How To Get Rid Of Cockroaches: A Comprehensive Guide For Jacksonville Homeowners

Of all the pests creeping around your Jacksonville home, cockroaches are arguably the worst of all. These unwanted insects can make a mess of your property by eating through food supplies and spreading diseases.

We’re not going to sugarcoat it for you: there’s no way to completely get rid of cockroaches. These are common insects that thrive in the Florida heat, and expecting to remove every last cockroach outside is simply not realistic.

What is realistic, however, is expert cockroach control for the inside of your home, including science-based prevention steps that can slow their march through your property. Using prevention tips correctly can protect your home for the long term and potentially avoid infestations beginning outside of your property.

This complete guide to cockroach control in Jacksonville offers everything you need for roach identification, management, prevention, and control. First, we explain the types of species in our area and highlight their health and property risks. Then, we provide some helpful maintenance tips to protect your property both before and after infestation.

Need to get rid of an established cockroach infestation? We also explain how Wildlife and Pest Control Experts, Jacksonville’s favorite pest control company, can get rid of roaches around your home.

Let’s start with the types of roaches in our area, including how to identify their presence around your Jacksonville property.

Understanding The Cockroach Problem: Identifying The Culprits

You’ll find four different types of cockroaches in Jacksonville: the American roach, the German roach, the brown-banded roach, and the oriental roach.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these:

• The American Cockroach: There’s no mistaking these giant insects! The American roach is Jacksonville’s largest roach species, with adults reaching up to two inches or longer in length. Notice the reddish-brown coloration and long, thin antennae. These roaches also have a pair of folded wings on the carapace, although they rarely fly more than a short distance.
• The German Cockroach: The German cockroach has quickly become one of the most common household pests in Jacksonville. Sometimes referred to as the crouton bug, you’re most likely to spot these pests rummaging around through kitchens and pantries. Keep an eye out for common signs of their presence, including tiny ‘coffee ground’ droppings near their food sources. If you spot a light brown, 1/2 inch long bug running around your home, there’s a good chance you have a German cockroach problem. 
• The Brown-Banded Cockroach: While this pest is somewhat less common than the other two species, the Brown-banded cockroach is still a force to be reckoned with. Their yellowish-brown to dark-brown color patterns are easy to spot from afar. Look inside cabinets, pantries, closets, and other dark spaces to hunt for signs of their presence.
• The Oriental Cockroach: Native Floridians often refer to the Oriental cockroach as the ‘water bug’ or ‘black roach.’ True to their colloquial name, these roaches are almost jet black in appearance and have large body segments visible in the right lighting. These pests also require a high level of moisture to survive, which means you’re most likely to find them skulking about your basement or crawlspace.

If you spot any of these cockroaches around your Jacksonville home, you need to get in touch with a seasoned pest control expert. Failure to do so could result in serious side effects, including some of the health risks and property damages listed below.

Health Risks And Property Damage: The Hazards Of Cockroaches

Cockroaches in Jacksonville are much more than just unsightly bugs. Thanks to their unhygienic behaviors, you could be exposed to a host of pathogens if they get inside your home.

Let’s say you live in an urban part of Jacksonville and share a dumpster with several neighbors. There’s a good chance German cockroaches may stop by in search of an easy snack. Once these pests have crawled through the dumpster and consumed the choicest leftover foods, they’re likely to turn towards the next best infestation zone: your home.

Cockroaches can exploit nearly any crack and gap to gain access to your Jacksonville property. Once inside, they waste no time looking for sources of food and water, running across your countertops and food prep surfaces to access them. In time, roaches smear all manner of germs across the surfaces they traffic and waste no time contaminating your food and water as they hunt for an easy snack.

What kind of health risks can cockroaches pose? Probably more than you think. Various studies have shown that roaches spread more than 33 types of bacteria and six different species of parasites. If you don’t wind up with salmonella or streptococcus, there’s a good chance you’ll wind up with a bout of E. coli.

Cockroaches also cause property damage, including damaged materials in food packaging, clothing, and leather. This could lead to expensive problems and result in unusable goods. Following a cockroach infestation, you may have to throw out family heirlooms or do away with damaged leather furniture.

Keep in mind this is the worst-case scenario for a cockroach infestation. Provided you call the pros at Wildlife and Pest Control Experts, you can stop these invading insects long before they get into your home.

Expert Cockroach Elimination: Call In The Pros Right Away

Cockroach control takes more than just your average pest control treatment. Thankfully, Wildlife and Pest Control Experts is more than your average pest control company. We have years of combined experience removing roaches from Jacksonville homes and remain one of the area’s highest-rated providers of cockroach identification, removal, and control.

First, we inspect your entire property for the signs and symptoms of cockroaches. We work hard to spot existing infestations and then ask clarifying questions to discover access points, attractant factors, and other vulnerabilities.

Next, we formulate a treatment plan depending on your needs. This may include baiting, spraying, dusting, fogging, or trapping, with the possibility of using multiple approaches at once. We’re careful to respect your needs and preferences throughout the treatment process. We’re also happy to answer any questions you might have about how we apply our roach control treatments.

Finally, we implement our roach control protocol to prevent future invaders from getting into your home. We can seal cracks and gaps, create custom follow-up plans, and provide weekly, monthly, and quarterly re-treatment options for your peace of mind.

If you’re interested in Jacksonville pest control services from Wildlife and Pest Control Experts, don’t hesitate to give us a call to learn more about what we do. You can easily schedule an inspection online to get a better idea of what you’re up against.

Maintenance Tips: Ensuring Long-Term Cockroach Control

Now that Wildlife and Pest Control Experts have treated your home for cockroaches, you need to maintain your pest-free property with a few targeted prevention tips.

Here are a few ideas for house cockroach prevention:

• Seal any cracks, gaps, or fissures around your home that could be letting cockroaches get inside. You should use waterproof caulking and weatherproofing adhesive to get rid of possible entry points. If you don’t want to do this on your own, you can always turn to the pros at Wildlife and Pest Control Experts. We offer effective cockroach exclusion services so you can rest easy knowing you’re protected.
• Ensure you don’t have any accessible garbage sources around the house. Be sure to put filled bags in airtight containers and wash out said containers at least once per month. Outside the house, be careful to turn your compost pile regularly or throw away leftovers that may draw cockroaches to your home. This includes tossing any fallen fruit or berries from orchard trees around your house.
• Control the amount of moisture present both inside and outside your home. First, purchase a dehumidifier and regularly run the machine in problem areas (think bathrooms, basements, and laundry rooms). Outside the home, focus on getting rid of standing water puddles and drying up stagnant pools. You can always use topsoil, gravel, or peat stone to fill up small dips in your yard.
• Remove any vegetation growing near the sides of the home, as well as any clutter around the inside of the house. Both of these factors are major attractants for roaches, who love darkened hiding spots and running unseen in your home. You should mow often, prune back tree limbs regularly, and host a garage sale to get rid of items you don’t currently need.

Remember: getting rid of cockroaches in Jacksonville is a journey rather than a destination. The best defense requires regular maintenance and plenty of support along the way. 

The best way to ensure these pests stay out of your home is to work with the team at Wildlife and Pest Control Experts. Reach out to us today, for help with cockroaches and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Jacksonville.