4 Ways to Keep Cockroaches Out of Your Business

03 Nov 4 Ways to Keep Cockroaches Out of Your Business

No matter what type of business you have, sooner or later you run the risk of seeing a cockroach. They normally make a really fast, fleeting appearance when you expose a dark place to light. When they arrive, they will quickly assess if your business offers them the three things they are looking for: food, water, and shelter.

Fortunately, you can take the following steps to protect against them.

1. Understand What You Have

Once you see one, two, or three cockroaches, you probably have many others that you do not see lurking in the dark cracks and crevices of your business. Cockroaches are nocturnal, meaning they normally hide during the day and come out to forage for food at night.

You may even have different species of cockroaches scurrying about the same space. The United States has approximately 70 different species of cockroaches, but the four most common are the American, Oriental, German, and brownbanded.

Some are attracted to warmer, humid spaces such as your kitchens, bathrooms, or laundry rooms. Others may be more comfortable in your warehouses, storage rooms, and assembly lines. Still, others may be outside of your business.

Cockroaches are prolific breeders. They produce multiple egg sacks throughout their lifespan, each of which can contain up to 48 eggs. Their eggs are normally near sources of food, water, and cardboard.

2. Uncover Their Hiding Spaces

Because cockroaches are so apt at playing hide and seek, you often have a problem long before you are aware that you do. Actively look for cockroaches in places throughout your business where they are most likely to hide. Although kitchens, break rooms, and other food prep areas may be high on your list, these are not the only places to search for roaches.

Because roaches can eat glue and other organic materials, they are also attracted to places that house paper and cardboard. Some hiding places may include:

• Mail/shipping rooms
• Warehouses
• Basements
• Maintenance closets

Make sure you search high hard-to-reach places, as they will often rest here since these places have less traffic and use.

3. Reduce Their Access

Because of their small size, roaches can easily access any space they want to get in. While you can’t completely eliminate their access points, you can reduce the points they may have by closing cracks, holes, and gaps they can easily walk through. Do the following:

• Apply caulking around utility lines and outlets
• Apply caulking around electrical and telephone faceplates
• Apply weather stripping and door sweeps to exterior doors
• Apply rubber bumper guards to the bottom of delivery dock doors
• Ensure your vents have screens
• Ensure all vents, screens, and windows have tight seals

Cockroaches also need a source of water to live, but they do not require much. Look for and fix drippy faucets, leaky pipes, and wet drains.

4. Remove Food Sources

Accumulated food, clutter, and trash increases your chances of having cockroaches in your business. Make sure you and your employees follow a stringent cleaning plan:

• Clean and wipe down all food prep areas.
• Ensure you sweep and mop to eliminate crumbs and debris from your floors.
• Deposit your trash in an outdoor dumpster.
• Declutter drawers and cabinets.
• Store items in plastic containers with tight-fitting lids.

Removing the food sources from your business will require the efforts of all of your employees because no one wants to work around cockroaches. Fortunately, they do not have to.

Eary Termite & Pest Services can help to keep cockroaches and any other pests out of your business. Give us a call today so we can help keep your commercial property roach-free.