How Residents in Peoria Can Keep Their Homes Cockroach-Free All Year Long

In our service area, we have a few cockroach species that get into homes. The most pernicious is the German cockroach. These roaches are able to survive much better inside man-made structures than other cockroaches, and are widely considered to be the greatest cockroach threat in the world. American cockroaches are a close second. They're no slouches when it comes to living with humans, but they prefer to be outside if conditions are ideal. This is even true of Oriental cockroaches, which is the third type of roach we see getting into homes a lot. But no matter what cockroach is trying to get into your Peoria home, we have some tips that will help you to keep them out.

The summer months are when cockroach infestations are most likely to happen in Peoria. So summer cockroach prevention tips are a good place to start. The secret to reducing cockroaches in your yard during summertime is the elimination of food, water, and harborage.

Food

There are many things we consider to be food that cockroaches would turn their nose up at. We might like a nice ripe tomato. A cockroach would prefer that tomato to be rotting. We may enjoy a fresh apple. A cockroach would prefer to eat it after it has passed its "fresh" stage. This is their preference across the board. They'll eat dead bugs and dead animals but rarely attack living organisms. If you have a fruit tree with rotting fruit underneath, a vegetable garden with rotting vegetables stacked to the side, or some other rotting food source, roaches will notice.

There are some things cockroaches consider to be food that we wouldn't…at all. Roaches are known to eat raw sewage and the dung from animals. If you have a dog or cat that leaves droppings in your yard, you could be attracting cockroaches. Cover any exposed feces or pick them up to reduce roaches.

Exterior trash often has rotting meats and vegetables inside. This makes trash a prime target for cockroaches. Some foods can even lure cockroaches in from a great distance, such as fermented food items, beer cans, or discarded wine bottles.