TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR HOME AND KITCHEN FROM COCKROACHES THIS FALL

Whether you love to cook or not, it is far more economical and better for you to cook and bake at home rather than eat out every night or buy processed foods all of the time. Fall, in particular, is a time when many people tend to spend more time in the kitchen to use up all of the recently picked apples for the upcoming holidays. You may have extra pantry products left over from last year, but you will want to inspect those items to be sure that they are not out-of-date and that pests have not contaminated them. One pest, in particular, to be on the lookout for is cockroaches! Disgusting, right? Well, you may discover some of these pests while you forage through your kitchen and pantry for needed ingredients. They could be lurking in hidden corners of your kitchen and pantry cabinets or, worse, buried within the flour, seeds, nuts, sugar, or other stored products you haven’t touched in a while.

Cockroaches should not reside inside your New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Eastern Shore of Maryland home. They can spread dangerous illnesses to people and pets that live there. They habitually travel through bacteria and germ-infested places such as sewers and trash heaps, and they won’t think twice about walking across your kitchen counters, all the while posing significant health risks. They just wander around looking for warm, damp, dark places to hide and they can fit through tiny cracks in exterior walls, foundations, broken screens, open doors, etc. As a homeowner, you should be very alert to the dangers of cockroaches and find a way to prevent these nasty pests from entering your home.

Here are a few tips that can help you protect your home from cockroach contamination this fall:

• Inspect your stored food on a regular basis, looking for pests and holes or chew marks in packaging
• Check your shelving thoroughly by pulling out all foods and giving the shelves a good cleaning
• Place all foods that come in paper, cardboard or thin plastic inside sturdy containers with tight-fitting lids, or put foods inside the refrigerator
• Check your groceries when you buy them for any signs of pest contamination or random pest hitchhikers that may be hiding
• Make sure all potential entry points including cracks and crevices in your foundation and exterior walls are sealed off
• Block off gaps around utility wires, cables, and plumbing that enters into your home
• Be sure all of your windows have intact screens and all window and door frames are secure

Most importantly, if you experience a cockroach infestation, call on the experts right away to eradicate them effectively and efficiently. In NJ, PA, MD, and DE you can count on Viking Pest Control for all of your pest problems. Call us today to learn more about our residential pest control options.