COCKROACHES AND CRAWLING INSECTS CONTROL

Cockroaches are common in commercial premises associated with the production or handling of food. Also in public buildings and domestic premises, such as apartment blocks. They spend the day hiding in cracks and crevices around such areas as sinks, drains, cookers, the backs of cupboards and in refrigerator motor compartments. They especially favour buildings with service ducts and complex plumbing installations. Infestations may be introduced as egg cases or adult in incoming laundry, on raw materials, in crates and packaging, or arise as the insects enter buildings via drains or refuse chutes.

Cockroaches can carry diseases such as dysentery, gastroenteritis, typhoid and poliomyelitis. Their diet is omnivorous and includes hair, leather, parchment, wallpaper, faeces and food for human consumption. The latter may be contaminated either by disease from the insect's body, or by transmission in faeces.
Successful control of cockroaches is a complex subject, and depends very much upon tailoring control measures to the species concerned.

We will carry out a thorough inspection to determine the species and extent of the infestation. The inspection will include, where appropriate, adjoining premises and normally inaccessible places, such drains etc. A night survey is useful as this is the time of maximum insect activity. Professional treatment will flush out cockroaches.

Effective treatment depends upon the selection and thorough application of a suitable insecticide. Many insects and egg cases are well hidden; therefore, the insecticide must be placed at and around these harbourages and maintained over the developmental period of the particular species. To control an infestation the insecticide should ideally persist until all egg cases have hatched but continued immigration may demand routine treatments.