If you are planning to exterminate cockroaches from your home but don’t know where they are, your efforts will be useless.
Cockroaches live in specific places not seen everywhere, like moist, dump, and dark places, so it is crucial to identify their hiding places before starting the extermination process.
Not knowing where they are is a total waste of money, time, and effort.
Their hiding ability and transformer-like capability to fly, scuttle, and walk upside down make it difficult to kill them, so identification of places where they lived in your home, workspace, etc., is a necessary step.
Remember that they attract and like food, darkness, and moisture.
These things were present, and they are likely present there. Understanding those places where they mostly hide makes it easier for anyone who wants a cockroach-free environment.
In this literature, we can guide you about the most common hiding places for cockroaches.
Kitchen
The kitchen is a most attractive and favorite place for cockroaches. It is considered a haven on earth for roaches because all their needs are fulfilled there, i.e., moisture, food, a warm environment, and darkness.
Pro Tip: If you are planning to eradicate these insects, start from your kitchen. It is the obvious and the main place for hiding roaches because food is here, the environment is moist and warm, and so many hiding options are also present here.Â
Mostly at night time or in a silent environment, cockroaches are visible in the kitchen and on the floor and surfaces.
Kitchen stove and oven
The Kitchen Stove and oven are prime areas for roaches. They have warmth and plenty of food crumbs, so they like to live and make colonies there.
They are usually present inside the stove cover, ovens, and stove clock, around the boundary or lining of the stove (if a gap is present), because the warmth and tight environment make them feel safe.
Kitchen Cabinets and Counter Top
You can also find roaches hiding in a cabinet, especially in a corner, gaps between the shelves, walls beneath the cabinets, and counters, where they are challenging to see.
Because of the moist environment, you can find them under the dish mats and wracks on the countertop.
Kitchen Appliances
Kitchen appliances, especially the dishwasher and fridge, are hot places for hiding roaches because they provide moisture and food and are safe places to infest fast and efficiently make colonies.
Almost every type of food is present in the fridge, and due to condensation, a moist environment is also available for them. Packed surroundings make them feel safe to hide inside the fridge.
They are attractive for roaches due to all types of food debris and water sink-in washers, which make them favorable places to live.
Kitchens Decorative items
Although they are not a source of food and water, they provide a safe hiding space for roaches.
Bathroom
It is one of the sources of roaches entering your houses and also a loving place for roaches because of unlimited sources of water.
When you take a bath, your bathroom becomes humid and damp. Due to the environment, roaches flourish there and find plenty of spaces to hide.
Bathroom Tiles, Walls and Pipes
If your tiles and walls are cracked and rough, roaches hide them in empty spaces. Pipes are also a great place to hide if they transport water.
Bathroom pipes are a great source for roaches to hide because they carry water and a plumbing system linked to another home or apartment. Pipes are also a source of roaches’ migration from one home to another.Â
Bathroom Tubs, Sink and Toilet
The continuous dripping of water in sinks, toilets, and tubs makes them a favorite place to live, and roaches also find space beneath tubs and sinks to hide.
Not only water attracts roaches, but waste, soap residues, and toilet paper also play a role in encouraging them to hide.
Bathroom Cabinets
Roaches also hide in the bathroom cabinet on the back, and the gaps between shelves and storage boxes of soap and toilet paper are placed inside the cabinet.
Basement
Not only are basements a popular place for roaches, but they are also a popular place for many pests. Basements are moist, dark, and cool, and there are many options to hide.
Although there is not plenty of food in basements, roaches can survive by eating anything available, such as other insects and the dead bodies of their fellow roaches, and become capable of living in your basements.
Attics
Attics are not moist compared to basements, usually dry places, but they become humid on rainy days and get moisture if there is any roof leak or cracks on walls and windows.
But it is dark and dingy so that it can be the breeding ground for many insects. An attic is a place in your house where almost unnecessary things are placed, so proper placement of these things makes it less attractive for roaches.
Trash
Trash is a cockroach’s favorite thing, and where it is present, they will hide in it. If you are looking for roaches, find them where trash is accumulated, whether it is on the bottom of trash cans, baseboards, electrical outlets, or walls behind them.
Clutter
Clutter is also a place for roaches to hide. They not only hide in it but also find a way to eat it. Whether it’s newspaper, cardboard, paper, or glue used to seal an envelope, they eat it.
Ceilings
Not all Species typically brown Branded Cockroaches set up nests inside them above a drywall and can hang out on your ceiling.
In the dark, they don’t hide, but in the daytime, they hide in molding or in cracks behind the trim. If you notice them, trace where they came from and cut the access.
Furniture
Cockroaches are comfortable inside and underneath the furniture. All species of roaches hide in shelves, cupboards, dressers, wardrobes, beds, and other types of furniture.
Only tiny roaches like German Cockroaches hide themselves in couches and chairs. So, if you suspect that roaches are in, you inspect furniture carefully because they attach egg casing on the back side of your furniture.
Regular inspection for those egg casings, droppings, and signs of chewed food must be needed. You can also identify them by their infestation smell.
Bookshelves
It has plenty of space to hide roaches but particular species of roaches that love paper and book binding hide themselves in bookshelves.
So, if you find roaches around the shelf, take out books, inspect them and their pages, and if they have eaten, also look for egg casings on the back of the shelf.
Walls, Wallpaper and Wall Decor
It has plenty of space to hide roaches but particular species of roaches that love paper and book binding hide themselves in bookshelves.
So, if you find roaches around the shelf, take out books, inspect them and their pages, and if they have eaten, also look for egg casings on the back of the shelf.
Electronic Appliances and Electrical Covers
Electronic appliances can be a haven for roaches, given their many different cracks and crevices. They can hide and lay eggs in electronic boxes and unused electronics.
They can also hide in the oven, toast maker, coffee maker, and steamer when you don’t use them. Roaches also squeeze into light fixtures and find their way inside electrical outlet covers.
Pictures and Mirror
Cockroaches hide on the backside of mirrors, picture frames, and posters.
Brown-banded cockroaches are mostly found there because they are less moisture-dependent than other breeds and are particularly likely to hide those who hang on high positions because of the warm temperature there.
Preventive Measures
Where you find a dead cockroach is a clue of their possible route, destination, and origin, but if you find a live one, it means your premises are full of roaches.
Hence, inspecting them and taking preventive action to stop and eliminate them is necessary. Here are several tips for you on how to inspect your premises and possible actions taken:
- Inspect the above-mentioned hiding places for roaches dropping and egg casing at the backside of furniture and stove, etc., and look for their unique smell, too.
- Clean clutter, trash bins, cabinets, storage spaces, etc. timely and adequate.
- Fix all cracks, replace broken drains, fix loose ones, and buy drain plugs
- In the basement, they keep unwanted things in plastic bags, not wooden or cardboard, because they observe moisture as a host for fungi that further act as food for roaches.
- Avoid leaving food debris on the floor, cover food in an airtight container, discard leftover food properly, and put spoiled food away from home.
- Take care of washers, dryers, and other electronic items. If a washer is used, dry it out immediately. Also, clean appliances from time to time.
FAQS
Do cockroaches hide in mattresses?
No, roaches don’t hide in mattresses. Only tiny German roaches can hide on couches and sofas but are not found around mattresses.
Are cockroaches attracted to Pet food?
Yes, cockroaches are attracted to Pet Food and eat it. So, carefully store pet food and prepare only the amount needed in a single batch.
What should I do if I find cockroach egg cases in my house?
If you find egg cases, immediately eliminate and destroy them to prevent the emergence of a new generation of roaches in your home.
How effective is boric acid in controlling roaches?
When used correctly, it is very effective for controlling roaches. It is applied where roaches are likely present but in a fragile layer, and pets and children are kept away.
Conclusion
We conclude that where roaches hide depends on certain situations, mostly on how convenient the place is for them, as they like moist, dark, and warm places to hide.
So, if you know roaches are at your place, make their living conditions unfavorable and remove them from your premises. If this is not enough, take further steps like using commercial roach bait or any other technique to eliminate them.
