Early Warning Signs Of Roaches In Your Yakima County Home

There’s nothing more unsettling than finding a cockroach scurrying across the bathroom floor or the corner of your bedroom late at night – however, it’s more common for homeowners to discover signs of cockroaches before they see the actual roaches. In Yakima, there are four main types of cockroaches that are likely to end up in your home:

• American Roaches: Strong fliers, American cockroaches are the largest house-infesting roach species. They tend to be reddish-brown with a figure-8 pattern located on the back of their heads. 
• German roaches: While they have wings, German cockroaches don’t fly. They have oval, flat-shaped bodies with brown and tan coloring.
• Oriental Roaches: Known for the musty stench they put off, Oriental cockroaches have wide, shiny, and glossy black bodies.
• Brownbanded Roaches: While they’re not as common in Yakima or Washington, Brownbanded cockroaches have unique tan bands that run along their backs.

Regardless of which species is invading your Yakima home, cockroaches don’t spell good news for homeowners. If you can spot the signs of a roach infestation before you see the actual roaches, you may be able to catch it early. Here’s what you should know about identifying the signs of a cockroach infestation, how dangerous roaches are for your home and family, and what to do if you think you’ve got an infestation on your hands.

What Are the Signs of Cockroaches in Yakima, WA?

Cockroaches are clever, and the signs they leave behind aren’t always obvious – but they are there. Here’s a couple of key indicators that you’ve got an unwanted visitor hanging around your Yakima home:

• You smell a musty odor around your home. You may not notice it from a single cockroach, but an entire roach infestation can leave behind a musty, unpleasant odor that seems to linger around your apartment or house. The bigger the infestation is, the more likely you are to notice the smell.
• You see shed skin or egg casings. While they mature, cockroaches can shed their skin up to eight times, and you’re likely to see some evidence of that. You may find shed skin around their hiding places or even egg casings, which are long, hollow casings that can hold up to fifty eggs and get left behind after the roaches hatch. In some cases, you may even find casings that still contain eggs that haven’t hatched yet.
• You see roach droppings. Roaches, specifically German cockroaches, leave behind tiny, pepper-like droppings. These droppings may show up on cabinet tops, the corner of floors, and underneath appliances.
• You see dark smear marks on the walls. Along with the droppings left behind, cockroaches leave behind dark, smear-like streaks on walls, floors, or areas where they’re most active.
• You see actual roaches. Perhaps the biggest sign of cockroaches is seeing actual roaches themselves – these pests are nocturnal, so you’re more likely to see them at night, often scurrying across the floor when you snap on a light.

If you notice signs or other indicators that make you think cockroaches have made their way into your Yakima home, it's important to take action quickly.

How Dangerous Are Cockroaches in Yakima, WA?

Unfortunately, cockroaches aren’t harmless – besides a musty odor, roaches are dangerous because they serve as a trigger for people who have asthma. They also can carry harmful bacteria and can cause illnesses such as typhoid fever, dysentery, diarrhea, and cholera. Additionally, the bacteria they spread can contaminate food with streptococcus, staphylococcus, and salmonella.

Besides the bacteria they may use to contaminate food, cockroaches are also a major allergy problem. This is due to certain enzymes that cockroaches produce in their saliva, eggs, shed skin, and excrement, which they may leave scattered around your home. People with asthma also tend to have strong reactions from saliva or excrement left behind by roaches.  

Not to mention, cockroaches aren’t easy to get rid of – they breed quickly, are excellent hiders, and may become resistant to pesticides.

The Most Effective Form of Cockroach Control in Yakima, WA

Rather than try and handle it on your own, the most effective way to get rid of cockroaches in Yakima is with professional help – and that starts with us at Prosite. Our trained professionals have the experience needed to root out the infestation and permanently evict these unwanted invaders from your home.

If you suspect that you have cockroaches or already know that you’ve got an infestation in Yakima, don’t wait for it to get out of hand – call us at Prosite to learn more about our cockroach control program.

You see dark smear marks on the walls. Along with the droppings left behind, cockroaches leave behind dark, smear-like streaks on walls, floors, or areas where they’re most active.

You see actual roaches. Perhaps the biggest sign of cockroaches is seeing actual roaches themselves – these pests are nocturnal, so you’re more likely to see them at night, often scurrying across the floor when you snap on a light.