Roach clean out in Toms River, NJ

Challenge

I was dispatched to a home in Toms River, NJ to perform an intensive servicing to get rid of a severe German cockroach infestation in the homeowner’s kitchen. Although there are other species of roaches, the German roach is the usual suspect. These are the roaches that give other roaches a bad name. We often find German roach infestations in apartments and other multi-family dwellings as well as in the commercial kitchens of restaurants and other food service establishments. However, as was the case here, single-family homes can and do find themselves with roach infestations. And it’s not always because of poor sanitation. It’s easy to transport a roach or egg casing (ootheca) into your home from the local grocery store. Also, your college student may be bringing in these bugs from his or her dorm room when visiting.

The German cockroach can almost be considered parasitic. They always live in close association with humans and they cannot survive in locations away from human activity. These roaches are far more than a nuisance. They contaminate food with their waste and often transport and harbor pathogens. Roaches can cause a severe allergic response with some people, and in extremely heavy infestations, they can even bite! They are omnivorous and will eat almost anything in sight from crumbs, grease, and food residue left out in your kitchen to the glue in book bindings. 

Unfortunately, there is a social stigma to having a roach infestation since they are associated with poor sanitary conditions. I’ve even had customers who were embarrassed to call us or notify their property manager because of embarrassment until the problem because so severe that they could not live with it any longer. For a pest control tech, a roach infestation is no different than any other insect infestation and it does not mean a dirty home. It is important to contact a pest control service at the first sign of a problem because these infestations spread quickly, especially in apartments and other high-density living areas. 

Although you can find roaches pretty much anywhere, they are attracted to kitchens for obvious reasons. Your kitchen has everything a roach is looking for — food, water, and plenty of harborage areas to hide who the lights are on. They are especially attracted to warm places like motor boxes on your refrigerator and dishwasher. Roach infestations can grow rapidly. Their life-cycle from egg to adult is about 3 months, and they breed continuously with many overlapping generations. 

Solution

This home had a particularly severe infestation, so I brought out “the big guns.” I started my servicing by treating the product with a powerful growth regular that actually sterilizes the insects and prevents them from completing their life-cycle. I then placed glue traps that I use to help monitor the roach population. Also, the traps also help reduce the population by catching stray roaches. Sometimes, the female will deposit the egg casing on the glue, stopping a new generation. A single egg case can  contain up to 40 eggs! 

I saved my favorite treatment for last — a fogging machine that applies product deep into wall voids and any cracks and crevices. This treatment flushes out all of the hiding roaches. Seeing these bugs scurrying out of their hiding spots knowing they are on their last legs is a great feeling. For me, treating a roach infestation is like going to war, and these bugs are formidable enemies that don’t easily give up.