Yesterday an out-of-state friend contacted us for an opinion on how to kill cockroaches that are invading their home. They normally hire a professional extermination company to provide quarterly preventative treatments to their clean and well-maintained home. During the quarterly pest control treatment earlier this month, they suddenly noticed cockroach activity, which was not noticed before the pest control service. As a result, they contacted their pest control professional about a week later and received a follow-up pest control treatment. They had hoped this was all that would be needed to kill cockroaches that have since been literally coming out of the woodwork!
Alas, one week later, they are still seeing some cockroach activity. Why is this happening? And how can they kill cockroaches once and for all? Should they fire their exterminator?!
Where did the cockroaches come from?
As most pest control professionals will agree, a cockroach infestation can arise from hundreds of possible situations. For example, the cockroaches may have arrived in a delivery or shipment, or even from a paper grocery bag. It is impossible to determine what caused the cockroach infestation without inspecting the home, but luckily these are vigilant homeowners who notice a pest problem immediately. That will make removal of the cockroach problem a lot easier.
Why are they seeing more cockroach activity following a pest control treatment?
What is probably happening in this scenario, is the cockroaches were harboring inside the cracks and crevices inside the home undetected. Once the pest control company arrived and the exterminator sprayed the pesticide inside the cracks and crevices, this stirred up the cockroaches, forcing them to vacate their hiding places. One may argue that the pest control service caused the infestation, but what really happened here is the pest control service is actually working. Left untreated, the cockroaches would have continued to multiply creating a much worse infestation over time.
How can they kill cockroaches once and for all?
Our out-of-state friend asked if they should have the company provide another cockroach pest control treatment. My advice to them was to wait and treat 30 days following the last treatment. This may seem counterproductive, but the product seems to be working. In the meantime, by waiting 30 days, that will allow any eggs to hatch and that treatment will then kill off the new generation of cockroaches before they become adults and lay more eggs.
Should they fire their exterminator?
Obviously we are unable to provide a pest investigation 700 miles away, but based upon the conversation with our friend, it seems like their exterminator is doing a good job. No matter how clean and vigilant a homeowner may be, a cockroach infestation may be inevitable. But through quarterly treatments, they were able to detect and target the problem right away, nipping it in the bud.
Thank you for exploring the answer to, “Why does it take several treatments to kill cockroaches?” If you need to kill cockroaches, contact a Titanium Laboratories Pest Control Expert today for a free estimate.
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