Cockroaches aren't only interested in dirty homes, so if you find cockroaches in your house don't feel bad. Yes it's true they are attracted to crumbs and odors in your home, but they are just looking for the essentials to survive: food, water, shelter, and warmth. This makes any house a desirable location for a cockroach to reside. Let's take a look at the most common places to find a roach in your home.
Kitchen
Where is the one place in your home you can find food, water, shelter, and warmth in one place? The kitchen! Your kitchen is a roach's dream home. They have many sources of water, from the sink, the pipes, or your refrigerator. Cockroaches love moisture, so make sure to check your pipes aren't leaking. Atop other issues, leaking pipes, especially under your sink, will be a hotspot for cockroaches.
Dishes in the sink are a double whammy. Sinks tend to have food scraps and standing water in the same place, a convenient dining experience for a cockroach. The easiest way to cancel their dinner plans is to clean your dishes as you use them, or just put them in the dishwasher. If you use the dishwasher, make sure it seals properly and isn't leaking.
Sealing food and appliances is also an important step to denying cockroaches access to their cravings. If you have any leftover food, make sure it is put away in airtight sealable containers. The goal is to keep the alluring smells in, and the roaches out. This applies to pet food as well. If you have trouble resealing your pet food, consider putting it in a plastic container.
Bathroom
Another favorite location for cockroaches is your bathroom. Lots of smells, water, clutter and dark spaces provide cockroaches a perfect environment to thrive in. Cockroaches are known to eat anything, even human feces, so don't be surprised if you see them in your toilet bowl. Your shower, sink, toilet, and even cabinets are common places for cockroaches to reside. They love the moisture and shade provided by these locations. We all know how much moisture builds up in our bathroom during a long hot shower. If this seems to be a consistent problem for you, consider using a dehumidifier to get rid of excess moisture that may be looming in your bathroom.
Furniture
A cockroach infestation is a huge issue because roaches are not picky. They will eat anything and live anywhere they can fit, even your furniture. Here are a few places you may not expect cockroaches to be hiding:
Couches
Cushions
Tables
Chairs
Shelves
Cupboards
Cabinets
Dressers
Rugs
Carpeting
It's important to check these areas for roaches, or their egg casings. Often they will sneak into dark, obscure places, leave their egg casing, and move on. If you notice any egg casings get rid of them immediately or a fresh batch of cockroaches are soon to be on your case. If you notice any small roach droppings, or chewed wood, you are probably looking at heavy roach activity.
Basement and Attic
Your basement and attic are often less taken care of than the rest of your home. Unless you use them daily, you may even forget about maintaining them. Often the basement and attic are easy access for cockroaches to get into your home via poor weather stripping. Make sure your house is properly sealed from the outside, so bugs cannot get in so easily.
Often used for storage, basements and attics can be full of clutter. Clutter is like a hotel for cockroaches. It provides them with many different locations to seek shelter and lay their eggs. Cockroaches are extremely fond of cardboard boxes, stacks of paper, and clothes. Take the time to declutter your home, and you will lower your chance of harboring a hoard of cockroaches.
Other Locations
Other than the 5 places listed above, cockroach activity is commonly found in a few other places throughout the house. You may think your eyes are playing tricks on you, but cockroaches can be found lounging on ceilings. This can be troublesome because it is hard to combat a ceiling cockroach since they could fall or fly on to you.
Garages also tend to have a lot of clutter, darkness, and moisture for cockroaches to thrive in. There is usually easy access to the garage from outside, and easy access to your home from the garage. Stop letting your garage act as a halfway point from the outside and your home. Make sure it is properly sealed, and you don't leave the garage open for a long period of time. If you notice you already have a roach problem in your garage, clear out the clutter and make sure you get rid of all roaches and their egg casings.
For more information on how to prepare yourself to combat the threats of spring pests, check out our latest free guide, How to Protect Your Home from Cockroaches.
