Sanitation is an important step in eliminating your roach problem.
Texas might be home to the Cockroach Hall of Fame -- a quirky tourist attraction in Plano -- but the pests are welcome in few other buildings in the Lone Star State. The state is home to a wide variety of roaches, including the small roaches that commonly infest urban areas across the United States and large, flying varieties that live along the Gulf Coast. Considering they multiply quickly and can contaminate food, you won't want any variety to be your guest for long. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Identification
1. Determine what sort of roaches are the problem.
2. Use adhesive traps near places of suspected infestation. Check which species are in your house and determine the severity of the infestation.
3. Make your home as cockroach-unfriendly as possible, regardless of what species you have. Keep your home clean. Wash all dirty dishes. Clean up all food and crumbs. Seal garbage and pet food containers tightly.
Indoor Roaches
4. Use chemical measures to cull your roach population. Place store-bought bait near locations where you most often see roaches. Spread a light layer of powdered roach control products -- such as boric acid -- under your furniture. Concentrate on your refrigerator, areas around pipes and cracks and crevices near suspected populations. Spray small amounts of aerosol poison in hidden areas, away from areas where food preparation takes place. Spray it where you suspect roaches might take shelter.
5. Keep areas where you lay out bait particularly clean, since roaches are less likely to take the bait and spread it to their nests if they have other food sources.
6. Contact a pest control professional licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture Structural Pest Control Service if you are unable to get rid of your roaches on your own.
Outdoor Roaches
7. Seal up all possible entryways for roaches. Fill in any cracks in your foundation or exterior walls wider than 1/8 inch. Reinforce seals around windows, doors and air conditioning units. Repair leaky pipes and cracked ceilings.
8. Move potential homes for outdoor roaches -- such as woodpiles, outdoor garbage dumpsters and other collections of debris -- as far away from your home or garage as possible.
9. Turn off lights around the outside of your home whenever possible to avoid attracting flying species of cockroaches.
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