My big fear!
Wood roaches everywhere inside, outside!
Where to go? What to do with them?
When I shifted to my new home, there were roaches and roaches everywhere. Before this, I was totally unfamiliar with this insect. That is why I started observing it carefully. I installed cameras everywhere to monitor their movement. My biggest concern was, where do they enter my home? What I found was really interesting. They make an entry from underlying areas of wooden doors and start invading the kitchen. After tracing their source, my mission was to find ways to kill these roaches.
Now the problem was how to get rid of wood roaches? There are several ways of eliminating wood roaches completely from your house. Firstly, You can kill them using glue traps. Secondly, roach killing bait stations are the latest invention of trapping roaches without killing. Finally, if insects are invading larger areas then insecticide sprays are effective as well as long lasting solutions to this problem.
Wood roaches are in fact dark brown cockroaches that belong to genus Cryptocercus. Like termites, they do have bacteria in guts that help out in digesting wood. That is why they are found near wooden structures. Let’s see how you can make your house roach free.
Identifying Wood Roaches
Identifying wood roaches can be tricky as these creatures resemble a lot with American Cockroaches in appearance. The only difference is that they are slightly smaller in size than American cockroaches. You can call them, relatives, after all. Let’s see some physical features of this insect(pic of wood roach)
- Male Insect color is brown,
- The entire body is flat and oval-shaped
- Legs are spiny to facilitate crawling.
- Pair of antennas are relatively long enough as compared to other species of cockroach
- Male roaches are good flyers and can fly in the direction of light
- Female roaches are non flying insects
- Female roaches are woody brown or tan in color
- Females can hatch 950eggs per year
Where To Find Wood Roaches In Your House
Roaches are silent but smelly insects. If you catch them through a vacuum, it may cause an unpleasant odor. This insect can invade both indoor and outdoor. However it can not survive indoors because they require considerable parental interaction. Common areas where you can find this insect are given below
- Under the kitchen cabinets
- Near windows
- Under the doors
- Under dresser or furniture
- Near wooden piles
- Near rot leaves debris
- Outside grassy moist lawns
- Garage or stores
Easiest Ways To keep Roaches Away From Home
These insects don’t breed inside so there is no need to treat them chemically every time. Only preventive measures are enough to stop them from invading indoors. Here are a few techniques to keep them out forever.
1. Catching indoor roaches with traps
You need not kill roaches directly as it is a messy and smelly process somehow. So, use some decent way of setting glue traps on places where you find them frequently. These traps are a very cheap and super-easy way to catch already existing insects from underneath places. You can set them under kitchen cupboards, doors, windows, and even any suspected area. Remove the wax paper from the strip and Follow these steps and watch the video below to set up glue traps
- Step1.Mark the location where you will set these strips
- Step2.Keep the distance of 5-10 feet between two strips
- Step3 You can set up as many strips as you can at a time.
- Step4. Remove the wax paper from the strips and set them
- Step5.Roaches will attract after the scent and will be stuck on strips.
- Step 6Dispose these strips instantly after use.
If you want to leave them without killing, apply vegetable oil on the strip. It will lose its stickiness and roaches will be able to move out alive.
2. Roach Killing Bait Station.
Fail to get a glue trap? Don’t worry, use a roach killing bait station.
It is a type of device that works non stop day and night. You can even place it near breeding areas of roaches. It is specially designed to work on the long lasting formula with power. The bait contains an invisible mixture of food particles and insecticides like Hydramethylnon to attract the insect. Roaches approach bait stations and get trapped easily. You need to simply place the bait station where you see roaches. Roach killing baits are in high demand these days. Watch this video instruction to learn using bait effectively. It requires three simple step
- Step 1.Set the station
- Step 2.Dispose of the roaches after getting trapped.
- Step 3.Reinstall it to catch more.
Note(Don’t use insecticide near bait as it can reactive insects)
3. Eliminating Roaches by Insecticide Spray.
Only choose chemicals if the problem is out of control. Remember not all insecticides can kill roaches, only a few do this task. So, make sure you are using roach killing spray, not others as mosquito killers, etc. Some insecticides are specially designed to serve this purpose.
- To spray, mix 1oz of spray in one-gallon water.
- Pour this mixture in a sprayer or hand pump.
- Mark 1000 sqft area.
- Put on mask and gloves to avoid an allergic reaction
- Keep pets and kids away
- Stary spraying it and enjoy the result
The good news is that this spray will prevent roaches for up to 12 months after one application. This spray works effectively on both indoor and outdoor insects. For indoor, only spray it on suspected locations with cautions
4. Killing wood roaches through boric acid
If you are a fan of playing carrom board, you will be familiar with this boric acid powder. You can kill wood roaches through this fine white powder. How? Watch this video and follow the simple steps below.
(Note. Be careful this powder can harm pets and kids)
- Step 1.Mark the corners and underlying areas
- Step2. Sprinkle the powder overnight or daylight
- Step3. Shut the door and windows properly
- Step 4.Install glue traps or any insect traps along with the powder.
- Step 4.Leave the powder for up to 2 to 3 hours.
- Step5.Dispose of all trap roaches properly
- Step6.Wash out your kitchen with citrus detergent properly after this process
Tips For Preventing Wood Roaches
Roaches don’t grow inside your house. They always enter from outside, lawns, debris, wooden piles, stores. To prevent unwanted entry of this insect, follow the tips below.
- In case you burn woods to heat up your home, don’t store them inside your house. Bring only when woods are ready to burn
- Manage extra storeroom away from your living area or kitchen to store piles
- Fix cracks under cupboards, doors, and windows.
- Keep the light of garage or porch off at night so that they might not enter inside
- If your exterior is full of wooden structures, hire experts to disinfect it for roaches.
- Clean your lawns or backyards regularly. Don’t keep debris for a long time, it can inhibit their growth.
- If the problem still persists, spray insecticide or get professional assistance to kill them.
When To Get Expert Help
If you feel, the large area is affected and there are roaches and roaches everywhere. You can’t control them by traps or even by turning the lights off. You can call or hire expert insect killer locals. If you are allergic then don’t try to spray yourself. Get expert assistance instantly. They know well how to handle large areas. It is always better to diagnose the cause. So, go for it and find their breeding places. By removing their source you can get rid of them permanently
Also Read: How To Get Rid Of Woodrats |Easiest Ways That Works
Related Question
What attracts wood roaches?
Debris, decaying organic matter, light and wooden piles attract them most.
Do wood roaches infest homes?
Unlike other roaches, wood roaches do not infest homes. They enter from outside along with firewoods, window holes and from the underside of the doors.
How do you get rid of tree roaches?
Kill them or trap them through glue traps. If necessary, use an insecticide to get rid of tree roaches permanently.
Are wood roaches bad?
Wood roaches don’t harm furniture, inhabitants or other accessories. However, they are insects and can carry infectious diseases if they invade the kitchen.
What smell do roaches hate?
Roaches hate the smell of citrus-like vinegar. To distill your house, you should use citrus detergents.
Final Verdict.
A most common problem of a humid area is perhaps how to get rid of wood roaches. Isn’t it? This article covers everything from identifying to killing this troublesome insect. You can catch them by using traps and bait stations. You can spray particular insecticide to remove them permanently. However, it is advised to destroy their habitats if you want to get control over them. I hope you will find all these measures practical and knowledgeable. Don’t forget to share it with those who are also worried about this creature.
