8 Places Cockroaches Hide in Your Home

You could be sharing space with pests. Specifically, cockroaches.

There are tons of places cockroaches hide indoors and, if you’re a good landlord (i.e. your house has warmth, food, and water), the roaches may overstay their welcome.

Cockroaches often venture inside when it rains or when temperatures drop in the winter. Once they’ve established a source of food and water, cockroaches search for shelter and may find it in various places inside your home.

Where there’s food, there’s the potential for a pest invasion. Kitchen cabinets and pantries are one of the most common places cockroaches hide. You may find them in food containers like cereal boxes, or hanging upside down in the upper inside corners of cabinets.

Prevention tip: Be sure to keep food in sealed, air-tight containers and wipe cabinets out regularly.

Kitchen appliances like the refrigerator, oven, and microwave are gold mines for cockroaches. They provide warmth, food, and often moisture, all while allowing roaches to remain hidden. Even toasters and coffee makers are known to harbor cockroaches.

Water heaters are another common place cockroaches hide thanks to their combination of heat and moisture. They are also generally out of the way of human traffic, making them a great place to hide.

Prevention tip: Clean under countertop appliances regularly in addition to vacuuming, mopping, and taking the trash out. You’ll also want to make sure sink drains and traps are clear of food debris.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever eaten a snack while working on your laptop…

There’s no judgment here, but we do have some bad news. Crumbs and food particles that fall in between and under your keys can attract cockroaches. Some species are small enough to fit through gaps in your keyboard and make a home inside your computer.

Prevention tip: Set your laptop aside while eating and use canned air to keep keyboards clean.

Like the kitchen, bathrooms offer moisture and warmth. While they don’t provide food, they do contain other things cockroaches enjoy. From soap residue and grooming products to discarded paper tissues and skin and hair sheddings, cockroaches love what you leave behind in the bathroom. German cockroaches (among the most common species in Indiana) are known to prefer sinks, bathtubs, and areas around toilets… essentially any surface that contains water or humidity.

The good news is that bathrooms and kitchens generally offer everything cockroaches are on the hunt for, so they don’t often venture outside these two rooms.

Prevention tip: Cleanliness is the best way to prevent cockroaches. Clean the bathroom regularly and wipe up excess water right away.

Your home’s plumbing and HVAC piping are generally dark and discreet, often housed in the basement or under sinks. They may also drip or leak, providing moisture to roaches on the hunt for a new home. On top of that, mold growth is also common in these areas and cockroaches have been known to chow down on a good mold feast.

Between the darkness, moisture, and food source offered by piping, you’ve found one of the most common places cockroaches hide in your home.

Prevention tip: Check drains, pipes, and faucets regularly for drips or leaks. Also, insulate and tape off any cracks or holes that are near plumbing and lead outside.

If most of us are guilty of eating at the computer, it’s no surprise that furniture is another great hiding place for cockroaches. The crumbs we drop on the couch sink down between the cushions, attracting roaches to your furniture.

This particular hiding spot offers an excellent place for cockroaches to lay eggs.

Prevention tip: Regularly vacuum upholstered furniture and inspect wooden pieces for egg casings that can be wiped away.

Take a look above you and you may find a cockroach hanging upside down in the corner. They often scurry away through small holes or cracks when the light comes on, or drop and flee to floorboards.

Prevention tip: Inspect for ceiling cracks and seal them up!

Fun fact: cockroaches are thigmotropic, which means they like the sensation of something touching their bodies. Cracks in trim and molding offer a tight space where roaches can get a little massage.

Prevention tip: Check that woodwork or trim and molding fits snugly to the wall and seal up any cracks.

If becoming a landlord wasn’t in your homeownership plan, don’t worry. Following the prevention tips above can help prevent cockroaches from taking up residence in your home. A routine pest management program can also help prevent, identify, and eliminate a variety of pests, including roaches.

Have questions about an integrated pest management approach or roaches in general? Don’t hesitate to contact us!