatively, they can be brought indoors on furniture, second-hand clothing or packaged or bulk foods bought at the store.
The appearance of one of these resilient bugs in your kitchen, in a grocery store or in a restaurant is enough to disgust even the toughest souls. And for good reason! These undesirable insects hide in dark corners during the day and raid the rooms of your house while you sleep at night. As they explore, they track pathogens throughout your home.
Cockroaches are omnivores; they’ll eat just about anything halfway edible, from food crumbs left on counters and floors to pet food and cardboard boxes. The other problem that confronts home dwellers and restaurant managers is the masses of droppings cockroaches leave behind.
Description
Sixteen species of cockroach are commonly found in Quebec, and about 70 different species can be found throughout Canada. These include the American cockroach (with brown stripes), oriental cockroach and Pennsylvania cockroach. But it is the German cockroach that is the most widespread throughout the world and that is responsible for 70% of all cockroach infestations in in our beautiful province.
The German cockroach is easy to recognize: it is oval shaped, light brown and measures between 10 and 15 mm. It has 6 legs, which allow it to move very quickly, and two pairs of wings to help it glide when it jumps.
The female produces eggs 3 to 4 times a year inside her abdomen. Afterwards, she stashes egg sacs containing 30 to 40 eggs in crevices and cracks where they will be able to hatch in peace.
The reproduction rate of cockroaches is phenomenal. With exponential growth, a small infestation can quickly increase to unbelievable numbers—you could see up to 35,000 descendants within a single year. Our cockroach exterminators know how to prevent this from happening.
The risks that come with having cockroaches in your home
Cockroaches tend to prefer warm, humid areas in your house, such as the kitchen and the bathroom. Accumulations of cockroach droppings and secretions can thus be found in the following areas:
- Cracks and crevices around or behind kitchen cabinets
- Wall and ceiling voids
- Under or around the fridge, stove and microwave
- Near your basement water heater
- Around your washer and dryer
Unfortunately, if you’ve found cockroach poop in your house or apartment, your surroundings might be contaminated by the bacteria carried in their waste and on the legs and antennae of the insects—food poisoning is a real danger. The smell of a waste buildup is also quite unpleasant.
The bacteria found in cockroach feces can include:
- Staphylococci
- Streptococci
- Coliform bacteria
- Clostridium
- Salmonella
When these are inhaled or consumed via contaminated food, they can cause gastroenteritis, fever or allergic reactions such as nasal congestion, sneezing and asthma attacks.
In addition to the health risks they pose, cockroaches devour books and any type of paper, including bookbinding, wallpaper glue and leather. Our advice? Take the extermination of cockroaches seriously by bringing in the most experienced professionals you can find.
Tackle their food source
To successfully implement a cockroach control plan, the most important step is to eliminate their food sources. This is where you come in:
- Clean up spilled liquids and crumbs
- Wash dishes and wipe down counters, and don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight
- Vacuum everywhere (don’t forget behind the furniture and in the corners)
- Wash down cabinets and pantry
- Clean behind appliances
- Tightly close all food containers made of glass, metal and rigid plastic (no cardboard)
- Keep closets and storage areas clean and tidy
Secondly, you’ll need to tackle the cockroaches’ water source. Although they need very little water to survive, and in fact can survive for as many as 42 days without eating or drinking, it is still necessary to reduce their access to water as much as possible.
- Repair faucet leaks and maintain the pipes under the sink
- Install mesh grills in your faucet spouts if you haven’t already done so
- Place a thin wire mesh barrier over your drain holes
- Run the fan in the bathroom whenever you take a shower or bath
- Use a dehumidifier to maintain an ambient moisture content of 45% or less
- Make sure there is no standing water anywhere in the house
Remember: even a few crumbs here and there can make a great feast for cockroaches. Keep a clean kitchen and tidy up the house frequently.
Professional treatments for the extermination of cockroaches
If you have already implemented the strategies mentioned above, then you’re off to a great start. But with these insects, it’s also necessary to use proven techniques that ensure the extermination of cockroaches once and for all.
Our Elite Pest Control experts always choose treatment plans that match the needs of the people living or working in the infested dwelling. We pay special attention to environments frequented by the elderly, pregnant women and young children.
Our technicians use powders, pastes, baits and aerosols that are safe for your health and the environment. The treatments are effective for a period of three weeks; during this time, it’s very important that you don’t clean around electric baseboard heaters.
If you think you have a cockroach infestation in your home or business, call us immediately. Whether you’re the owner or tenant of a home or business, we will help you get rid of the cockroaches so you can once again have peace of mind.
