Port St. Lucie Property Owners' Complete Guide To German Cockroaches

Port St. Lucie, FL homeowners see all sorts of pests year-round; thankfully, most of these pests are harmless. However, if you plan on living in Florida during any month of the year, there’s one pest you must always watch for: the German cockroach. German cockroaches pose serious threats to your well-being.

Most Florida residents know that roaches are dirty and disease-ridden, but few realize all the damage that cockroaches can cause in a short period of time. Let’s go over how to identify these pests and how to prevent the havoc they wreak in Port St. Lucie homes.

German Cockroach Identification Guide For Port St. Lucie, FL

The German cockroach has six legs, body-length antennae, and a flat, oval-shaped body. They are the most common of any roaches in the United States and account for thousands of infestations every year. German cockroaches only grow to around ½ an inch, and are tan to brown in color. The best way to identify these pests is by the two black stripes on their heads.

Although German cockroaches have wings, they rarely fly. These pests cannot remain airborne for long, and if they do fly, it will only be for a few seconds. Rather, German cockroaches run quickly and only come out when it’s dark, so you are most likely to see them in your home during dusk or dawn.

While other pests infest Port St. Lucie properties, German cockroaches are the pests to worry about the most. German cockroaches can wreak havoc on your health and psychological wellbeing, not to mention how hard they can be to remove.

Problems Caused By German Cockroaches

German cockroaches carry a variety of serious diseases, primarily because these pests hang out in dirty places. Dumpsters, sewers, and alleyways are all common spaces for German cockroaches, and although these insects exist naturally in the wild, they congregate anywhere that they can consume organic matter – including waste. As a result, these pests bring a serious group of pathogens with them to your home.

Common roach-borne diseases include salmonella, cholera, giardia, dysentery, listeria, and typhoid. Additionally, German cockroaches can make your allergies worse and even exacerbate asthma. Roaches release airborne proteins that some people are sensitive to, especially people with breathing problems. Long-term exposure to these proteins can result in respiratory illness, and these problems persist long after the infestation is removed. These health problems can pop up with limited exposure in a short amount of time. Thus, prevention is critical.

German Cockroach Prevention Tips

The best way to prevent German cockroaches is to reduce indoor clutter. These pests can survive off of anything, rely on very little, and prefer to hide in cluttered, dark spaces. Homes without regular cleaning often fall prey to roaches in Port St. Lucie. Reduce outdoor clutter as well. Regularly maintain your lawn, clean up foliage, and keep your plants trimmed. Overgrowth invites all sorts of pests, especially cockroaches.

On top of keeping the house tidy, consider the following as part of your cockroach-prevention plan:

• Reduce humidity. Cockroaches prefer warm, damp spaces that they can hide out in during the day. This includes crawl spaces, basements, bathrooms, and the kitchen. Check the humidity in these spaces, and ventilate accordingly.
• Keep trash indoors. These pests often come into your home because there’s trash, compost, or food for them to feast on outside. These foragers then move inside when they find your property, so secure your trash and other food items outside.
• Seal cracks in your windows, door frames, or home exterior.
• Check all packages. Some cockroaches like to hitchhike, meaning you can pick one up in your bag. Some stray roaches also hide in packages and get in your house surreptitiously.

Did cockroaches get in your Port St. Lucie household? Don’t waste another second trying to get rid of them; contact Port St. Lucie's best pest professionals today at Native Pest Management.

Learn more about our home pest control and commercial pest control solutions in Port St. Lucie.