Cockroaches

First Actions

First Actions covers administrative actions or first responses to consider when combating roaches.

• Inventory areas where roaches have been found
• Call your pest management professional
• Call a meeting of all personnel who work in the area (i.e. kitchen staff, custodial staff, teachers) to discuss the problem and retrain as necessary
• Teachers, students, and other staff also play a significant role in maintaining a high level of sanitation in other areas of the school, so they must be informed of their responsibilities in that regard as well

• Sweep and mop daily – especially in places where food is handled
• If children eat snacks in classrooms, HEPA vacuum and/or wet mop these floors daily. Clean to the corners: periodically move all appliances in the kitchen and clean behind
• Periodically clean evaporation trays
• Do not allow dirty dishes to sit in the sink – especially overnight.
• Clean inside and underneath the microwave oven
• Store food properly – in hard plastic containers
• Clean up spills immediately
• Clean garbage cans
• Use garbage can liners with tight fitting lids
• Take out garbage at end of each day
• Limit areas where food is eaten
• Get rid of all cardboard (roaches eat the glue)
• Use enzyme cleaners or a stiff wire brush to clean drains
• Periodically, give food preparation areas an all-inclusive cleaning, focusing on areas where grease accumulates: drains, vents, deep fat fryers, ovens, and stoves. Do a locker clean out

• Do not allow students to store food in their locker
• Create an intensive cleaning schedule
• Inform teachers and staff that snacks in the desk must be stored properly
• Clean vents and hoods to eliminate grease build-up Keep shipping boxes out of the food preparation area
• Eliminate water sources by fixing leaks in a timely fashion
• Speak with food distributor about cockroach problems – ask if they have problems at the warehouse
• Locate a new food distributor.
• Go to cold food (temporarily) to leave time for intensive cleaning
• Make cleaning and sanitation part of everyone’s job
• Get rid of all classroom pets
• Remove microwave from teacher’s lounge
• Move recycling containers outside or to a more appropriate location

• Eliminate cracks and crevices using caulk. Vacuum and wash the area to eliminate egg cases, fecal material, and other debris before sealing.
• Use silicon caulk or mildew-resistant caulk around sinks, toilets, and drains.
• Get clutter problems under control *ESPECIALLY* in food service areas!
• Banish cardboard (juvenile roaches live in the baffles).
• Check potted plants to ensure roaches are living in them
• Patch all holes in the walls
• Repair holes in window screens
• Weather-strip around doors and windows
• Use caulk to seal cracks and crevices like loose baseboard molding; crevices behind cabinets and cupboards; behind sinks; etc.

• Check behind posters and pictures to look for roach feces. Laminate posters so they can be washed with vinegar solution and remove pictures from infested areas if they are not required.
• Use wire brush and enzyme cleaning solutions to clean in and around sump pumps.
• Repair damaged walls
• Repair loose baseboards and other molding
• Schedule a school-wide �?clean out day’ for everyone to clutter bust
• Place emergency work orders for caulking nooks and crannies
• Remove classroom pet
• Remove posters from walls in infested areas
• Remove stacks of papers and magazines or place them into clear plastic bins with tight fitting lids.
• Identify likely harborage by looking for areas of dense cockroach droppings

Consider these strategies:

• NON CHEMICAL CONTROL OPTIONS: Use a strong vacuum with a HEPA filter to pick up live cockroaches as well as their egg cases and droppings. Vacuuming is a very good strategy if the roach population is large. Once a large portion of the population has been eliminated it is much easier to eliminate the remaining cockroaches with other treatment measures.
• CHEMICAL CONTROLS OPTIONS If non-chemical methods alone prove insufficient to solve the problem, integrating a chemical control option, consistent with the requirements of the Illinois Structural Pest Control Act into the management program may be warranted. The most recent advances in chemical control for cockroaches have been in bait formulations, and insect growth regulators. Other currently used products include desiccating dusts.
• Pesticides should be used only when other strategies have failed or when health of students and staff are at risk. All pesticides require notification of staff, students, parents and guardians at least two days prior to application. Gel baits and containerized baits are exempt from notification. Labels and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the pesticide products authorized for use in the IPM program should be maintained on file (in the IPM Binder). Do not apply these materials when buildings are occupied, and never apply them where they might wash into the sewer, storm drains or any body of water.

• Cockroach baits consist of a food source mixed with a toxicant. Some bait also contains attractants or feeding stimulants that are supposed to make the bait more attractive to cockroaches than other available food sources. Indoor bait formulations are applied as bait stations, gels, or pastes. The bait station is one of the more popular application methods for educational facilities because the stations are easy to put out, they are safe around children, and animals, and can be removed when the pest is controlled. Gel formulations are packaged for injection into cracks and crevices that are not easily accessible.

Small amounts of bait placed in numerous locations work better than large amounts placed in central areas. Place bait near harborages and between harborages and water sources, using maps and information collected from monitoring traps.

Do not place gel or paste baits in areas where they may get covered over with grease, flour, or dust, use bait stations instead. Avoid harsh environmental conditions when baiting. In excessively warm areas baits can melt and run. In cold locations the cockroaches do not move far and may miss the bait. In very wet locations the baits may grow mold and become unattractive to cockroaches. Check baits frequently to make sure that they have not been completely consumed or inadvertently removed by cleaning.

• Inorganic dusts, such as silica gel and boric acid, have been used successfully for indoor cockroach control. These dusts must be handled with care and placed in areas that are inaccessible to children and ventilation (like behind wall voids). They can initiate an asthma attack in children with asthma and will require prior notification to parents, guardians and staff prior before use.