How To Know if You Have Roaches

Roaches are one reproductive breeder you can’t afford to have in your house. Their female can produce up to 30 eggs a month. So, with one female roach in your home, that is a potential full-blown infestation in the corner.

The funny thing about these pests is that they are master players of the hide-and-seek game. So, many people do not know when they enter their house until there is a massive roach population.

If you live in Florida or suspect roach activities in your house, we have some telltale signs here to help you confirm their presence.

Below, we will identify five common signs of a roach infestation. But before we go into that nitty-gritty, let’s briefly discuss some facts about these small-bodied insects and household pests.

Some Facts About Roaches

Roaches are notorious insects that can live, eat, and breed in your house without you knowing. They feed on anything from waste, paper, cloth, or dead ants and can survive for 30 days without food.

They are pathogens to bacteria that trigger asthma. This is primarily due to their feces, saliva, and body allergens. Roaches are also carriers of bacteria that may lead to other life-threatening conditions.

They love dark places and seldom come out when it is dark. That is why you don’t see them often.

Let’s leave it with these small-bodied insects and discuss simple ways to tell if they are in your home.

5 Unmistakable Signs Roaches Are in Your Home

It is easy to experience a roach infestation in your home since roaches are reproductive breeders.

However, until you know the signs of a roach infestation, you may be unable to decipher their presence until the situation becomes severe.

It is not simple to spot roaches in the daytime, making it more challenging to know when you have them around.

But we’ve compiled some telltale signs you can look out for. Below, we will consider them one after the other:

1. Roach Poop

When you see roach poops scattered at different corners of your home, it is a sign that those creatures are hiding somewhere already. Roach droppings are similar to ground coffee or black pepper.

Although their poop varies in length, the width for a normal-sized roach poop is 1 mm. We advise you to wear gloves and other protective wear while cleaning their feces as these insects eat anything.

You never can tell – the roaches in your home might have fed on bacteria-infected substances. They will pass the bacteria out as waste if this is the case.

2. Foul Odor

Roaches have a typical smell that is unpleasant. The scent is from their feces, as they love to keep feces where they live and sleep.

This waste produces a pheromone that attracts other roaches to the area. When the infestation increases, the smell intensifies.

Their droppings produce a scent similar to a musty and damp surface that attracts other roaches.

As their population rises, the smell they secrete becomes so overwhelming.

3. Stain and Smear Marks

Stain and smear marks are other telltale signs of a roach infestation you shouldn’t ignore. Very few people pay attention to them, though.

In most infestation situations, roaches leave either white or black smear marks as they move around.

The thickness of this mark will guide your judgment on the size of the roach.

This will further guide you on possible extermination ideas you can deploy to eliminate them.

4. Roach Eggs and Baby Roach

Roaches lay oothecae that house multiple eggs. These eggs hatch over time and produce nymphs. All bugs, including the giant bugs, came from eggs.

Once they lay the egg, some roaches carry their egg as they move about. In comparison, others leave theirs close to places like electrical appliances with no current.

Also, candy boxes, stacks of books, kitchen cabinets, and closets are safe places they keep their eggs. If you see roach egg cases in your house, you can be sure the stubborn insects are hiding somewhere.

The roach egg case looks like a brown grain of rice or small but fried kidney beans. Be watchful of these little egg cases that you will find close to their assembling spot.

When the egg matures and becomes a nymph, you experience a bigger problem here. At this point, you are fully aware that you don’t just have a roach infestation but breeding roaches too.

Baby roaches are primarily white when compared to their regular dark brown color. Their color is almost like an albino roach, but as they grow, they get darker with each molt.

5. Shed Skins and Dead Roaches

Roaches go through different development stages, from nymphs to adulthood. They go through five phases which include the shedding of old skins.

At each stage of development, roaches shed their old skin, which looks like dead and dried roaches. It may leave you thinking that bugs are dying without using repellents. When you see dead roaches, you may even feel the problem is solving itself already.

I wished that was the case – but unfortunately, it is not. On the contrary, these insects are only multiplying. When you see a dead bug, other roaches might have fed on it due to insufficient food sources.

It is crucial to thoroughly inspect your home once you see these signs.

Conclusion

Although quite challenging to detect, roaches leave signs of their presence where they are infesting. The truth is, it only takes a watchful eye to see them.

If you suspect these pests are somewhere around, the five signs above will give a clue on what to watch out for to confirm your suspicion.

You can tell roach presence in your home through their poop, foul odor, eggs, and little ones. Other signs you can look for are stains, smear marks, shed skins, and dead roaches.

When you identify their hideout, please follow up with the necessary actions to frighten them off. You may want to call a professional insect removal company to handle the job for the best results.