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In Florida, you’re going to have to deal with cockroaches at some point. It’s just a fact of homeownership in the Sunshine State. And Tampa is noted for being one of the most cockroach infested cities in the entire United States. So today, we’ll touch on Tampa cockroach prevention and discuss a few pest control tips regarding cockroaches.
Tampa Cockroach Prevention : Basic Tips
When it comes to keeping cockroaches out of your homes, there are a dozen things to consider. But number one with a bullet is always going to be not giving them a reason to be there in the first place. Sure, even a clean house will probably have a cockroach in it from time to time. It’s Florida; that’s how life goes. But cleanliness can be the difference between one or two roaches and a thousand.
Roaches love a mess
One of the most surefire ways to have roach problems in your home is leaving unattended food scraps available for them to scavenge. This means being diligent when wiping down counters and cleaning up after meals. Using a broom and vacuum to get any off of the floor is a must, especially if you have carpet. Carpet threads are excellent at trapping food scraps that can encourage cockroaches to come inside your home.
Keeping your trashcan uncovered in Florida is another no-no. Always ensure that you have a lidded trash can with a lid that actually locks into places. Cockroaches can squeeze into absurdly small spaces, so if you play in the gap, the roaches will gorge themselves on your trash.
And be careful keeping anything that used to be a tree in your house. By that, I mean cellulose materials, specifically cardboard. Cockroaches love cardboard. They eat it, live in it, mate in it, you name it. So a go-to Tampa cockroach prevention tip of mine is to get plastic, reusable storage and toss the cardboard when you bring it into your home. This goes for things like cereal,
Tampa cockroach prevention: Keep them out in the first place
And on that note, exclusion is a great way to reduce the risk of cockroaches in your home. Sealing gaps is vital because otherwise, they’ll just walk into your home. Window and door stripping are made of rubber and tend to rot, so make sure that they’re replaced and robust enough to keep the roaches out.
Sealing cracks in the foundation is essential as well. And don’t forget to seal around any water pipes feeding in through the wall of your home. Many of them will have play in their gaps that you’ll have to fill to exclude pests, insects, and animals.
Garden with care
This is a crime that I’m very much guilty of. I love to garden, and I love to compost and use it in the garden. But if you do either of those, please make sure to keep space between your garden and your home. Having flowers and trees in contact with your home can lead to an easy highway into your home. Overhanging tree branches fall into this category as well.
Composting should be done far from your home and with care. Cockroaches are an important scavenger species in the composting process. And let me put it simply. If you compost in Florida, there will be roaches in it. So make sure that you keep them from migrating into your home and compost at least 20 feet or more from your house.
Tampa Cockroach Prevention: What species of cockroach live in Florida?
Alright, let’s touch on a few of the species of cockroach that you may run into in Florida.
American cockroach
The American cockroach is one of the most prolific species in the United States. And, of course, it’s found in Florida. Oddly enough, despite the name, this roach isn’t native to the Americas. It was originally from Africa and introduced via the slave trade in the 1600s. But these days, the entire Southeastern U.S. is lousy with these roaches, and Florida is possibly the worst.
Identification of this species is straightforward. They’re the largest species in the continental U.S., with adults occasionally reaching three inches in length. Most often, however, they’re well over an inch in length, and most approach two. They’re mahogany in color and have a yellow band that runs around the back of their heads in a half circle.
Florida woods roach
This is a unique species of cockroach that’s actually native to Florida. You won’t often see these guys invading homes despite being quite numerous in the state. The males release a foul odor when disturbed. They’re dark brown, with heads that are rounded at the tip.
If you do get these roaches into your home, you’ll tend to find them in the bathroom. This species needs humidity to survive, so it will clutter around pipes or steamy areas.
German cockroach
Now, this is the worst species to find in your Florida home. Really, all of my Tampa cockroach prevention tips are geared toward keeping this species out of your home. All of them are tough to deal with, but German cockroaches are uniquely so. You can recognize this species by its distinct pale yellow coloration. They also have two dark bands that run parallel down their bodies.
What makes this roach such a challenge is its mating and breeding habits. One female German cockroach in your home will ruin all the work you’ve done with prevention. Because a female German cockroach is capable of having 300,000 children off of mating once and will retain the male’s semen to keep having more offspring. This means that a single female can lead to infestations that number of the tens of thousands, if not more.
