Cockroaches are crafty enough to crawl in and out through drains and pipes; this is especially a problem in apartment buildings, where drain pipes are used as highways between apartments.
While unusual, it is not uncommon to see cockroaches coming out of drains, especially in older buildings. When they detect pesticides, cockroaches have been known to try to escape from the poison in any way possible, including out of sink drains.
Though cockroaches may come up from the sink or shower drain, they cannot come up through your toilet because of the water, even though cockroaches can hold their breath for 40 minutes. Even the cockroaches who exclusively live in drains will only come out into your home if there is a source of food available.
You could be attracting roaches to your bathroom if: There are leaking pipes and clogged sinks, standing water, and other maintenance issues. The bathroom trash can(s) have not been disinfected in a while. Your family has a tendency to leave wet towels and dirty laundry on the floor.
With lots of water, even in places you might not guess, roaches flourish in bathrooms and find plenty of places to hide in them: Bathroom Sinks, Tubs and Toilets: Cockroaches love hiding under sinks, which are great sources of water. And they like drains, pipes, and the gaps in walls around pipes for the same reason.
Bathrooms are an ideal roach breeding ground, even in clean, well-kept homes. This is because bathrooms provide cockroaches with all of these elements: Food – cockroaches will eat soap and human cells. Water – from the drains, sinks, and water heaters.
Can Pouring Bleach Down Your Drain Kill Roaches? An old wive's tale is that bleach can be used to clean out your drain system and to kill roaches that may be living in your drains. Bleach does indeed kill roaches, but it isn't recommended as a drain system cleaner.
Distilled vinegar does not kill or repel roaches, making it completely ineffective. Distilled vinegar will help keep your kitchen clean, giving cockroaches less to snack on. However, roaches can live for months at a time without any food at all, and they will eat almost anything to survive.
Just like cooking oil, bleach is one of those things you shouldn't pour into your sink. You should also never use bleach to unclog your drains. Doing so can even burst your drain pipes, and you'll be left with a nasty and expensive mess. Last but not least, it's harmful to the environment and sea life.
Baking soda and vinegar can be used together to clean drains naturally. Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down the drain and follow it with 1/2 cup vinegar. The chemical reactions between these two ingredients should be enough to get rid of any waste in the drain.
Water in Drains & Pipes
Roches can live without food for weeks and even a month. But they can't live without water. Therefore if your drain pipes are clogged and offer stagnant puddles of water, it's bound to attract roaches from the sewer.
Unfortunately, cockroaches are not loners. If you see one, there are likely many more that you can't see. Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures, so you'll most likely spot them late at night, especially if you walk into your kitchen and turn on the light.
Baby roaches – in kitchens or bathrooms – are usually an indication of a German cockroach infestation. These roaches are commonly found in kitchen and bathroom areas because they offer a warm, humid environment with plenty of moisture and access to food.
Cockroaches cannot survive in the main water chamber of your dishwasher, but loose seals, excess amount of heat, and design flaws make it easy for cockroaches to get inside your dishwasher. Roaches can live and survive in your dishwasher for a long time because people don't wash their dishwashers regularly.
Cockroaches seek places where they can find ample food. Food crumbs, spills, leftovers, and pet food are the most common food sources. Kitchen trash and grease on stovetops and countertops can be inviting for roaches, and they may also get into stored food items.
You may love the smell of fresh citrus, but cockroaches hate the scent. That means you can use citrus scented cleaners in your kitchen and bathroom to chase any lingering roaches away. You can also keep a few citrus peels around your home in strategic places.
Pine-Sol and Fabuloso are strong, all-purpose household cleaners. Similar to bleach, these products kill roaches on contact. Some homeowners suggest spraying Pine-Sol around the outside of your house to keep cockroaches away.
Good old-fashioned soap and water is a safe, reliable, and inexpensive method. Create a soapy water solution that you can spray with a bottle. It will only take about 2 – 3 sprays to kill any roaches, as the soapy solution will cover their breathing pores and suffocate them.
While bleach is ineffective when it comes to killing cockroaches, it does repel them. But, bleach should only be used with extreme caution, as it is toxic when ingested, and has the potential to bleach or damage anything it touches. When it comes to deterring roaches with smells, bleach may not be the best option.
Cockroach eggs look like small tan, brown or black capsules shaped something like a pill or a purse. German and American cockroach eggs are approximately 1/3-inch (8 mm) long, while those of the Oriental and SmokyBrown cockroaches are slightly longer, reaching lengths of almost ½ inch (12 mm).
The presence of baby cockroaches usually indicates there is a nest nearby. Once a nest is established in or near your home, the odds are likely that you either have a full blown infestation already or one is in the process of starting.
Then, spray generously on walls, counters and other surfaces where you've seen cockroach activity. This should be enough to deter roaches, at least for a time. As an alternative to peppermint oil spray, you can also wet cotton balls with peppermint oil and water and place them in cupboards, along walls or in closets.
Cockroach feces are easy to identify. Droppings from small cockroaches resemble ground coffee or black pepper. Larger roaches leave behind dark, cylindrical droppings with blunt ends and ridges down the side.