How to Bug-Proof Your New Home From Palmetto Bugs

Prevent palmetto bugs from entering your home. Doors, screens and windows should stay closed. Caulking gaps and cracks around doors and windows keeps bugs outside.

Close off drains and other plumbing areas to keep insects out. Run water regularly in all pipes in the house to keep roaches flushed out. Replace or caulk baseboards where palmetto bugs hide.

Inspect shopping bags, luggage, school lunch boxes, gym bags, or anything else coming into the home that might carry roaches from another location. When guests stay overnight, try to keep guest luggage in only one part of the house, if possible.

Cover vent pipes on the roof to prevent insect entry into the house. Fiberglass screens are recommended as a cover.

Eliminate moisture sources to prevent roaches. Empty dog water bowls at night before bed. Wipe sinks out to dry them. Do not over-water plants. Check sinks to identify leaks that need to be fixed.

Eliminate sources of food. Clean the kitchen thoroughly to starve the roaches. Do not keep cardboard boxes, paper bags or newspaper close to the floor for any longer than necessary, as they provide food and a hiding place for roaches.

Stack firewood a distance from the home since roaches often live in firewood. Remove all other debris away from the house; bugs congregate there to breed.

Fill in cracks and crevices with bait to poison and eliminate roaches. Placing roach bait into the areas where roaches live will kill them quickly after they eat the bait.

Spray pesticides monthly around the circumference of the house about 6 feet away from the home. Be sure to spray pesticides in areas where insects have been. Wear a mask and gloves when working with pesticides. Be sure to spray all possible entrances to the house, such as vents, doors, windows, fireplaces and plumbing areas.

Spread borax as a safe alternative to pesticides to eliminate palmetto bugs. Sprinkle borax at house entrances and in plumbing areas. Borax sticks to a cockroach’s cuticle. When the roach ingests borax during grooming, it dies.