WHY ARE COCKROACHES
DIFFICULT TO EXTERMINATE
The saying that cockroaches could survive
an apocalypse often seems true.
You can stomp them, spray them and try to
drown them, but they keep living on.
The saying that cockroaches could survive
an apocalypse often seems true.
You can stomp them, spray them and try to drown
them, but they keep living on.
Knowing what you’re up against makes it possible
to take advantage of their weaknesses.
Can Cockroaches Really Live
Without a Head?
The tale of the headless cockroach isn’t a myth. Roaches breathe through
small holes in their body.
If they lose their head, they’ll eventually die of starvation or dehydration.
Typically, they dehydrate first and within about a week.
Roaches with access to water can survive up to a month without food.
Why Don’t Cockroaches
Seem to Drown?
The sight of these brown bugs crawling through
a plumbing fixture is hair-raising.
If you’ve ever wondered how they manage this feat,
it is because they can hold their breath for around half
an hour under water.
How Do They Survive
Being Stomped On?
With most bugs, a quick stomp with your foot
will do the trick.
Roaches have a unique exoskeleton that is both
flexible and strong.
The outer part of their body allows them
to withstand pressure that amounts to 900 times
their body weight.
Just swatting them with a rolled up piece of paper or flyswatter
will likely stun them for a moment.
Then, you’ll see them going merrily on their way again.
Why Aren’t
Over-the-Counter
Sprays Working?
You can fill a cabinet with cockroach sprays
and powders and still find evidence of an
infestation.
Many over the counter sprays aren’t strong
enough to affect a roach’s body.
Over time, some roach species seem
to have developed some immunity
to the most common products.
You may also be unable to direct sprays
and powders into the tiny cracks and crevices
that these pests use to get to their
hiding places.
How Come the Roaches
Keep Coming Back?
That new roach skittering across the
counter is likely not the same one you
saw a week ago.
The cockroach life cycle is built for rapid
reproduction.
Some female members of a species can
reproduce without a male.
Others can lay eggs within just a few
weeks after they’ve hatched.
An effective roach control method needs
to have residual effects.
After we spray, our insecticide keeps
working to eliminate the newly born bugs
before they make new ones.
What Actually Works?
Professional pest control treatments attack
cockroaches in several ways.
Specially formulated pesticides can break
down the waxy surface of the exoskeleton
to reach the inner parts of the roach’s body.
There, it can affect the roach’s nervous
system and disrupt their life cycle.
Our customized spraying plans also include
regular inspections to make sure that no
roaches remain.
Once we’ve eliminated the problem,
we’ll continue to help you watch out
for new roaches.
You can also begin using strategies to prevent
attracting roaches to your property.
Eliminating food and water sources
will make your home less inviting
to these irritating insects.
A severe infestation may take a few weeks
to fully go away.
Following the treatment up with a strong
maintenance plan will make sure that they
stay gone.
Custom Weed & Pest Control has been
in business since 1989, serving the greater
Phoenix metro area for both residential
and commercial.
We offer an affordable weed and pest control
package, with customized service to meet
your specific needs.