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You will be surprised by just how many people eat from their cars.
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You are taking a nice long drive on a warm sunny day or maybe a night where the moon is shining brightly down on you and the sky is bespattered with stars beyond counting and just as you’re thinking about how perfect this moment is, you suddenly see a roach or two busting out of your vents. This is your, in fact, everyone’s nightmare, to find pests, more so roaches in your car.
Therefore, in today’s post, we are going to discuss the best ways to eliminate roaches in your vehicle, specifically a car, and even mention the best type of roach killers you can use to ensure they are gone completely.
Who’s the culprit?
First, we need to identify how did roaches end up in our car? Answer to that is, us carelessly stuffing our mouths while driving or letting the passengers eat in our cars. Roaches live off of leftover food. You will be surprised by just how many people eat from their cars. We have all done it at some point and don’t even bother cleaning up right after. This leaves food crumbs all over that will attract roaches right in. We recommend not eating from the car for 1-2 months after starting out the treatment. This will ensure that the remaining roaches die from starvation.
Moreover, it is not just the food that these pests feed off of, they even live off debris, dirt, paper, glue, decaying plants, clutter or objects containing wood, etc. So yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is us who are the monsters, it is us who are the culprits who provide an environment to such pests to breed.
Be an inspector
Hence, the first step is to do a flashlight inspection. Find the source that is breeding roaches in your car. Once you have successfully done that identifies the type of roach it is, because there are multiple types of roaches, such as German Roach and American Roach, and according to their type find a solution because the remedies differ according to their type. However, there exists a general guide that could eradicate any type that is suggested below.
Put your gloves on!
Once you know the source, get the soapy water, the best of the best detergents you own, and clean every corner of your car. Because remember, roaches and pests of such sort breed on filth. So, if the problem is dealt with from the get-go, if there is no filth, there would be no situations where you would have to get rid of roaches. Hence, ensure that you clean your car thoroughly every once in a while. If you cannot avoid eating from the car, make sure that you take out the trash and any leftovers to avoid creating an environment that cockroaches to thrive in easily. Moreover, get rid of the pile of old newspapers and magazines you have in your car and throw away or donate items that sit idly in your car and will just collect dust over time.
Moisture is a big no!
Remember pests breed on moisture and warm surfaces, hence make sure your car is dry from inside out, so there is no environment for the roaches to breed, to begin with.
Hide and seek?
Growing up we all loved this game, but in this scenario, seeking roaches where they hide could be a little frustrating. But once you are able to find them and the point of their entry to your car, the issue could be resolved right there and then. Seal up the openings in your vehicle as roaches are capable of getting through the smallest gaps.
Let nature be the savior
Bay leaves could be a natural remedy that might help you keep them out of your car. This would not kill the roaches, but for sure help, you keep them out of your vehicle. This is the best remedy if you are allergic to pesticides and these leaves are not poisonous to humans. So, if you have children, Bay leaves would be no threat to their health.
However, if the things have gotten out of control, and the roaches have gotten out of your hands, you could rely on sprays, traps, and baits.
Spray the Roach away!
Spraying is one of the most common ways to get rid of roaches. Sprays are cheap and are easily available at any mart and local stores. This is an effective way as it right away kills roach or momentarily ‘shoos them away’. Some of the sprays that one can find in the markets are Bengal Gold Roach Spray, Ortho Home Defense Insect Killer, Mortein pest killer, etc. However, this is only feasible for the short run and might not fix the problem in the long run. Hence, Baits and traps could be used to eradicate the roots of their existence. Moreover, using sprays might not be healthy for multiple individuals as it causes severe breathing problems, especially for children and the elderly.
In addition, You have to realize that the methods you have used in your house before as roach killers will not work for the car. Treatments like spray, bug bombs, diatomaceous earth, boric powder are effective but you do not want to risk breathing in the toxic chemicals while you are driving.
Bait the Roach to death
Since roaches are nocturnal and will come out at night, we would recommend baits as perfect techniques. You can put baits under each car seat and in areas you suspect are already infested. These baits are very effective because once a roach ingests, it goes back to its nest and ends up infecting the rest of the colony. Keep in mind that the baits, especially contain chemicals that are harmful to your kids and pets. Therefore, you should always ensure that you keep them out of reach.
In the long run, they all succumb to death because they will have come in contact with the bait in one way or another; either by ingesting what one roach brought back to the nest, or coming into contact with the dead’s roach fecal matter.
Suck them out?
If your car is heavily infested, you might have tried intensive vacuuming as a way of getting rid of them. Sadly, this is not effective enough because you don’t reach the nests and therefore, they keep multiplying despite your efforts.
It’s time you walked into your local store and purchased some baits and traps. They are affordable and will not break your bank.
An Alternate?
You will start seeing dead roaches lying around as soon as the next day after application. However, some roaches are immune to some killers and therefore if you do not notice any changes after a while, it may be time to seek an alternative method.
Hit a professional up
Just the mere sight of pests crawling across your car seats is unbearable. And if you have tried all the methods and cannot get rid of them? Don’t worry. Roach exterminators are just a call away. The cost would be a little more than the cost of remedies you try yourself, but the results would be permanent and long-lasting.
Disrupt the lifecycle
At times a new roach infestation might appear even after successfully killing roaches. Hence, successful treatment must include an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) that disrupts the lifecycle of pests as it acts as birth control and restricts the growth of these pests. IGRs are available in the forms of concentrated liquids, aerosols, and point-source stations.
Take a look around?
Now you need to go all the way back to the start and think to yourself, where are all these roaches coming from? Obviously, there must exist pests in your garage or wherever you are parking your car, from where they are entering your car. If you are able to point that out, just nip the issue in the bud. Get rid of the roaches from the garage and in turn, you would also get rid of them from your car.
Set up traps! Sticky ones.
This is another alternative to harmful substances, not so long-term natural remedies and expensive professional help. The way Sticky roach trap works is pretty self-explanatory. It sticks the roaches on itself and traps them. This also helps one identify the entry points as the traps containing more roaches would indicate the pests are entering somewhere from there. Trapro is a famous sticky trap for roaches. However, one has to be cautious not to touch the glue themselves because it might damage your skin.
To sum it all up, keep your cars clean occasionally from the inside out, inspect where they are breeding, keep your car dry, block every entry points of roaches, use bay leaves, and if all this does not work out, resort to sprays, traps or baits, vacuum your car, seek professional help and clean your garage to get a life, and a car free of roaches.
