Learn how to handle these invaders from the best Pest Control Service Specialists in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach and Port Orange Florida!
Every Florida homeowner is familiar with the fear and disgust experienced, while watching TV, enjoying a meal or doing any of the countless activities that take place in the comfort of our homes, as a large cockroach scurries or even worse, flies across the room, inevitably evading capture by disappearing behind the nearest object, or under a difficult to move appliance, piece of furniture or most mortifying… our own bed!
These skin-crawling creatures have lived for hundreds of years and not only did cockroaches outlive the dinosaurs, but they can survive without a head! So, it goes without saying that roaches are tough to kill and can pose a real challenge for any homeowner, especially the American Cockroach, also known as the Palmetto Bug.
What is the Difference Between Palmetto Bugs and Cockroaches?
With over 70 different types of cockroaches found in the US alone and nearly 4500 species across the planet, The term palmetto bug is is simply a term used by those of us in the Southeastern United States and Florida to describe the large American Cockroach that prefers warm and humid climates, just like we have in Volusia County Florida and lives outdoors in and around Palm trees, but unfortunately frequently finds its way into our homes.
How and Why Do American Cockroaches Come Into Our Homes?
Unlike German cockroaches, which generally live indoors in and around a kitchen, bathroom, or areas where food is prepared and stored, the American cockroach lives in trees, shrubs, wood piles, landscaping, and mulch areas around our properties. These extremely large (1-2 inches long) winged cockroaches are dark brown in color and their flexible exoskeleton allows them to crawl through very tiny openings and spaces giving them easy entry into our homes and enabling them to escape or hide effectively.
For most of the year, when it’s warm here in Florida, Palmetto bugs come into our homes in search of food or water, while in the winter months they may gain entry to escape the cold. American roaches can easily climb or jump from tree limbs too close to a house where they then gain entry through small openings or cracks in the building itself, or they can come up through plumbing pipes and drains.
Once inside they prefer to shelter in warm and humid areas like a bathroom or under a sink where they lay eggs and build nests consisting of droppings, dead skin shedding and eggs.
How Do You Get Rid Of Palmetto Bugs?
American cockroaches can infest a home quickly, since they lay eggs every 3-5 months so having an experienced professional exterminator manage an infestation starting with a complete exterior inspection of your home to identify and seal possible entry points followed by safely treating both inside and outside your home is critically important.
Tips to Prevent the American Cockroach or Palmetto Bug From Getting Into Your Daytona Beach Home?
Living completely roach free in Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach or anywhere in Florida is very difficult task, but the best way to avoid roaches from entering your home is by taking the right preventative measures in the first place, so here are some tips to prevent a cockroach infestation.
- Keep your home, especially the kitchen and areas where food is prepared or consumed, clean and free of food and crumbs
- Remove garbage regularly
- Keep tree limbs and bushes trimmed and away from your house
- Seal and patch any cracks in and around your home where roaches can gain entry
- Do deep cleanings of your home or office a few times a year cleaning inside drawers, kitchen cabinets and behind or under appliances or furniture where bugs can hide.
- Roaches are attracted to water, so check under sinks and toilets to ensure leaky plumbing or pipes are fixed
- Remove or reduce bight outdoor lights with lower voltage or yellow lighting
- Roaches like warm and humid temperatures so ensure your air conditioning system is functioning properly to keep your home cool and dehumidified
- Avoid storing large quantities or piles of paper (boxes, newspapers, magazines, etc) which attract roaches and other pests
- Don’t leave out food for people or pets
“Some people think that seeing American roaches on a regular basis is normal, but that is not the case. Occasionally seeing a cockroach alive or dead is not uncommon, but consistent activity is a sign you need to get spray or baiting pest control services from a professional exterminator.”
Matt Conrad, General Manager of All Star Pest Control
Roaches are disgusting, but are they hazardous to our health?
American cockroaches may not carry diseases like mosquitos or fleas and ticks, but they can infect your food or home through droppings contaminated with salmonella or streptococcal bacteria and their feces and shedding not only smells bad and leaves stains on furniture and other areas in your home, but it can also cause allergic reactions in humans and pets, so keeping these pests out of your home is important to ensuring your family is healthy and safe.
Do Roaches do any Good?
Believe it or not, while most of us dread the prospect of roaches invading our home, these creatures are not all bad! Roaches like the American cockroach or Palmetto bug are decomposers that eat small pieces of organic material helping to improve the quality of our soil for plants and trees and serving as food for birds and lizards, actually helping to keep their populations strong so they can eat other more harmful bugs like mosquitos and ticks. So, when you think about it, the American cockroach in a wired way is a form of exterminator helping to kill off and reduce possible infestations of more dangerous pests!