Yes, some cockroaches can enter your home through drains and the plumbing system. But if you see a cockroach near a sink or shower, it doesn’t automatically mean it crawled straight up the drain.
Cockroaches are attracted to areas that provide moisture, food, and shelter. Unfortunately, rooms like kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and utility rooms are ideal spots for cockroach sightings.
Okay, we know – there is no ideal place to encounter a cockroach, but you get what we’re saying.
Some crafty cockroach species can travel through sewer and plumbing systems to enter homes, but they can also squeeze through gaps where plumbing passes through walls and floors from the outside. So, the cockroach posted outside your shower or beside your bathroom sink might have arrived through the drain. Or, it might have simply found another suitable opening nearby.
Can You Keep Cockroaches from Coming Through Your Drains?
If you have drains that aren’t used regularly, start with those. The water that sits inside a properly functioning P-trap creates a barrier between your home and the plumbing system. If a drain goes unused for long periods of time, water could evaporate, eliminating that barrier and giving pests an easier route inside.
Run water periodically through seldom-used sinks, tubs, showers, and floor drains to keep P-traps filled. If you have plumbing leaks, it’s wise to have those repaired. You can go a step further by sealing up openings around water pipes and keeping areas beneath sinks clean and dry.
It’s important to understand that persistent cockroach sightings around your Newton home could indicate that the drain isn’t the real issue. Cockroaches can easily hide in cracks, wall voids, cabinets and pantries, basements, and other protected spaces. This could make the cockroaches you actually see only a small part of the larger issue.
That’s why Mosquito Squad Plus of Newton offers Complete Home & Yard, a comprehensive, year-round outdoor pest control solution for cockroaches, spiders, stink bugs, ants, fleas, and other outdoor pests that might find their way into your house.
Fill out our online form to schedule a complimentary Newton pest control assessment and service quote.
