Cockroaches are among the most common and repugnant pests found in homes and buildings all across the country. While the mere sight of these long-antennaed intruders causes many a homeowner to shudder in disgust, the more disturbing fact is that roaches often get by without being spotted at all. Given their nocturnal lifestyle, cockroaches are usually discovered by the unsuspecting flick of a light switch in a dark room, followed by their trademark scattering. This means a cockroach colony could grow for months or even longer before being noticed by homeowners.
However, roaches are more than just unpleasant to look at, they also have the potential to spread diseases through cross-contamination as well as cause some significant allergic reactions.
Less Than Clean Cuisine
A cockroach’s typical diet consists of feces, trash, and uncovered food, giving them ample opportunity to come into contact with dangerous bacteria and then spread it all over your next meal. It’s believed that roaches can transmit a wide variety of diseases in this manner, including dysentery, cholera, leprosy, typhoid fever, and salmonella, as well as also carrying parasitic worm larvae on their bodies. Even if food is kept well covered, the mere presence of roaches in your house means that they still could be tracking their tiny germ-ridden footprints throughout your home and kitchen, across counter tops, and all over plates and glassware.
For prevent increasing the number of cockroaches you can use cockroach glue traps.
Aggravating Allergies
An equally serious problem with cockroach infestations is their potential to cause allergic reactions and worsen existing cases of asthma. Certain people are allergic to proteins found in cockroach feces and saliva, the exposure to which can result in skin rashes, coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. These same roach allergens can also trigger serious asthma attacks, especially in children. Asthma alone can be a life-threatening disease, and a large portion of asthmatics are also allergic to cockroaches, leading to much worse symptoms when they are in prolonged proximity with theses insects.
Roach Removal
The best way to avoid coming into contact with these diseases and allergens is try to prevent having cockroaches in the first place. First, make sure that all food is stored in sealed, air-tight containers. Common culprits here are dried grains, such as flour and cereals, which are often left in dark pantries for long periods of time and come in easy-to-chew-through paper or cardboard containers. Pet food also attracts roaches and should be kept sealed as well.
Next, check underneath faucets, drains, and your refrigerator for leaks and small pools of water. Roaches, like all living creatures, need water to survive and will flock to anywhere they can find even a drop of it.
Finally, take time to seal up any cracks or openings around outside walls, windows, and light fixtures, making it more difficult for roaches and other unwelcome guests to enter and move about your home and. Very good will be the setting cockroach glue traps to catch the remains of cockroaches, if they have already reached you.