Cockroaches.
The first thing you think of when you see one in your home is how to get rid of them as fast as possible.
Roaches are nasty little pests that breed fast and can move in and out of tiny cracks and crevices - they actually prefer tight spaces.
Roaches have lived along side human beings throughout history.
The conditions in our homes are ideal for cockroaches: warm, most, and with plenty of food laying around.
Cockroaches are nasty creatures.
They leave a trail of filth behind them and shed their exoskeletons as they grow (seeing these sheddings in your home is often the first sign of a cockroach infestation.
) They need water more than food, but can go weeks without either.
For every one you see there can be as many as 100 others you can't see.
They cause allergic reactions and increase the risk of asthma to children.
The first instinct that many people have when they learn they have a cockroach infestation is to run out and buy every kind of poison they can find to kill them all.
They use bug-bombs, roach traps, roach baits, roach sprays, and roach gels to carpet bomb their home.
The problem is, this stuff isn't good for people either and roaches breed so fast they can become immune to poisons.
In fact, what usually happens is they avoid the poisoned areas until you stop the treatments and then they move back in.
To truly eradicate a cockroach infestation, you must take a comprehensive approach to pest control.
First, you must seal off their access to your home.
This means aggressively filling every tiny crack and crevice in your home with silicon caulk.
Start in the kitchen and bathrooms and pay special attention to the spaces around water pipes and drains.
Seal the insides of your kitchen cabinets and along all of the wall trim.
This can take many hours, but will really pay off.
Next, clear up the clutter to take away their places to live.
Get rid of paper and boxes and clean up clutter.
Now, you need to remove the food supply and water supply.
Do a thorough cleaning in your kitchen and use a de-greaser to get all of the surfaces clean.
Fix any dripping faucets or other leaks.
Put food into plastic containers or zipper lock bags and remove empty food and beverage cans from your home immediately.
Once you have sealed and cleaned, lay down some roach traps along the walls in areas where you suspect roaches.
Monitor the traps daily.
This will allow you determine where they are coming from and what type of roaches you are dealing with.
Now it's time to use some products to kill the roaches and some repellents to drive them out of your home and keep them out.