Why Cockroaches Are A Serious Concern For Houston Homeowners
When it comes to cockroaches, there is bad news and there is really bad news. These insects don't do anything good inside your home. While you may think of them as gross intruders, they are far more than that. Let's take an honest look at the problem and get a proper perspective of the threat cockroaches present.
The Bad News
It is an understatement to say that cockroaches are a disease threat. It is in their very nature to be in dirty places and to eat dirty things. This exposes them to harmful bacteria, human pathogens, and parasitic worms. When a cockroach scurries around in a sewer, feeding on human feces, it picks up harmful things on its body and digests harmful things into its system. Once it is contaminated, it carries these harmful, unseen organisms with them into homes and businesses. This can happen when they crawl in dumpsters, explore trash heaps, and when they feed on dog droppings in a yard—to name just a few. But cockroaches can be exposed to harmful organisms inside your home. Newly hatched cockroaches can climb around on your toilet rim, eat cat droppings from the litter box, climb in your trash, and find rotting organic matter that has dripped in between your stove and countertop. Cockroaches are dirty insects.
If cockroaches were to be adversely affected by these organisms and die from exposure, we wouldn't have anything to worry about. We'd only have healthy, clean cockroaches running around in our homes. Sadly, this is not the case. Cockroaches are incredibly resilient insects with a gut microbiota that is disturbingly good at preserving pathogenic microorganisms (little creatures that make us sick).
When cockroaches climb on your dishes, scramble over your silverware, explore your cutting board, and chew their way into your stored foods, they can deposit organisms from their exoskeletons or cause contamination by leaving their feces— which they are prone to do. When they get into your air ducts, they leave shed skins, feces, and other material that can turn into airborne particulates.
We've only scratched the surface here but, hopefully, it is enough to make the point. Cockroaches are wired to spread illness. They are linked to the spread of more than 33 kinds of bacteria, 7 human pathogens, 6 distinct parasitic worms, and have been found to aggravate Asthma symptoms.
The Really Bad News
Cockroaches are incredibly difficult to control, especially in the Houston area where the climate allows these insects to thrive. If you are already dealing with a cockroach infestation in your home, you know what we're talking about. You can throw all kinds of stuff at these dirty little bugs and have no impact at all. One big reason for this is that cockroaches shed their skins and develop new skins that can be resistant to dangerous chemicals that are in their environment. If you try to spray pesticides to kill cockroaches, you could end up making super-roaches. Worse than this, cockroaches can contaminate food, dishes, silverware, and cutting boards with these chemicals in the same way they contaminate with pathogenic microorganisms.
Cockroaches also have the ability to avoid threats. While roaches aren't a collective or a hive, they act like one. Each individual cockroach is wired to work together with other cockroaches for self-preservation. If cockroaches start dying, the group is aware of it and they will avoid the location that is a danger to them.
How To Control Cockroaches In Houston
There are some things that are best left to educated and experienced professionals. A cockroach infestation is definitely one of them. But not every pest control company in the Greater Houston area has the training, experience, and track record for eliminating cockroaches. If you're in search of a pest professional, there is one important thing to keep in mind. Controlling cockroaches is difficult. Any company that tells you otherwise is not to be trusted. You can't just slap some bait down, spray some areas, and call it good. Cockroach elimination is a process. And you are part of that process. Before your treatment even begins, you should be given a Cockroach Treatment Preparation Sheet that lets you know what to expect and what steps you should take to ensure a successful treatment. This is a team effort.
At Modern Pest Control, we guide our customers from beginning to end to get the best results possible. We use the most advanced pest control methods, field-tested products, and well-established business practices to make sure no cockroaches are missed. Reach out to us today for immediate assistance in the Greater Houston area.
