Turning your kitchen into a space that is not only hygienic but beautiful is hard work. So it can be very annoying having to deal with pests. The sight of a pest in the kitchen is one of the home manager’s greatest fears.
Pests are disease harbingers and are dangerous for the health. They also pose a problem to the decor of your kitchen. They chew through containers and contaminate your food.
Their droppings are not pleasant to see and they tend to leave their scent behind. All these can be disconcerting especially when you have invested time and energy into planning your kitchen decor.
What Could be Causing Pests in Your Kitchen
The kitchen is the last place you’d want to find pests and this is understandable because the kitchen is where our meals are prepared. Ironically, it is still for this very reason that pests strike the kitchen first before infesting other parts of the house.
Pests are generally attracted to the region of the house that has the most traces of food, AKA the kitchen and if you want to continue enjoying the meals that are prepared in that kitchen then getting rid of pests becomes imperative.
Cost of Not Controlling Pests in Your Kitchen
According to statistics published on pest infestations, the insects that tend to infest our kitchens might look tiny for most of it but they are powerful at creating overall damage. They can contaminate food and drinking liquids and this can lead to the transmission of pathogens. The implication is that there is the potential of falling sick.
Some of the most common pests that infect the kitchen can transmit several pathogens. The cockroach, for example, can cause allergic reactions and it is capable of spreading parasitic worms and a plethora of bacterial infections.
These pests are also capable of bringing destruction to the various parts of the kitchen starting with what we make our foods with, the ingredients. Most pests tend to attack foodstuffs because that is what they came looking for in the first place. And most of the time they leave the foodstuffs inedible or downright useless.
It won’t be a strange sight to see pest droppings and waste in foods stored in infested kitchens or pantries. They also tend to chew through storage boxes and this might cause spillage and further waste.
In the end, we see that it is important that we put a check on kitchen pests as soon as we notice them.
How to Remove Cockroaches From Your Kitchen
You might have seen them even without a kitchen infestation, their disgustingly brown bodies moving very quickly and lurking in dark and dank areas. They are the most common kitchen insects and are frequent infesters of household kitchens.
The horrible thing about this particular pest is that it is very difficult to get rid of. If you successfully dispose of one, it seems as if ten cockroaches take its place.
They can easily find their way into the house and once inside they prefer the dark and hidden areas so it is difficult to smoke them out but once you turn off the lights you see them commandeer your kitchen right from under you.
If you discover cockroaches in your kitchen, you must get rid of them and decisively too so there isn’t a spread of diseases.
The first step to take when you are trying to get rid of cockroaches is to carry out a total clean-up of your kitchen. The nooks and dark corners of the kitchen should be cleaned and completely aired out.
The kitchen should also be arranged in such a way that it maximizes lighting and space and reduces clutter. This will make sure that the roaches have nowhere to hide.
The next step, if you are just suffering from a minor infestation, is to try some DIY methods. There is a lot of stuff in your kitchen and environment that can serve as pesticides or pest repellents.
Diatomaceous earth and baking soda for example are excellent insecticides that are quite effective in getting rid of roaches. Place them in areas where you have seen roach activity and get ready for cleaning out those dead roaches.
Boric acid and borax are also excellent for killing roaches. But if killing these insects sounds too gruesome you can use citrus which is an excellent roach repellent.
However, if you do not want to tow the DIY line you can go for the conventional methods of getting rid of cockroaches.
Insecticides, bait stations, and glue strips are all good ways to achieve this but you should be careful as using some of these methods might put your household at risk. Insecticide poisoning is a thing.
When To Involve Pest Control Agency
After carrying out your extermination measures and you still notice extensive pest infestation, then it might be time to let the experts take charge. It is not rare to find that even after all your attempts, these pests don’t seem to give up.
It is a pretty common occurrence actually, so at a time it might become necessary to involve professionals. Get assistance from pest control agencies.
Average Cost Of Hiring A Pest Control Company
This is probably the first thought that comes to the mind of the person hiring a pest control agency. In trying to make a choice we might be forced to go for the agency with the lowest price or maybe go for the lowest package they are offering. This might be disadvantageous as the world of pest control is one where you get exactly what you paid for.
So what is the average cost of getting a pest control company that would do a good job? Well, this is dependent on many factors including the scope of infestation and the type of pest we are dealing with.
Depending on these factors hiring a pest control company might cost between $200 and $8000. To reduce the cost it is advised to contact a pest control agency as soon as you notice an infestation going out of hand.
How Long Will You Stay Out For After Fumigation
Fumigation is usually a last resort for pest control. It is only brought up in the most severe cases of infestation. The procedures include isolation of your home and spraying every part of the house with chemicals that would get rid of the infestation.
The chemicals tend to be poisonous and depending on the scope of infestation and amount of chemicals used, you might have to leave your house for at least 48 hours.