Cockroaches scurry into homes looking for a place to hide. These pests can easily squeeze into small cracks and crevices in your house. Knowing where cockroaches live can help you identify and eliminate an infestation. Check out where cockroaches are likely to be found in your house and yard.
Where Do Cockroaches Live Outside?
Some species of cockroaches can live outside, like American and Oriental cockroaches, but for the most part, they’re indoor critters. American cockroaches seek out warm and damp areas. They’re often found near mulch or woodpiles. Oriental cockroaches prefer cool, wet environments. These cockroaches hide under porches, leaves, and decaying matter. In temperate regions with mild winter temperatures, these cockroach species live outside most of the time. In areas with cold winters, they sneak indoors.
What Attracts Cockroaches to My Home?
Cockroaches enjoy being in your home for the same reason you do: food, water, and shelter. Roaches are attracted to food that has been left out on the counter, greasy spots, spills, crumbs, and dirty dishes in the sink. These pests are also drawn to moisture and humidity, so they are frequently found near wet floors and leaky pipes under your sink.
How Do Roaches Get Inside Your Home?
Cockroaches are very crafty at finding ways into your home, office, or apartment. They may:
- Find openings around doors and windows for indoor access.
- Crawl inside through small holes and cracks in the structure/foundation.
- Catch a ride in paper bags, luggage, backpacks, purses, boxes, appliances, furniture, groceries, etc.
- Travel between apartments through pipes and holes in shared walls.
Where Do Cockroaches Live in Your Home?
When cockroaches sneak into your home, there are several rooms they may gravitate to including your kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, basement, and storage areas. In these spaces, there are various places where they can hide. Check out where cockroaches like to live in your home.
- Walls: Cockroaches are able to slip into cracks and crevices in walls. Wall voids, baseboards, and trimming are also potential hiding spots. These tight spaces provide cockroaches with shelter and darkness. With large infestations, you may be able to hear cockroaches moving around.
- Furniture: These pests will hide and lay eggs in furniture too. They are often found in and under sofas, chairs, dressers, and other pieces of furniture. Anytime you bring new or used furniture into your home, you’ll want to make sure cockroaches aren’t hiding in it.
- Appliances: Stoves and refrigerators are the perfect places for cockroaches to live. These spots offer them shelter and access to food. Cockroaches can easily slip behind and under appliances.
- Cabinets & Closets: Cockroaches like to live in dark areas like cabinets and closets. These pests can chew through cardboard to get to food, which is why they scurry into cabinets. Cockroaches can also hide in closets filled with clothes.
- Boxes & Clutter: These pests love to hide in cardboard boxes and clutter. Piles of paper, stacks of books, and overstuffed shelves provide cockroaches with a place to hide. They can also eat cardboard and paper, making clutter even more inviting to them.
- Pipes: Most cockroach species prefer damp environments. Cockroaches can slip into cracks or holes in pipes. Not only can they hang out in pipes, they can also use them to enter homes.
- Home Décor & Electronics: Your home is likely filled with electronics and home décor, and cockroaches are happy about it. These creepy crawlies can hide behind picture frames, mirrors, and other décor. Cockroaches are also attracted to the warmth from electronics and will hide in them.
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches in Your Home
If cockroaches make their way into your home, you’ll want to act quickly. These pests can multiply fast, causing large infestations. Check out a few tips to help you keep these pests away.
- Get Rid of Food Sources: Wipe up all spills, grease, and crumbs. Be sure to clean counter tops, under appliances, in cabinets, and in pantries. Store your food in sealed containers to ensure cockroaches can’t access it.
- Remove Hiding Spots: Get rid of roach hangouts including empty boxes, newspapers, magazines, and other clutter.
- Minimize Moisture: Since cockroaches like wet environments, you’ll want to minimize moisture in your home and yard. Repair leaky pipes and faucets. Use a dehumidifier in rooms that are damp and humid.
- Seal Entry Points: Seal cracks in walls and your home’s foundation. Make sure there aren’t gaps between windows and doors and outer walls. Repair or replace damaged screens and weather stripping. Cover vents with mesh.
- Use a Plant-Based Insecticide Spray: For spot treatments, you can spray cockroaches with a plant-based insecticide spray. Our Ant & Roach Killer and Home Bug Spray kill cockroaches on contact and provide residual repellency.
- Use a Dust: Dusts, like our Bed Bug Killer and Spider & Insect Dust, are a longer-lasting treatment for cockroaches. They can be applied to out-of-the-way areas where you’ve seen cockroach activity including underneath counters, inside cabinets, and in wall voids.
- Use a Bait: Baits are another solution for cockroach problems. Our Roach Killer Gel Bait is designed to attract and kill cockroaches. These pests will eat the bait and return to the nest where other cockroaches will be exposed to it. This will help to eliminate the source of the infestation.
Understanding where cockroaches live in your home will make it easier to get rid of them. These pests can slip into tiny cracks and take advantage of the items in your house. If you’re dealing with pests, we’re here to help! For a more environmentally and family-friendly solution, check out our Maggie’s Farm Simply Effective™ Pest Control products.