Will Pest Control Get Rid of Roaches?​

Will Pest Control Get Rid of Roaches?

Cockroaches are everybody’s enemy and thankfully controlling them is possible. Pest control is effective and we would all be helped to know more about it.

Prevention or Extermination

Despite the fact that my hatred for Cockroaches inclines me to want to come down on them with deadly vengeance, it was helpful to discover in my research that prevention is more effective. I had assumed before that one just needs to kill them as needed but as I learned from one pest company, that’s not the best route; “[cockroaches are] almost impossible to get rid of once they’re established in your home, both because they breed so prolifically and because their toughness extends to a lot of common household pesticides.”1

The other key to victory

Another important factor in controlling cockroaches that I wasn’t aware of is identification. One pest company says it this way, “correctly identifying what kind of cockroach you have is vital and a key to successfully treating a roach infestation. Getting rid of smaller-sized adult roaches is different than getting rid of larger-sized adult roaches.”2 Not all cockroaches are the same and therefore not all prevention techniques are the same. 

What is effective on one kind of roach may not be in another, so the first step is to figure out what you’re dealing with. I believe that in my house in Mesa AZ I am dealing with adult American Cockroaches and I feel more confident now on how to deal with them. Prevention is my fist step but I’m afraid they already have a foothold in my house so I might need to go to the experts on how to kill this specific kind of roach.

cropped view of exterminator in latex glove holding toxic spray can near cockroaches
Is Pest Control Effective?

Cockroaches aren’t invincible and controlling them can be quite effective if done right. I think what people don’t often realize is that it is so much better to deal with cockroaches swiftly than it is to wait. Most pest control companies will tell you that you need to deal with roaches sooner rather than later and they do so because it makes their jobs easier. It is much easier to do preventative measures with roaches than it is to try to eliminate them when they are already settled in your house. 

I think everyone would be helped to know just how effective preventative pest control actually is, and how important it can be at times. For me at least, the issue isn’t that I don’t think pest control is effective, but the issue is if I actually need it or not. No one wants a roach infestation, but what me and most people don’t know is that it’s in their best interest to be proactive about it. Deal with it now, because if you don’t, it will become far more difficult to fix later.

Conclusion

What I didn’t realize before is that pest control companies aren’t trying to make me dish out cash on something I don’t really need, they are trying to help me deal with a problem before it gets bad. Like a mechanic who pushes me to get regular oil changes. He is trying to prevent me from having bigger problems to deal with down the road. So pest control is most certainly effective for cockroaches and being proactive about it is in everyone’s best interest.

Author: Garrett Frazey

Arizona State University

References

  • The trick to EFFECTIVE Roach control In Mesa, AZ. Pro Active Pest Control. (n.d.). https://www.beproactivepestcontrol.com/blog/post/the-trick-to-effective-roach-control-in-mesa-az.
  • How to get rid of roaches. How To Get Rid of Roaches | Kill Roaches. (n.d.). https://www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/roaches.htm.

Student Scholarships

Every year Thrive Pest Control hosts an essay contest and the reward is a 1-year scholarship at a 4-year university in the United States. This blog post is one of those scholarships.