Healthier Homes Guidelines: Cockroaches

Learn about cockroaches, their habits, and the signs of an infestation. Discover practical tips to reduce cockroaches in your home, including proper cleaning, food storage, and disposal methods.

• Cockroaches prefer dark, warm, and damp areas

• They can eat and drink almost anything, including food, pet food, dead skin, plants, cardboard, and open containers of water

• Common places to find cockroaches include kitchen countertops, cabinets, behind appliances, open trash cans, pet litter boxes, floors, walls, ceilings, and inside cracks and crevices

• Signs of cockroach infestation include property damage, unusual oily smell, droppings, eggs, and live cockroaches

• To reduce cockroaches, keep your home clean, store food properly, dispose of trash regularly, report cracks and openings, and use pesticide baits and gels as needed