Help Stop Cockroaches From Cozying Up In Your Home This Winter With A DIY Solution

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Freezing temperatures could mean you see fewer pests around your yard and other outdoor spaces, but your home may not be immune to many types of pests, including the dreaded cockroach. If you thought you'd see less activity from these insects during the winter months, we hate to be the bearer of bad news in this regard. While some species may go dormant, others stay active year-round, especially if you live in a warmer climate. What's more, roaches are cold-blooded creatures, and they will seek warm spots like homes as outdoor temperatures plummet. Once inside, they will hide anywhere they can, growing in numbers until you notice clear signs of a cockroach infestation. You certainly don't have to share your living spaces with these unwanted pests, though. Ensuring that you seal all entry points into your home is an easy DIY solution to prevent winter cockroach trespassers and an essential complement to other pest control management strategies you have in place.

Cockroaches are attracted to multiple items indoors, namely sources of food. Even the cleanest homes could fall victim to roach infestations, though. This is often due to an overlooked feature these insects seek: shelter. When it's cold, cockroaches will look for any warm spot they can find, as well as any access points around doors, windows, utility entry points, and vents. Even worse, these creepy-crawly bugs have a distinct ability to fit through the smallest of openings. As a rule of thumb, any crack, hole, or gap that's as small as 1/16 inches is big enough to accommodate them because of the way they flatten their bodies. In order to literally stop cockroaches in their tracks, it's crucial that you fix up any openings around your home.

Take a walk along the perimeter of your home and take note of any small openings that might possibly allow roaches to enter. You can then seal any door gaps in the winter with weatherstripping, as well as those you find around windows. Apply caulking to any small cracks around these areas and to any openings you notice around the ceiling and baseboards. It's also important to seal up less obvious spots, such as gaps around pipes and electrical wires. Consider placing steel wool in these small gaps to block them. Also, replace plumbing covers against walls as needed. Ideally, the process of identifying and sealing entry points around your home ought to be done before temperatures start to dip. This allows you to get ahead of shelter-seeking insects.

Aside from weatherstripping doors and windows and caulking small gaps, you could also grab a can of polyurethane expanding foam for large holes that caulk can't fill. Great Stuff Pestblock Insulating Foam is a good choice, because it has deterrents to keep the roaches from trying to dig through the foam to get in. For extra assurance, you should also avoid common mistakes if your home is attracting roaches. Limit access to food and water via pet bowls, spills, unsealed food, and crumbs. The fewer options for sustenance, the less likely cockroaches can survive and multiply in your home. Don't wait for an infestation to improve on its own, either. If you're seeing possible droppings, eggs, or the occasional daytime roach, it's time to call a pest control expert for prompt eradication.