Cockroaches are one of the most annoying pests you can deal with!
Why? Because they are survivalists, they can get into most places and are excellent at hiding.
We know that Cockroaches are nocturnal insects (they come out at night), which begs the question:
Where do cockroaches hide during the day?
And it is no surprise since cockroach infestation is irritating and poses some health hazards to humans.
As I said, cockroaches are nocturnal insects. Hence, it is unlikely to see them during the day. But, once it’s night, chances are high that you’d see a roach racing along the wall (as I did in a hotel room once!)
Likewise, you may find their bite marks on your food items, contaminating them, or even see those nasty pests flying about at night!
So, you better keep reading to find out common roaches’ hideouts because you need to know where they’re hiding if you want any hope of getting them out of your house.
Let’s make a start.
9 common roaches hiding spots
Here are the answers you seek. First, cockroaches love dark places and are known to be more active at night. So, where do they go during the day?
Here are some of the places where roaches hide during the day;
Electronics
It may seem unlikely to find roaches in your electronic/electrical appliances. However, electronics make good hiding spots for cockroaches, especially if you haven’t used the appliances in a while or leave them in a dirty and dark place.
The cockroach species that you can find in your electrical appliances are the smaller species like the German cockroach.
So, you might want to look into your television, gaming console, laptop, or any other electrical appliance for roaches when dealing with a cockroach infestation.
Furniture
It may not be their first choice, but your pieces of furniture make good cockroach hiding spots. If the furniture is conducive enough (i.e., dark and undisturbed), the cockroaches may even nest there.
Due to their body structure, cockroaches can enter small spaces, allowing them to easily get into your cabinets, couches, drawers, mattresses, and so on.
As with electrical appliances, cockroaches will easily occupy an abandoned or unused piece of furniture. It is common to find roaches hiding in furniture during the day, only to forage for food at night.
Therefore, check your furniture well, particularly when moving in new furniture, to ensure they’re not harboring cockroach eggs, nymphs, or adult cockroaches.
Kitchen Appliances
Cockroaches infest kitchen appliances for only one reason! Its closeness to food and water.
Food crumbs and leftovers are the perfect menus for cockroaches. Do you see cockroaches in your kitchen at night and want to know where they ‘vanish’ to during the day?
Then, you may have to check those kitchen appliances. Moreover, the chances of having cockroaches nesting in your kitchen appliances increase with the kitchen’s untidiness.
Some kitchen appliances you should check include; an oven, dishwasher, refrigerator, waffle maker, coffee maker, etc.
Paper/cardboard Stack
Keeping stacks of paper, cardboard, and magazines is similar to sending an open invitation to these six-legged pests! Piles of paper/cardboard do not only serve as an ideal breeding ground for roaches.
They also serve as a food source for some cockroach species, as some roach species feed on paper. And it gets worse.
Occasionally, the roaches may infest a stack of books instead of papers, and the books may get destroyed. Other times, however, they hide somewhere close and feed on the books. Unfortunately, the latter is common when the books are still in use.
Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinets
Roaches need water and food. For one, a stable food and water supply makes them healthy and breed faster. So, it is no surprise that cockroaches leverage their flat bodies and enter holes, cracks, crevices, and other openings in your kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
Kitchen and bathroom cabinets give them all they need (hiding places and food sources). Furthermore, having molds in your cabinets also increases the chances of roaches hiding there.
Thus, it is expedient to comb your cabinets thoroughly to ensure there are no cockroaches or cockroach eggs.
Pipes
Like these winged pests are not annoying enough, they often enjoy hiding in pipes. Have you seen cockroach antennae waving at you from the pipe openings in your bathtub or other faucets? Then, you may have roaches nesting in your pipes.
The reason for roaches’ affinity for pipes is not far-fetched. Cockroaches love their abodes, wet, dark, and protected. As a result, you should not be too surprised that they hide in pipes so much since pipes fit the bill of their ideal hiding place.
Basements
American and Oriental Cockroaches are cockroach species that you are more likely to find in basements because they can withstand cooler temperatures than other ones.
Besides providing cockroaches with a place where they can live undisturbed, basements also serve as breeding grounds for cockroaches. Therefore, if left unchecked, a handful of cockroaches in your basement may quickly grow into an intrusion (i.e., a group of cockroaches).
Under kitchen sinks/Floor Drains
Cockroaches don’t just lurk in kitchens, so you may see some audacious species racing across the kitchen floor in broad daylight. This is because their best food source in the house is the kitchen.
Similarly, floor drains have one thing that roaches love – water. So, why not take up residence close to a place that promises them water and food?
Three simple steps to permanently end cockroach infestation
Now that you know where the cockroach hiding places are in your house, it is time to get them out of their hideouts and end your cockroach problem once and for all.
Here are three steps to get rid of cockroaches in your house;
Get rid of cockroach eggs.
One of the most effective ways of removing cockroaches from your house is to get rid of their eggs. Cockroaches breed and multiply very quickly and do not lay eggs in open places.
So, even if you get rid of the adult cockroaches, you may soon have another cockroach infestation to deal with once baby roaches emerge from those eggs.
Follow the guide above to locate their nesting place. Once you’ve suspected a place harboring cockroach eggs, declutter the place if it is clumsy. Then, vacuum thoroughly to collect all the eggs.
Typically, the eggs are in an egg sac called “ootheca.” Therefore, after collecting the ootheca, you should crush them and dispose of them.
NOTE: Endeavor to dispose of the crushed egg sacs as far away from your house as possible.
Alternatively, you can kill those eggs using diatomaceous earth or baking soda sugar. Then, all you need to do is to sprinkle any of the two in places where you often see the cockroaches or the nests you’ve located.
Use insecticides
You can also use insecticides on adult cockroaches. You can purchase several insecticides at any supermarket or local store.
Spray the insecticide in places where you see cockroaches, killing them. Then, pack the dead insects and dispose of them carefully and appropriately.
Call professional exterminators
What do you do after trying all the above steps and can’t seem to get rid of these pests? Well, that may mean that the cockroaches have infested places that you have not been able to locate yet.
If you have had a sudden appearance of cockroaches, it may be time for you to call in professional pest control. So, get a credible exterminator to look into your cockroach problem.
The cockroaches are gone; now what?
Here’s where many homeowners miss it. After getting rid of cockroaches, they do not take preventive measures to ensure they do not return to the house.
Therefore, after some time, the cockroaches only come back into the house, and the fight against cockroaches begins all over again.
Here are some steps you can take to make your house unappealing to cockroaches;
Use natural remedies
Use natural cockroach repellents (peppermint essential oils, bay leaves, boric acid, citrus oil, garlic powder, etc.) to deter cockroaches from your house.
Some of these natural repellents release smells that are intolerable to cockroaches, thus effectively keeping them at bay.
Clear out any food/water source
Keeping your home clean and neat always will do the ‘trick’ here. Keep your pet food properly, and your books packed in an air-tight cabinet; properly disposing of cardboard boxes will prevent book stacks or paper stacks that cockroaches love to eat.
Sealing up all cracks, crevices, damaged pipes, and other cockroach entry points is very important.
Conclusion
Now you know the most coming cockroach hiding places, it is time for action!
Clean up your home, seal entry points, put some cockroach traps in the best places for success and do what you can to deter them from entering your home.
Good luck!
