What to Do When You See a Roach

What to Do When You See a Roach

If you’re here, it must mean you’ve seen something you don’t like. We hear this question a lot, and if you’re wondering what to do when you see a cockroach… You’re in the right place. The first thing to do is calm down. Panicking and shouting won’t scare it away, but it does make it more likely for you to hurt yourself if you’ve already smashed it, great! That’s one less thing to worry about… But now you need to know if there are going to be more.

We’ve got some bad news.

If you’ve seen one roach, you have more. Roaches never show up alone.

Where Do Roaches Come From?

Cockroaches are a successful animal that can thrive just about anywhere. They live outdoors, usually. Out there, they don’t cause much trouble. In fact, they help the environment by breaking down decaying matter and fungus. They also live… In sewers, garbage dumps, gutters, palmetto trees… Alright, they’re everywhere. They got into your home because there’s a way in, and they thought they could get food, shelter, or water.

In fact, if you’ve recently brought in firewood, you might have a harmless wood roach. But, of course, in that case, it probably is just one bug… But you can never assume.

What To Do When You See a Roach

You have to find out if there are more roaches! Sure, you can assume there are more, but you need to know for sure and get an idea of where they might be. Believe it or not, roaches are way more afraid of you than you are of them. They are experts at hide and seek. So when you’re looking for roaches, you’ll probably never see one unless you’re already heavily infested. So instead, look for signs of roaches.

You’re going to be looking for two major signs of roach presence. First, you’re looking for poop (gross) and body parts (creepy), both of which are left behind by roaches everywhere they go. Second, Roach droppings are the biggest reason they’re dangerous. They leave little black specks full of bacteria wherever they go. It can look like coffee grounds or finely ground black pepper. You can find this in corners or under furniture… If you’re looking, look in the back, near plumbing fixtures, inside cabinets… And around trash cans.

You should also look for their body parts, especially their legs. Roaches are happy cannibals. If they have an opportunity to eat a dead roach, they’ll take it. So they leave behind wings, legs, half-eaten bodies… And you may also find the skins they shed. Roaches will eat these too. The skins look like smaller roaches but are hollow and yellowish.

Can I Get Rid of Roaches Myself?

Honestly? Maybe. You might win the lottery, too. Who knows? But it isn’t very likely. You’ll likely move the roaches to another part of the house after you find them and spray at them. This can lead to multiple roach colonies in the same home… And then you’ll know what an infestation looks like. This is why, whatever you do, don’t get a roach fogger. Sprays may work to kill roaches on contact, but store-bought sprays won’t do much more than kill individuals. What you want to do is get rid of all of them.

You can learn about the difference between pest control and extermination on our website. To get rid of every roach in your home, call Total Pest Solutions. We’ll find the roaches you might have missed – And you probably missed a lot. We don’t just spray to kill roaches; we stop them from coming back. So when you see a roach, don’t wait. Your home could get overrun in a matter of weeks. Track them down, and then call the experts right away.