There are several pest problems that you can handle on your own. A roach infestation, however, is one of the worst problems a homeowner can face. Roaches are tenacious, filthy creatures that are very difficult to get rid of.
Roach infestations are best handled by pest control professionals and fumigators. But what happens afterward? What are you supposed to do after the pest control professionals have left? Below are some of the tips of what you should do after pest control sprays for roaches:
Table of Contents
1. Protect Yourself
After your house has been sprayed for roaches, there are some precautions you should take just to be safe. You should let the pest control spray to dry before going into the house. You should make sure your kids and pets do not enter the house until the chemicals dry. Once you get in, you should avoid making direct contact with surfaces that have just been sprayed. You should instead put on a pair of disposable gloves when handling these surfaces. These should also be done when removing the covers from pieces of furniture around the house. You should wait for several hours, depending on the pesticide used and the weather, before operating normally around the house. This helps in minimizing the risks of any possible reaction by you, your kids, and the pets to the chemicals used in spraying the house.
2. An Increase in Activity
When a house is sprayed for roaches, the whole house is dusted with a fine film of dust. This includes the roof void, weep-holes, and all the cracks and crevices. In the first week of spraying, it is common to witness increased activity of the roaches. This is because they are coming out to die.
Within the first few days of spraying, you will see more roaches than before but this is completely normal. Most professional pest control professionals will dust even inside the wall cavities, a common place where roaches live. The dust and the sprays will flush the roaches from inside the walls to avoid the pesticides. During this time, you will notice lots of cockroaches scattering around the house, rolling around until they die.
It is therefore common to witness an influx of roach activity after spraying areas such as behind dishwashers, under fridges, and under kitchen cabinets and cupboards. The activity, however, will die down as more and more roaches die over time. If the activity, however, persists for more than the first few weeks, a follow up pest control spraying is advised.
3. Repair Leaks
Similar to all other life forms, roaches require water to live. Because of this, roaches are most likely to hide in areas where there is enough moisture. Your kitchen and bathroom are, therefore, the most at-risk areas of re-infestation. To make your house a hostile environment for roaches, you should get rid of all their water sources. This means getting any leaking drainage pipes or taps in the house fixed as soon as possible. You should also wipe up any water the moment it is spilled, to limit their sources. Water leaks serve as entry points for roaches and getting rid of them limits the risks of re-infestation.
4. Holdouts
There are several places where roaches can hide in the house. Even when after the exterminator has put out bait stations and traps and sprayed the houses, some roaches will find a place to hold out. In most cases, the roaches hold out inside the walls, in tiny gaps, and several other places where they can find shelter. If the problem with roaches persists after the first several weeks of spraying, you should recall the exterminator to follow up on the spraying. This time, however, the exterminator should focus mainly on these potential holdouts. If there is any space in the house that the roaches can use as shelter, you should treat it as a holdout. This will help the roach infestation problem to fade.
5. Get rid of any Food left Outside
Once the exterminator deems it safe to get back into the house, you should look for any food that was left outside and discard it. You should do this even when the pest control process was done using only organic chemicals. This is because the food will have been contaminated and may end up being harmful to anyone who eats it.
6. Avoid Cleaning Immediately
After the pest control professionals are done spraying your house for roaches, do not clean up immediately after. Most professional exterminators are trained to do their job without leaving a mess. Therefore, it won’t be necessary to mop or sweep the house immediately after. Cleaning up immediately after the house is sprayed may wipe off the treated surfaces, thus reducing the effectiveness of the pesticides. The treatments are usually conducted based on your needs. The pest control professional will tell you the best time to clean the house and the areas to avoid. You should also avoid deep cleaning your home for at least a week.
7. Keep checking for Roaches
In the days after the pest control spraying, you are very much likely to find dead roaches from time to time with decreasing frequency. You should regularly check these spots for more dead roaches and clean them by vacuuming or by picking them up. Picking up after dead roaches is important as the dead roaches will attract more roaches and other pests. This is because the roaches feed on the carcasses of other dead cockroaches. Getting rid of the dead roaches will help you avoid more roaches and other pests, thus reducing your problems.
8. Get rid of Potential Attractions
Cockroaches are attracted to a lot of things and will feed on almost anything. If you want to get rid of cockroaches completely, you have to get rid of anything that might attract them. One of the common things that attracts roaches is crumbs. Although a crumb may seem insignificant to you, it may attract several roaches. Several crumbs may be able to sustain roaches for several days.
It is therefore very important that you ensure there are no crumbs lying around if you want your roach problem to go away. This will require you to clean every part of the kitchen including the areas where you may be tempted to avoid cleaning such as under the stove.
One of the things that people don’t know about but is food to most pests, including roaches, is paper. You should avoid leaving paper of any kind, including the brown bags used to carry groceries lying around in the kitchen. You should also avoid storing old magazines and newspapers in the kitchen as they may be a source of food for roaches. Roaches are also fond of the glue found at the bottom of kitchen drawers.
With no crumbs, adhesives or paper to eat, more focus will be directed to the bait stations. With limited food sources, fewer roaches will be attracted to your home in future. Getting rid of these attractions will reduce the possibilities of another roach invasion.
9. Side Effects
There are several misconceptions associated with pest control services. Many people believe that the chemicals used by pest control services are very dangerous or poisonous. Most people often prefer natural or organic treatments because of health concerns. This, however, is not entirely true.
The chemicals used in the sprays for roaches and all other pests are poisonous to some extent. These chemicals, however, are not lethal to humans, based on the quantity and the concentration that is used in pest control treatment. However, there may be side effects if you are sensitive or allergic to the chemicals and fumes used to spray the roaches. It is, therefore, advised that you stay outside during the pest control process just to be safe. Only when the vapors and the odors clear out, usually within a few hours, is it safe to get back indoors.
Organic treatments, on the other hand, use chemicals extracted from natural sources. Even though they are known to cause fewer health problems, they are less effective in getting rid of roaches. If the scale of roach infestation in your house is large, using organic treatments may not work.
If you have any allergies or one of your family members is sensitive to a certain chemical, it is important to let the pest control service provider know beforehand. Sometimes, however, you may find out that you are allergic to a certain chemical while the chemical is in progress.
Some of the side effects that you may experience include: dizziness, difficulty in breathing, watery eyes, reddening or appearance of rashes on your skin, irritation in the throat, itchy eyes, or itchy skin. If you experience these effects, vacate the area and if the effects are severe, consult a doctor. It is also important for pregnant women to avoid these areas until they are told it is safe by the service provider.
Final Thoughts
Roaches are very resilient creatures but it’s possible to curb an infestation. After the treatment, you should expect to see more roaches for the first week or two as they are being affected by the treatment. By taking the above tips into consideration, you could significantly minimize the risks of re-infestation.
