Seeing a cockroach scurry across your kitchen or dining room floor can be terrifying and disgusting. This image takes a horrifying turn for the worse when that cockroach flaps its wings and noisily flies around your home.
To prevent you from being terrorized by these cold-blooded, flying pests, we’ve created a guide to everything you should know about cockroaches capable of flight. This piece included:
- Why do I have roaches in my house?
- Do all cockroaches fly?
- Which cockroaches are flying cockroaches?
- Things to know about flying cockroaches
- How to get rid of flying roaches in your house
- Prevent roaches from infesting your home
Why Do I Have Roaches in My House?
Roaches are scavenging pests that are typically looking for:
- Food
- Water
- Shelter
- A place to lay eggs
Especially in a pest-friendly environment like Arizona, these things may come at a premium in nature but be readily available in your home. Roaches can get in through vents, pipes, and weaknesses in your foundation, and they are challenging to get out once they have nested and infested your home.
Do All Cockroaches Fly?
No – not all cockroaches fly.
When identifying which cockroaches fly, it is essential to note that while many species of roaches have wings or can lightly glide from height, not many actually fly.
Which Cockroaches are Flying Cockroaches?
The most common flying cockroach species found in the home include the Pennsylvania Wood Cockroach, the Smoky brown Cockroach, and the Australian Cockroach. The American Cockroach uses its wings to glide, but they are not the aggressive, flying cockroaches that will buzz around your property.
Additionally, you may be mistaking palmetto bugs for flying cockroaches. While this will not stop you from adequately treating either infestation, it will cause your pest control services to vary slightly. Learn more about a palmetto bug vs. cockroach infestation here.
Things to Know About Flying Cockroaches
Flying cockroaches present a unique pest problem to houses in Arizona and any other location they infest. They are tough to catch, kill, or treat with DIY products, and once they have nested in your home, they often require professional pest control to remove them.
Facts About Flying Cockroaches:
- Flying cockroaches are attracted to light
- Flying cockroaches will infest boxes, bags, pipes, and frameworks.
- Flying cockroaches do not live for long periods of time indoors, if possible, but cause tons of damage to your home.
- Roaches typically fly for protection and mating purposes.
- While flying cockroaches don’t bite, they carry bacteria and disease from decaying material.
How to Get Rid of Flying Roaches in Your House
Dealing with flying roaches is typically the same as the non-winged variety – except you will have a hard time killing them one by one or with DIY methods.
Common over-the-counter methods of killing roaches include:
- Baking soda solutions: Mix baking soda with water, honey, or anything that roaches are after.
- Sprays, traps, and insecticides: High-quality name-brand traps and sprays will successfully kill surface-level flying roaches but often have trouble getting to larvae and hidden pests.
- Essential oils: Some people claim that certain essential oils are a natural repellent to cockroaches, but the efficacy is unproven.
Ultimately, the best way to get rid of flying cockroaches for good is to hire regular professional pest control services. A licensed pest control technician will appraise your home and create a unique plan to keep your house cockroach free year-round.
Prevent Roaches From Infesting Your Home
To keep your house safe from flying (or any) cockroach infestation, we recommend doing the following:
- Remove clutter or debris that cockroaches prefer to hide and nest in.
- Get rid of standing water around your home. This includes leaky pipes and full gutters.
- Properly seal or remove any food crumbs, including pet food.
- Get rid of excess cardboard, newspaper, or materials that roaches will eat.
- Seal cracks in your home’s foundation, doors and windows, and other entry points.
- Hire regular pest control services to make sure roaches are gone for good.
Even the peskiest cockroaches will not want to live in your home if you are vigilant. Professional pest control companies do a great job of ensuring you and your family are safe from pest infestations year-round.
Get Cockroach Pest Control in Arizona
Insectek is Arizona’s leading cockroach pest control service because we care about the details. Our team of experts will create a first-visit appraisal and unique plan to keep pests away from your house year-round. Most importantly, we understand the value of a job well done and won’t stop until we get it right.
If you’re looking to protect your home or business from pests with modern and eco-friendly treatments, please reach out to us today. We’d love to provide you with a free quote and schedule a visit as soon as possible.
