Out of all the insects pest professionals take care of a daily basis, big roaches just don’t ever seem to make it on the most difficult list. These lumbering giants don’t have near the reproductive numbers as their smaller cousins. They aren’t especially illusive and let’s face it, they kind of stick out when you open up a kitchen door or move a box in the garage.
So whenever I get a call for ‘big roaches’ I must admit. I far too often take them for granted and don’t go into the account with the mindset of a detective. I mean look for the moisture right? Kick over a pile of leaves or lift up a trash can that’s been sitting there for months and you got it licked-don’t you?
The area of the home this happens in quite often is the bathroom & over the years most pros know where to look. So maybe this is just a reminder for some of you or perhaps a couple of these spots will be new places to look at whenever you get persistent big roach problems.
Summary Of Places To Check
The Commode; Looking at our eh hem, thrones, we might think of them as solid fixtures. In reality they are hollow and can offer our huge friends a nice place to hide in protective comfort. Check the base for gaps or missing grout where the can enter. Many times their fecal matter builds near the entry. Check the tank itself. Just pop the tank lid off and you can sometimes be very surprised. It’s not a a really well sealed lid and who wouldn’t want to live in a place with a eternal water supply?
Under The Sink; Remember that slow drip you’ve meant to take care of for a few years now? Well, slide that tupperware dish over you use to catch the drips and take a good look at your pipes as they go into the wall. Usually the hole is about 3 inches around for a 1/4 inch pipe. And don’t let those silver flanges fool you, many times there just hanging there and give you the illusion everything is sealed up but big roaches scoot in and out with ease. Also there are TWO layers of a wall back there for our roaches to hide in. One is the back of the cabinet itself and that can sit up to an inch away from the wall it’s up against. That wall is the bathroom wall and hordes of roaches can live in among the studs.
Now look at the floor of that cabinet. It’s about 4 inches higher then the floor right? There’s a false bottom under there with enough room for a moose. Now it may be sealed up as far as you can see but on the backside where the cabinet sits against the wall–it’s all open! You can also reach your hand up underneath the front lip and many times you can feel that the front face board does not go all the way up. This makes life easy for our behemoth beasts having a front & back door but also gives you a great way to access the void with a treatment.
Exhaust Fans & Recessed Lighting; These spots are too often overlooked but easily rectified as a trouble spot. Roaches fecal matter or dead bodies often betray them as you can see the build up in the lights glass or the slits of the fan. In my travels, this is the number one spot to look when you’re dealing with persistent roaches and all the spray and dust in the world hasn’t been helping. It only takes a few minutes to check and/or treat but I think the thought of running out to the truck for a ladder makes us put it off. The collar or covers usually don’t sit super tight against the ceiling so roaches squeeze out with ease. (they don’t always find their way back and that’s why I think homeowners find them just wandering about) The unit covers pull down pretty easily and if you see evidence it’s simple to treat. If nothing, well it’s one more area you can rule out.
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