Cockroach infestations are not only skin-crawlingly disgusting, they’re also a very real health hazard. Deal with your cockroach problem the smart way, with Northpest’s top 5 tips on keeping your cockroaches under control.
Here in Northland, there are two main types of cockroach that cause problems within our homes, but the main/most common type is the native or bush cockroach. Of course, there are several different types of cockroach in NZ, including the American Cockroach, the Australian Smokey Brown Cockroach, the Gisborne Cockroach (feeling a theme going on here?) and our very own Black Native Cockroach to name just a few. Our Black Native Cockroaches are big and scary and no one likes to see them inside – but they’re really just the harmless teddy bears of the cockroach world. They are located mainly outside, underneath decking areas, in bark gardens, dense foliage – and sometimes in sub-floors or roof voids of homes. For this reason, we usually treat both of these areas and the exterior of your home when targeting these types of cockroaches. These big scary-looking critters are sometimes seen in random areas/rooms inside homes, especially in bushy suburbs and rural areas.
Northpest’s cockroach control services
To completely rid your home of this invasive and fast-breeding pest, we would treat the exterior base of the house, the sub-floor and the roof void if there was access, and also the interior if required/wanted – but this isn’t essential as they are coming from outside. Should you want to tackle the problem yourself, we have a range of effective products available for purchase in our online store.
DIY Products:
- NoPests Crawling Insect Spray To spray the base of the house, underneath decking, sub-floor areas, etc. Can also be used inside to spray skirting boards and windowsills.
- NoPests Sand For Ants To be used/sprinkled in areas such as bark gardens, pebble gardens, pot plants, along the edges of pathways, etc.
The other (and not so nice) cockroach is the German Cockroach. These are the nasty little critters that infest kitchens and spread diseases by walking over rotting food debris, sewerage pipes, etc, collecting bacterial diseases on the barbs of their legs, and can then walk over your food and food prep areas, spreading these diseases. These cockroaches will be mostly contained in the kitchen area behind appliances such as ovens/stoves, fridges, freezers, microwave ovens, dishwashers, etc., and also found in hot water cupboards. They keep a fairly low profile during the day because they are nocturnal, and so come out to forage all over kitchen surfaces at night. If you come out in the middle of the night and switch on the light, you will see them scurrying for cover.
Our treatment for German Cockroaches
We can easily eradicate German Cockroaches using a combination of gel baits and spray baits. We carry out an initial treatment and then a secondary follow up treatment 1-2 weeks later to ensure eradication is achieved.
DIY Products for German Cockroaches:
- Goliath Cockroach Gel Bait to apply to areas such as the back of all kitchen appliances and in hot water cupboards. A little goes a long way, one tube should be enough to eradicate most infestations (interesting fact – German cockroaches are cannibalistic, meaning they eat their dead, which in turn gives them secondary poisoning as they are eating a poisoned body, so they do some of the work for you!)
- Vendetta Cockroach Gel Bait another brand of gel bait which will do the same thing, it just has a different active ingredient.
Northpests’ top 5 tips for keeping cockroaches out of your home
Native cockroach tips:
- If leaving windows open at night, have screens installed as they are more active at night and will end up inside if there is an open window, and/or make sure windows are tight fitting when they close.
- Keep vegetation, leaf litter and bark gardens away from the house.
- Don’t stack firewood directly against the house
German cockroach tips:
- Be wary of second hand appliances – purchasing a second-hand appliance from a house which has an existing infestation is one of the main ways a house will end up infested.
- If treating the problem yourself, get the gel bait – don’t use sprays or bombs, because while they will kill some of them, eradication won’t be achieved as they love to hide in cracks and crevices where sprays and bombs won’t reach. Gel bait is an attractant food for them which they actively seek.
These are the most easily achieved tips we can offer for keeping cockroaches out of your home, however in a lot of cases where infestation has already occurred, we do need to come in and provide our professional cockroach eradication and pest control services.
And there you have it – Northpest’s official guide to eradicating the cockroaches in your life! Contact Northpest for more top tips, great products, and the most professional pest eradication services in Northland.
