Cockroaches and cockroach control – the Safeguard way!

Cockroaches and cockroach control – the Safeguard way!

Cockroach control is an ongoing issue in Sydney. These unpopular insects love the warm, humid climate. The mass of people. The food scraps.

Contamination is a major problem. Cockroaches get everywhere. They’re going to contaminate your food – and your food utensils. Then there’s the odour, a particular smell that’s associated with cockroaches. And of course, there’s just the annoyance and irritation caused by cockroaches coming into your home.

So how do you get rid of them?

It’s probably better to accept that you can’t eliminate cockroaches completely, but you can use cockroach control to keep them out of your home.

Some cockroach basics

As pest controllers in Sydney, there are two main kinds of cockroaches we deal with.

There are hundreds of different species, even just in Sydney. But the vast majority are happy outside – they’ll never come into your home and they’ll never become an issue for you.

But there are certain species that come indoors to forage for food and water. External cockroaches tend to be larger, while the ones that come inside are usually smaller and often quite a pale brown. They can be dark brown as well, but as experts we have ways to identify them.

Then there’s one species that lives predominantly inside the home.

At Safeguard, we deal with cockroaches on a daily basis, so we can identify the species straight away and act appropriately.

Is cockroach control different depending on the species?

The biggest different is that for different species, you’ll treat different areas. That’s because the different species live in different parts of the home.

There’s a better success rate with removing the external species rather than the internal ones. The larger external species occupy voids and cavities – roof spaces and wall voids – where they’re not disturbed. So we focus our cockroach control on those areas.

Like almost all cockroaches, they are nocturnal, so they’ll rest there in the day and then come out at night. Then when you look around the next morning you find cockroach droppings and all those revolting things that make your house unclean.

What are German cockroaches?

German cockroach is the term we use in Australia to refer to the species which live internally. Fun fact: in Germany, they call them Russian cockroaches.

German cockroaches are the particularly stubborn ones. A lot of people have issues getting rid of German cockroaches.

Many pest control companies, when they quote for a German cockroach job, will actually quote for two visits. Basically, they’re saying they don’t expect the initial visit will be enough, so you’ll need a second visit.

We don’t do that. We quote for and make one visit and we provide a warranty afterwards.

How does the Safeguard warranty work?

If your cockroaches are not completely gone, we return to the site without question and revisit the treatment. That’s the same whether they’re German cockroaches or not.

So you can guarantee they’ll be completely gone without needing additional payment.

With cockroach control, we’re fighting nature. In the end there’s only ever going to be one winner and it isn’t us! So our warranty is limited to 12 months. But within those 12 months, we guarantee that if our work isn’t perfect, we’ll return as many times as it takes until it is.

Although we have a warranty, customers rarely need to use it.

Out of every 100 German cockroach control jobs (which are the hard ones, remember), we have to return for a second visit maybe 3 or 4 times.

From previous experience, we know that’s better than industry average. A standard strike rate is around 14% and in some cases gets as high as 25-30%. That’s one reason companies often quote for two visits – it happens so often. But at Safeguard, we pride ourselves on doing things properly the first time.

Why is Safeguard cockroach control so effective?

With cockroaches, there’s no silver bullet. No one treatment will get rid of cockroaches completely. We use a minimum of four different processes to remove them from your home or workplace.

That’s a minimum. It depends on the environment we’re working in. We tailor our treatment every time.

Every job that we do starts with inspection of the property.

We do a meticulous check all around the home. Wet areas and for larger cockroaches the roof space are high activity areas. We don’t just look for cockroaches themselves, either. We also check for the little calling cards they leave in places like kitchens, bathrooms and laundries. These markers help us identify them without actually seeing the cockroach itself.  That gives us a very good idea of what’s happening and where it’s happening. We design an action plan for your premises, and that tailored approach is a key reason we get the results we do.

Are there harmful effects from your cockroach control treatments?

While we have to use chemicals, we keep our treatments as environmentally friendly as possible. We have a whole range of treatments and we’ll adjust our action plan to your concerns.

We’ve treated cockroaches in some very sensitive situations, where the kinds of treatment you can apply are limited. Consider hospital kitchens or childcare centres – you need to be very careful what you use. (On the plus side, it means we have lots of experience with cockroach control methods which won’t harm family pets!)

So whether you’re looking for cockroach control in your own home, the workplace or somewhere else, it’s worth talking to Safeguard. Not only do you get a guaranteed price with a warranty, but the chance that you’ll need a second visit is very low. It adds up to more security and less disruption.

CALL US or BOOK A TREATMENT to sort out your cockroach woes!

Why not just use the cockroach baits and cockroach bombs available in the supermarket?

There are a couple of answers to that.

First, the products are effective to a degree, but it’s not always the case that they’re 100 percent effective. Remember we use a minimum of four different treatments for each job. It’s because we want our cockroach control to be 100% effective. Even one surviving cockroach can multiply fast!

Second, buying product from the supermarket or hardware store can work out quite expensive.

You need to use them in every single room, and you often end up buying multiple different products before you get a satisfactory result. In the worst case scenario, you end up having to get an expert in afterwards anyway. So they can be a bit of a false economy.

Finally, some cockroach ‘fun facts’

A. Cockroaches don’t die when they lose their heads. True or false?

Cockroaches don’t have lungs like us, so they don’t need to draw air in through their mouths. Instead, they absorb oxygen from small holes over the body.

They’re still going to die eventually, but it won’t happen right away.

They could still have babies before they die, but it’s unlikely. All their sensory organs on the head, so they’ll get lost going back to the nest, or anywhere else.

B. Cockroaches can survive a nuclear war. True or false?

We’re not entirely sure. There’s only one way to find out for sure – and let’s hope it never comes to that!

C. If you see one cockroach, there are at least seven more. True or false?

For the larger cockroaches, this may not always be true. This is Australia, and cockroaches can fly. There’s always a chance that the one you see entered the building via an open door or window. But if  you’re not sure, give us a call and we’ll come and check it out for you.

For German cockroaches in particular – the smaller ones which live internally, if you see one there are a lot more which you don’t see! Cockroaches live in communities, so if you’ve got one German cockroach, you’ve got a community.

If you see even one, it’s time to act. The quicker we get there, the earlier we catch the infestation, the faster and the better the treatment will be. Don’t delay – contact us now!