Kids And Cockroaches
They drop a sticky lollipop behind the couch. They splatter food on the table, walls, and floor. And they put their food-covered hands on everything. Fortunately, when they get older, they grow out of it. Right? Nope! The room of a teenager is filled with dirty dishes, dirty clothes, and if you're really unlucky, a rotted fruit carcass or two. My daughter was notorious for leaving apple cores laying in the oddest places. This was the source of many pest headaches. Let's explore this idea together, and see if we can come up with solutions to reduce the number of cockroaches in your home.
There are two things you need to understand about roaches and children; the second is quite startling...
- Cockroaches are drawn to sweet, rotting things. They will feed on sweets, meats, starches, and decaying organic matter. If you have these in your home, roaches will be happy to stay.
- What you may not know is that roaches will be drawn to the face of a sleeping child if the child has drying milk on their face, sticky sweetness on their lips, or food matter on their pajamas. This increases their exposure to bacterial illness, and even disease. Always make sure you put your kids to bed clean.
It is also important to keep your home clean. Though it is true that a cockroach can live in a clean home, this is a good starting point for removing food sources. The first thing you'll want to do is clean counters and cabinet doors. Spills that stick to these surfaces are a tasty treat for cockroaches. They love a splotch of ketchup and a glob of butter. They also like crumbs. Keep your carpets and floors clean, so roaches move on to a more suitable environment to thrive in.
The second stage is deep cleaning. Would you do something for me? Go into your kitchen and stand in front of your stove. Bend over and look between the stove and the counter. Do you see food matter? You can guarantee cockroaches see it. If you periodically clean the sides of your stove, you'll make your home less and less appealing to cockroaches.
To keep your home clean, you'll have to establish some rules for eating food around the house. The less you allow your children to eat food anywhere but the dining room and the kitchen the more control you will have over pests. If this feels too restricting, there is another solution. You can partner with a pest management company to inspect your home and seal your walls from intrusion. Then, you don't have to worry quite so much about all those sticky little messes. If you're looking to reduce bugs without the stress of chasing after the kids, this is the way to do it.
Whatever you choose to do, stay vigilant, and don't let your kids feed those cockroaches. This is not an insect you want living in your home. You have enough to worry about without having to deal with cockroach-related illness as well.