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The idea of cockroaches in your bed alone is creepy enough to get you imagining them all over you during sleep which is why most homeowners tend to get highly alarmed at the sight of one. Although they are a very common species, they breed in unhygienic conditions and thrive on food particles and dirty kitchens/washrooms.
To avoid having them in the house, there are multiple precautionary measures you can take. However, if you already have an cockroach infestation in the house, there are a few things you can do before calling in the exterminators.
How to Keep Roaches Away From Bed While You Sleep At Night?
The best way to avoid cockroaches in your bedrooms is by restricting them outside. Keeping them out of your bedroom is only possible if your room remains clean. Here are 6 simple yet actionable tips that will help you keep roaches out of your bedroom while you sleep at night:
1. Pest Repellents
Pest repellents keep roaches and other bugs outside the house and prevent them from making a home inside your home. Electronic pest repellers are being used for pest control the most frequently since they are safe for children and pets and keep roaches, rodents and insects at bay. They do not leave dead roach bodies all over the house and keep your house roach free without you having to do any extra work.
2. Traps
Usually roaches call for a fast action and the good old traps provide you just that. Traps are typically odorless and are an eco-friendly alternative to chemicals, sprays and repellents.
3. Use Cockroach Repellent Spray
Cockroach repellent sprays are very effective when it comes to keeping roaches out of your bedroom. All you need to do is spray it in all corners of your rooms specially places where roaches could potentially enter from. This spray can also be used to kill any existing roaches in your room instantly.
4. Baits
You can find zillions of types of baits online to give all those roaches a death penalty. They attract roaches and guarantee that the entire nest will perish. Many of these are not harmful for children, however, they should be kept out of their reach. A lot of people are moving to gel baits for the convenience they provide. All you gotta do is apply the gel on small nooks, edges and wall cracks where these are most commonly found and bring help to collect the dead roaches.
5. Boric Acid
Boric acid is a great solution when it comes to killing roaches. Super safe for humans, this spray or powder has the ability to cling itself to the body of the bed bug or American cockroach and attack its internal systems, especially its digestive system. Not just the ones who are exposed to the spray or powder, but those who come in contact with the sprayed roaches also die in a few hours time.
When powdered with sugar, it acts a bait, ultimately finishing off all the roaches present in the house.
6. Essential Oils
This one is our favorite repellent. Not only does it soothe you and creates a relaxing ambiance, but also keeps roaches away from your room. Essential oils are a big repellent for the roaches and they don’t give you any mess in the morning, do not create a bad odor and are super safe to use around kids. In fact, it might even relax your hyperactive kids. Add some of your preference in water, in a 1 to 10 ratio and spray it around the room for the calmest roach repellent experience ever.
What Causes Roaches in a Clean House?
The most important factor that causes the roaches to enter your house is poor sanitary conditions and leftover food in kitchen and rooms.
Uncovered Leftover Food
Are you also one of those people who are not in the habit of cleaning their kitchens before going to sleep? Chances are, the roaches have already secretly made their way to your kitchen and are planning a full on invasion of the entire house. Uncovered leftover food and food particles on the kitchen counters is highly inviting. Clean kitchen spaces and food locked in containers and refrigerators can considerably lessen your chances of a roach invasion.
Dark & Damp Environments
Have you ever wondered why roaches are always found in abundance in washrooms and kitchens, that too when the lights are out? That’s because their ideal breeding ground is a dark and damp environment. Leaky faucets, compost bins in the kitchen or outside, cabinets underneath the sink can all be home to roaches if you’re not vigilant enough. Roaches are majorly dependent on water and can go up to weeks without any solid diet but will perish in a few days’ time if their water supply is cut off.
Roaches may also make storage boxes their home and if you have been bringing home any boxes from storage units or basements, they can come into your house via that.
How to Prevent Cockroaches in Bedroom?
Prevention is always better than cure. But if you failed to stop roaches from entering your bedroom and they already got inside, it’s important that you get rid of them and kill them completely. To eliminate them and keep them out of your house, you need to make your house and rooms less inviting and maintain a clean environment. Here are 5 practical tips that will help you prevent cockroaches in your bedroom:
1. Don’t Leave the Food Uncovered
Cockroaches thrive on sugary foods, so you would want to keep all your food covered. Since bedrooms aren’t really the place to keep food, a lot of us are in the habit of eating in our rooms, or storing snacks somewhere in the cupboards. Therefore, be sure to keep them in air tight containers and not to leave dirty dishes in the room for too long. Roaches can also make their way into pet food as well, so don’t leave that uncovered either.
2. Fix Leaky Taps
Any leaky taps will create a moist and humid environment, which is ideal for roach breeding. Dry and cold environments prevent roaches from entering your room. Absence of water can kill them within a week, while they can survive without food for as long as four weeks. Therefore, you need to fix any leaks in the washroom or kitchen to keep them from entering the bedroom.
3. Keep Your Room Clean
Goes without saying, clean and hygienic conditions will keep the roaches out of your room and eventually, your house. Cluttered rooms are highly welcoming for roaches so you should keep your room decluttered. Garbage cans attract oriental and German cockroaches like a magnet, so if you have any in the room, make sure to keep them clean and empty them regularly.
4. Seal any Entry Points
Sewers, drains, plumbing pipes, crawl spaces under the floor are all entry points for the roaches, so make sure they’re all cleaned regularly and sealed properly. They breed in warm and moist places so they are naturally found near taps and plumbing pipes. Keep your cabinets and shelves clean and dry at all times.
5. Clean the Trash Can
Make sure to take the trash out on an everyday basis and clean the garbage can every now and then as well. Also be careful not to dispose off any beverages or sauces into the trash since that can attract roaches who feed on such conditions. A common mistake people make is of keeping trash uncovered in the kitchen or bedroom. Foul smelling trash is a big yes for roaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do cockroaches climb beds?
Although they might seem like tiny creatures, they sure can climb beds, especially in the night when its dark. As we’ve discussed before, roaches thrive on darkness and dampness. Although their favorite place might be the kitchen and washrooms, they might crawl up to your bed just casually. This doesn’t necessarily have much to do with how clean your room is since a lot of other factors contribute to their presence.
Do roaches hide in mattresses?
It’s very unusual for roaches to hide in mattresses, however, you must check underneath them and clean them regularly to avoid them from making their home there.
Will keeping lights on keep roaches away?
We have established the fact that roaches are fond of darkness and that is where you will usually find them. But, unfortunately, leaving lights on doesn’t do much to keep roaches away. They will find other darker spots to hide until a full blown infestation is ready. This is when you’ll see them in broad daylight as well, which is alarming. Therefore, you should locate their breeding source as soon as you see them roaming around during the day.
Do roaches sleep?
Yes. Like every other living organism, roaches will not stay up throughout the day as their body needs to rest as well, through circadian rhythms. Roaches have a period of locomotion, a period of immobility and a period of no movement but antennae movement. It is during their immobility period that the roaches rest.