A new home is a new beginning for you and your family. You don’t want to spoil this new beginning with a cockroach infestation. Your new home can be at risk of such an infestation, especially if your current home is suffering from one. You may end up bringing cockroaches from you old home to your new home. Here are some things you can do to avoid bringing these pests to your new property.
1. Use the appropriate packing materials
It’s common practice for home movers to pack their belongings in cardboard boxes. This may be okay in other situations, but it’s not if your home is suffering from a cockroach infestation. The problem with cardboard boxes is that they are made up of recycled paper.
Cockroaches eat just about anything, including paper. This material is not just food for them. It’s also a good shelter. Paper is warm enough to be an attractive nesting place for these pests. This is the reason why you often see cockroaches and their eggs in old and musky items like books, magazines, and newspapers. Here are things you can do:
- Use packing materials that are not easily penetrable. Another problem with paper is that it’s easy to chew on. Pack your belongings in containers made up of glass, metal, plastic, or any other material that won’t be easily penetrated.
- Seal these containers properly. Their impenetrable traits will be useless if you don’t seal them up properly. Cockroaches will be able to slip through if there are cracks and crevices in the containers. Make sure there is no way inside.
2. Check all your personal items
You may end up bringing cockroaches in your new home through your personal items, especially those with nooks and crannies where cockroaches can hide. Cockroaches are most likely to hide on personal items that you don’t give much attention to, like old and sentimental items like picture frames, shoe boxes, trophies, and even old electronics. So, make sure to check all these items before packing them up.
Here are things you can do to avoid hitchhiking cockroaches in your personal items:
- Consider throwing the items away. If they don’t have any practical use, consider getting rid of these items. If you still can’t get rid of them, at least clean them out and “disturb” them from time to time to avoid making them the dusty and quiet place where cockroaches can nest.
- Store them in a drawer. Keep these items in a closed drawer. This way, they are not easily accessible to pests such as cockroaches. But even if you have stored them in a drawer, make sure to check them one by one for hitchhiking cockroaches before packing them up. You can never be too sure.
3. Wash all your clothes
Cockroaches don’t just stay on old and musky items in your home. They can also thrive in clean but often undisturbed places, such as the old piles of clothes you barely touch in your closets. It’s not very likely for cockroaches to stay there because there are more attractive places in your home. But it’s also not out of the question. Before packing all your clothes, make sure to check them first if they have cockroaches. You may even see cockroach eggs, which can arguably cause more trouble in your new home.
It’s ideal to wash all your clothes before packing them. After all, cockroaches are not just the ones that can thrive in clothes. Bed bugs are known to thrive in undisturbed clothing items as well.
- Use hot water if possible. If your clothes can take hot water, use hot water when washing them. Hot water can kill the pests that may possibly be hiding on your clothes. Dry your clothes in a hot setting in your washing machine too.
- Send non-washable clothes to the dry cleaners. Sure, dry cleaning can be a little pricey, especially for clothes you are not using any time soon. But it’s better to be safe than sorry. You don’t always move homes. But when you do, you should ensure the cleanliness of all your belongings before bringing them to your new property.
4. Inspect your furniture
You may also end up bringing cockroaches in your new home through your furniture. Believe it or not, humans are not the only ones who enjoy the comfort and warmth of furniture, especially soft-cushioned ones like chairs, couches, mattresses, and sofas. A variety of pests can thrive on these pieces of furniture, such as bed bugs, fleas, and yes, cockroaches. Here are things you need to do to prevent your furniture from bringing cockroaches in your new home:
- Give particular attention to cracks, crevices, gaps, and holes. Furniture can have all these small spaces where pests can thrive. While inspecting your furniture for pests, make sure to look for these spaces in particular.
- Be wary of secondhand furniture. Secondhand furniture can put you at risk of a cockroach infestation. They may have the small spaces mentioned above where pests can thrive. Before buying and taking secondhand furniture into your new home, make sure to scrutinize them thoroughly.
5. Examine your appliances
Appliances are very attractive to cockroaches, especially those that can be found in your kitchen. This is because most of these appliances deal with food and water. They may have residue that attracts pests. It doesn’t help that they have motors too, as these motors can make pests cozy and warm.
Make sure to check your appliances before bringing them to your new home. Here are things you can do to avoid cockroaches in your appliances:
- Clean your kitchen appliances after you use them. Avoid leaving food debris and stains in your kitchen appliances. No matter how tiny these are, they are an important resource for pests. Remember that pests like ants, cockroaches, and rats can be very resourceful. They will try to get even the tiniest food and water items they can find.
- Keep them dry. Pests are attracted not just to food and water, but also to moisture. So, as you clean your kitchen appliances, make sure you are wiping them dry instead of leaving them moist. Cockroaches in particular are very attracted to moisture. And that’s why you almost always see them in bathrooms and piping.