I See A Roach Every Few Months: Occasional Roach Encounters & 4 Health Hazards They Pose
How often do you wake up in the middle of the night only to be surprised by an unwanted guest in their kitchen? But cockroaches come out at night, making them known as nocturnal insects.
They hide under the fridge, sinks, washing machine, and any dark corner or crack in your home, only to come out when the timing is right. And even seeing one roach every few months could mean your house has a cockroach infestation.
The only thing that can worsen this occasional spotting is seeing a roach out and about during the daytime. Because that means there’s overcrowding of roaches somewhere inside your house, you must take action right now!
Common roaches in South Alabama and South Georgia
Unfortunately, roaches are one of the most commonly found pests in South Alabama and Georgia.
For residents, there’re five different species of roaches they need to look out for, including their physical traits to help them recognize what kind of roach they’re dealing with:
1. American Cockroach
This is the roach you need to look out for if you’re currently living in south Georgia, as it’s the most common one you’ll find roaming around in your property.
They are about 2 inches long (making them one of the largest) and are different from other roaches due to their chestnut coloring and light yellow bands behind their heads. They live for around 2 years.
You’ll find them living alongside smoky brown and oriental cockroaches.
Unfortunately, they do fly. So there’s a higher chance of you coming face-to-face with one of them if you provoke them.
Being nocturnal in nature, you’ll find them most active at night as they live and thrive in dark and humid places. They live around a water supply, such as pipes, sewers, cellars, kitchens, and bathrooms.
2. German Cockroach
A German roach is a common sight in South Alabama interiors.
They have tan coloring and dark brown stripes on the back of their upper thorax, making it relatively easier to identify their species.
Compared to American roaches, they’re smaller, measure around 0.5 inches long, and live for about a year.
Unfortunately, they reproduce the most, even though their lifespan is smaller. This species lays more eggs than any other species and is even more active than others during the night.
They prefer to be around humid places but don’t like the outdoors.
If infesting your house in large numbers, they’re significantly more harmful to the children.
3. Oriental Cockroach
The Oriental cockroach is another common species in Georgia but mostly lives outdoors. They’re quite big in size and can be of any size between 1 to 1.25 inches in length.
When it comes to their color, they have a dark and glossy exterior, and their wings could be black or cherry red. The male of this species tends to have short wings. On the other hand, females tend to be wingless.
Fortunately, they tend to live for 6 months only. They have a similar living pattern to an American roach, but you won’t usually see them indoors.
Their habits are similar to that of the smoky brown roaches in Georgia.
The allergens found in this species’ shed skins and feces can cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks in humans, especially children.
4. Smoky Brown Cockroach
They are active during the night and love the humid environment. When you look at them carefully, you’ll find them to have a red or dark cherry to be in color and about 1.5 inches long. They live in tree holes, attics, crawlspaces, and sheds.
If you find them in your house, they’ve already nested and laid eggs somewhere where the living situation suits them indoors.
5. Brown-Banded Cockroach
They are smaller than other species. Two light brown bands can distinguish them across their dark brown bodies.
These bands are across the wings of the adult but are even more prominent across the nymph’s body.
Although their lifespan is less than a year, they quickly reproduce in large numbers.
This species can cause multiple health issues, carry many microorganisms on their bodies, spread pathogens, and be a source of allergens.
They tend to cause allergy symptoms such as itchy eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose.
Reasons for occasional roach sightings
There are multiple factors behind why you should be worried about an occasional roach sighting. While roaches don’t often travel in numbers, removing the occasional one could be better.
The species of roach
There’re species like German cockroaches; if you see one, you need immediate professional help to handle the infestation.
This species nests with dozens to hundreds of other cockroaches. So, if you see one, you should know your house is currently facing a roach infestation.
There’s a reason to worry as they reproduce and multiply rapidly.
Occasional sightings during the day
By now, you must be aware that roaches are nocturnal insects, and so they’re spotted during the night. But if you find a roach roaming around the broad daylight, you’re in much more trouble than you thought.
A roach during the day could only indicate that their nesting area is large and overcrowded, so they no longer have a place to hide. So, they wander to find a suitable place to hide and nest.
For roaches hiding during the day is a way to preserve their energy, and it’s during the night they come out for food. So, if you see one during the day, you need immediate help.
Nearby infestation
Usually, you would find a roach during the night, and it could be that you woke up in the middle of the night and switched on the light only to find them on the floor.
Another indication of this sighting is that wherever you see the roach implies their infestation is nearby.
If you see them in the bathroom, kitchen, attic, or living room, that’s their primary hiding place, and their nest is nearby.
Health risks and property damage caused by roaches
1. Allergies and asthma
Roaches are similar to other pests infiltrating your home and can cause health issues and illnesses if they aren’t terminated within the right time.
Roaches carry and spread diseases like pathogens, bacteria, and germs.
They leave behind and shed feces, urine, saliva, and other fluids bound to cause illnesses or cause allergies such as E. coli, salmonella, typhoid, urinary tract infections, digestive problems, and sepsis.
The allergies could be itchy eyes, rashes, or sneezing uncontrollably. They’re especially dangerous to be around for an asthmatic person as they aggravate asthma and cause severe allergies to the people.
2. Contamination of food and surfaces
No pests are ever good to have in your home, so cockroaches, like other pests around your food, are dangerous.
Roaches are bound to infect and contaminate your food if you leave it outside, so you should never leave any food open at the kitchen counter.
They shed in various ways, such as dead skin, egg shells, and feces, which automatically cause contamination.
Not just food but any other surface you use daily, such as facial tissues, toilet paper, soap, dishes, and other everyday household stuff.
Anything that comes in contact with a roach is bound to cause you some form of allergy or illness like food poisoning, among others. This is why you need to ensure professionals terminate them.
3. Structural damage to homes and businesses
Unlike other pests that infest homes, roaches don’t ruin property in a way that would cause you much property damage.
However, they leave a pungent smell when many infest your property. It’s an oily smell that can be psychologically difficult to get away from.
The only damage that they cause is psychological. It’s challenging to get the image of roaches roaming around your beautiful home out of your head. You could be scared to open the lights, your cupboard, or even go to the attic without being mentally prepared.
4 Tips for preventing roaches
Cockroaches are dangerous and, honestly, not a pretty sight to look at. Though they don’t damage property as much as termites, they are still a health hazard.
The best way to control and eliminate their species is to prevent them from entering and nesting in your home in the first place. This can be achieved in the following ways:
1. Proper sanitation and waste disposal
Roaches are attracted to dirt and garbage that’s not disposed of timely or left around. This is their food, and they gather more around such places.
Any food wastage or crumbs is food to them. So make sure you clean up after yourself. For example, if you throw your leftovers in the kitchen trash bin, take it outside to your large garbage bin the next day.
Don’t let garbage pile up for more than 24 hours. Also, make sure you clean your kitchen after the day has ended. Clean your kitchen countertop along with the stovetop.
If there’s any food you leave outside, cover it properly so roaches don’t get attracted. You should also clean, mop, and vacuum your home as often as possible for your house.
2. Sealing cracks and gaps
Roaches aren’t as tiny as other pests, but their babies can still get through the smallest of cracks that provide an entryway into your home.
Identifying and sealing such cracks will help you avoid roach entry into your property.
You need to inspect every corner of your home from the attic to the basement and ensure you find all these cracks and seal them up properly or get a professional to help seal those nooks and corners.
3. Reducing moisture and humidity
Pests tend to live in humid areas, and for roaches, these areas include basins and pipes. So if you have a small leak somewhere where water collects, that would be a good water source for them.
You need to inspect your indoors and see where there could be enough moisture. Check your pipes and sinks and ensure they’re fixed and there’s no leak.
All your electronics, like air conditioners and refrigerators, should be working correctly and inspected on time.
4. Regular inspection and professional pest control services
Controlling pest infestation can be difficult, and if a large colony exists in your house, it becomes all the more difficult to handle and terminate them.
Fortunately, you can hire professionals to do this job and prevent pests like roaches from entering your property in the future.
Even if you see occasional roaches around your house, you still need to call Tabor Pest Control and ask for our professional services to battle these pests.
We’ll help you identify the species you’re dealing with and how to terminate them and prevent them from entering your home again.
5 signs of a roach infestation
Different early warning signs can help you know there’s a roach infestation inside your home:
1. Feeling ill or allergic
Roaches bring with them a host of illnesses and allergies. Even when it’s not allergy season, and you and your family are suddenly faced with allergies like watery eyes with irritation, it could be a sign of roaches living in your home.
They roam around, shedding their wings, fecal matter, and other fluids, which leads to allergic reactions when you come in contact with them.
2. Droppings
Roach droppings, including fecal matter, are quite small, but if you know the situation and don’t ignore your surroundings, you can quickly locate these signs.
Their droppings are small, can be found around dark areas when you start deep cleaning your home, and could be in a cluster.
3. Egg case
Look out for eggs or egg cases which could still be waiting to hatch or are just shells. They could be brown or red; if you see several of them together, there’s a whole community living inside your home right now.
4. Unusual odors
Roaches leave behind a weird smell. So if your house suddenly starts smelling weird, there’s a good reason to be suspicious of the roach situation.
In fact, if the smell is coming from dark and humid places, then there’s a huge of this becoming true. It’s mostly an oily smell, so be alert if you smell it somewhere around your home.
5. Living or dead cockroaches
Of course, seeing dead or live roaches are the ultimate sign of a roach issue on your property. But if you see a dead roach, the situation could be more serious than you realize.
This could mean that there’s a large community of roaches that are infesting your property. Sometimes it could be that an outdoor species is found dead inside, which doesn’t mean your house is infested.
Certain species, like a German cockroach found dead inside, could mean a large infestation.
Why is Tabor professional pest control essential?
Roaches don’t seem like a huge problem, and every homeowner who does end up face-to-face with a roach thinks that eliminating or handling an infestation isn’t a big deal.
But in reality, roaches could be difficult to terminate as they largely live in dark and humid places. Sometimes these places could be inaccessible to you, and your DIY method of using a bug spray won’t be enough if there’s a large infestation.
You can remove their water and food source and ensure you keep your place clean as much as possible.
At Tabor Pest Control, we ensure that we can take the trouble of handling roaches away from you and effectively do the job. We ensure:
- Effective elimination methods
- Safety and health considerations
- Long-term prevention and maintenance plans
We have the necessary tools and products to handle the situation better. With our knowledgeable professionals, we have the expertise to eliminate roaches once and for all.
We’re committed to helping all the home and property owners in South Georgia and Alabama safely and effectively eliminate pest infestation troubles.
