Cockroaches are among the most common pests in many properties. They’re opportunistic feeders and often look for food in kitchens, food storage areas, and even sewers. Because of this, they are known to cause food contamination and spread diseases like salmonella, staphylococcus, and streptococcus. Needless to say, they’re a danger to your health. With that said, we’re going to cover what you should do both before and after your pest control company sprays for roaches.
Let’s get right to it…
Things To Do Before Pest Control Sprays For Roaches
Access To The Perimeter
Move furniture far enough out to provide your pest technician access to the perimeter of the room. Roaches and other pests love hiding in dark, isolated corners, so it’s best to clear out these areas. This step ensures that your furniture is safe from sprays and spills and that the service will be fast and efficient.
Clothing
Make sure that you wrap or box up your clothes, toiletries, and jewelry. As much as possible, cover them in plastic wrapping for full protection. After protecting them in plastic, store them inside cabinets, and then seal the gaps of your drawers and doors with tape. Additionally, it’s a good idea to cover your couches, chairs, etc. with plastic wrap and remove bedding or cover your bed with plastic. Generally speaking, your technician shouldn’t get anywhere near those items. But there will be residual in the air that can fall on these items so it’s better to be safe.
Kitchen items
Remove items from your kitchen countertops; store all your plates, glasses, utensils, and other supplies in sealed storage containers out of the kitchen. Just like clothes, we recommend that you cover them with plastic. Additionally, if you have a water filter or dispenser, we recommend you cover the spout with plastic wrap.
Pets
Pets can be sensitive to chemicals, most especially to those used during many conventional pest control treatments. It’s a good idea to drop off your beloved animal companion at a friend’s house for the duration of the service. Don’t forget to bring all your pet’s toys and bedding, too.
If you have pet fish, you can cover the aquarium tightly with plastic and make sure that they have enough food for several hours. It’s also crucial that the air pumps are off since these can suck up airborne chemicals.
Things To Do After Pest Control Sprays For Roaches
Be on Standby
If your pest control provider advised you to leave the premises for the treatment duration, wait until they give you the green light to return. This ensures that any chemicals in the air have dissipated and that the treatment has had time to dry.
Get Rid of Any Food Left Exposed
Even when your service uses organic pest sprays, it’s not a good idea to consume food exposed to the treatments. If you accidentally left anything out, go ahead and get rid of it. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Wait Before Cleaning
Avoid deep cleaning for at least a week. Cleaning up right away may wipe off the treated areas and reduce the effectiveness of the pesticides. Your pest control technician will tell you when the best time to clean the house is and which areas to avoid.
Fix Leaks
Repair any leaks around your home as soon as possible. Water from these leaks may serve as an invitation for roaches. They’re always on the lookout for food, shelter, and water. If they find water, they’ll set up shop and start looking for food in your house.
Eliminate Other Possible Food Sources
Avoid eating in other parts of the house aside from the kitchen or dining area. Crumbs and other leftover food attract not just roaches but other pests as well. Aside from human food, roaches can also consume magazines, old newspapers, and brown grocery bags. If you keep these items around your house, it’s best to keep them out of the kitchen and, ideally, in a plastic bag to prevent these and other pests from feeding on them.
Personal Protection
Refrain from having any direct contact with the surfaces that have just been sprayed. If you really need to, put on a pair of disposable gloves when touching surfaces exposed to the roach treatment. This will help minimize the risks of possible reactions to the chemicals used around the house.
Continuous Monitoring
It’s normal to see dead roaches for up to two weeks after the treatment. It’s also common to see more roaches even. This is because your pest company has sprayed their normal hiding places with pesticides, making them inhospitable to the roaches. As a result, the roaches will scramble to find new hiding spots and die off because they’ve already been exposed to the pesticides. Keep an eye out for dead roaches for a few weeks following the treatments. After that, the number of roaches you see should be little to none. If you do see any, contact your company to have them check things out for you.
Maintain Cleanliness
Roaches are always in search of food, water, and shelter. In order to reduce the possibility of their return, keep your counters clean, don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink for days, fix leaky pipes, and get on a regular pest control plan. If you live in or around Houston, give us a call for a free quote on Houston pest control.
Remove Any Potential Water Access
After treatment, dying roaches will need water so you want to keep your bathtub and sinks as dry as possible. If needed, wipe any wet areas to eliminate excess moisture. Keeping your house dry will speed up the pest-killing process and help prevent any encounters with them when they’re searching for water.
Expect An Influx of Roaches
It’s common to see roaches after a pest control treatment. They come out of their hiding spots because they are dying. You can use a vacuum cleaner to clean up the ones you see, but you don’t need to use any chemicals. Expect to see them for up to two weeks after the roach spraying treatment.
Look for Holdouts
There are several areas where cockroaches can “hold out,” even after installing bait stations and traps. They may hide inside your walls, under refrigerators, cabinets, or other isolated places around your house. These potential hiding spots are called “holdouts.”
If your pest issue persists after the first weeks of treatment, ask the pest control technician to do a follow-up spraying. Ask him or her to focus on the potential holdouts. All areas that cockroaches can use as shelter should be considered as holdouts.
What About Side Effects?
It’s a common misconception that pest control uses highly dangerous chemicals for humans, plants, and animals. It’s true all chemicals used for these services are, to some degree, poisonous. However, in the amounts that they’re used, they’re not lethal to people. If you’re sensitive to smells though, you will want to get out of the house until the treatment is done and you’ve waited for the appropriate amount of time (your pest technician will tell you how long to wait before returning).
Because of health concerns, many people are now choosing organic, natural pest control services. Organic treatments use chemicals extracted from natural sources such as peppermint, for example. Organic pest control is highly effective for many pests, but if you have a severe infestation, it may not work for the initial treatment. Additionally, organic pest control needs to be performed more often. At Stampede, we offer both organic and traditional pest control options. And because we value your health and ours, even our traditional pest control chemicals are derived from the chrysanthemum flower – making them safer for everyone. If you’re in our area, give us a call for a free quote. We guarantee all of our services so, in the off chance that you do notice roaches weeks after the treatment, we’ll come back free of charge.