Four Easy-To-Spot Signs Of Cockroaches In Your West Palm Beach Home

What's The Big Deal?

If you have cockroaches in your West Palm Beach home, you probably don't know it. In fact, the appearance of cockroaches (even just a few of them) is a sign of a large infestation. So, it is important to know what signs cockroaches leave around.

These signs can help you detect cockroaches early and get rid of them before they make you sick (If you don't know, they are sure to make you sick.) Cockroaches are implicated in the spread of more than 33 kinds of bacteria, seven human pathogens, and six unique parasitic worms.

Signs Of A Cockroach Infestation

You definitely don't want these insects inside your home. Here's what you need to look for and how to eliminate pests from your West Palm Beach home.

Feces

Cockroach excrement is black. You may see it as specks, smears, or stains. Here are a few common places you might find it:

In the cabinet underneath your kitchen or bathroom sink.
In the backs of your kitchen drawers.
Underneath or behind appliances.
On baseboards, especially behind objects.
In cracks and crevices.
Stuck to walls in storage rooms, or in your pantry.
On stored furniture and underneath pillows or cushions.
On attic insulation.
In the seams of stored mattresses or box springs.
In stored clothing.
Inside electrical boxes.

Cockroaches will leave their excrement all over your home, but you're most likely to find it in dark secluded spaces and hiding under or behind objects.

Shed Skins

Cockroaches pass through several instars. Each time they grow, they shed their old cuticle (skin) and develop a new one. This replacement of skins is one of the reasons they can become resistant to chemicals.

New skins can be developed to resist harmful chemicals the cockroach has been exposed to. These skins can also be a helpful way to detect cockroach activity inside your West Palm Beach home. Look for these shed skins in all the places you would look for cockroach excrement.

Egg Cases

Most cockroaches will leave their egg cases lying around for you to find. These egg cases (called ootheca) look like little pouches. These pouches may be dark reddish brown or an orange to yellow coloration, depending on the species.

German cockroaches produce the orange to yellow egg sacs. When you find these, they aren't likely to be intact. German cockroaches carry their oothecae around with them. Look for oothecae, whole or broken, in the same locations you look for excrement.

A Bad Smell

Cockroaches use pheromones to communicate with each other. These pheromones have a scent that you will probably consider to be unpleasant. Some describe it as an oily, musky smell. If there are cockroaches hiding in your home, you may be able to smell them. So as you look for the other three signs listed above, be on the lookout (sniffout?) for the scent of cockroaches.

What To Do When You Detect Cockroach Activity

In light of the many ways cockroaches can make you and your family ill, we strongly recommend contacting a licensed pest management professional to address cockroach infestations. It can be very difficult to exterminate cockroaches because of their incredible resistance to chemicals and their behavior patterns. There are, however, a few things you can do to protect yourself.

Store your food in sealed containers. This will help to keep cockroaches out. A roach can chew through paper, cardboard, and thin plastic.

Keep your kitchen, and particularly your trash receptacles, clean. This can prevent roaches from picking up harmful organisms and transporting them to sensitive areas such as stored food, dishes, silverware, and food-preparation surfaces.
Keep your bathroom as clean as possible. Cockroaches eat feces, toothpaste, and dead skin. If they explore your bathroom, they can become contaminated.
If you have a cat, make sure all excrement stays covered.
Thoroughly clean your recyclables before putting them in the bin.
Clean spills up immediately.

How Native Pest Management Can Help

If you are currently dealing with a cockroach infestation, our licensed professionals can apply industry-leading control products and methods to eliminate them. We can also help you get control of cockroaches long before you see evidence of them!

Reach out to us and ask about our West Palm Beach home pest control and commercial pest control plans. No home should be without a pest plan. Get yours in place today.