There are many stores that sell do-it-yourself cockroach control products, including a variety of sprays, dusts, baits and foggers. The problem is that many of these products don’t work very well, and cockroaches are extremely hard to eradicate. Especially since cockroaches are most commonly found around the kitchen of your home, do you really want to spread a bunch of toxic products through that space where you store your food and the plates you eat off of each day?
There are also many different varieties of cockroaches, though only a few of them regularly take up residence in human homes. The three most common types of cockroaches that infest homes and apartments in the area near Winston-Salem, North Carolina are the German cockroach, the American cockroach and the Oriental cockroach. Professional insecticides are more effective than the do-it-yourself variety of cockroach control because the products are effective for longer (often for months) and a professional pest inspector will be able to identify what type of cockroach you have in your home and will know what methods of eradication are most effective for that species. Often times, a combination of techniques is most effective for cockroach control, because they can be a challenging pest to destroy.
If you need cockroach control, there are things you can do before your pest control professional arrives that will help make the treatment more effective. You can clean your home thoroughly, mopping and sweeping, vacuuming and wiping down counters. You can cover and store any food. If you have small children in the home, it may be a good idea to cover or remove any baby items or toys from the treatment area. Removing excess paper and cardboard from your home will also help the treatment to maximize effectiveness and reduce insect habitat in your home.