It happened to Katie Inman when she used her Keurig. "I went to put the little pod in and a cockroach pops out of the top of my Keurig," she recounted. If you want the bugs to stay away, Lane says keep things clean. "Clean everything.
These insects are attracted to your coffee machine because it's warm, moist, dark, and usually close to other foods cockroaches like to eat, such as sugar and crumbs on the counter.
It's no surprise that cockroaches would find a coffee machine an appealing place to live. They are a great harbourage site for cockroaches, as they provide a source of warmth, moisture and food.
Keeping a clean home and ensuring there are no food sources for cockroaches is the best way to prevent them from getting into your appliances. Enabling good cleaning habits, especially in areas like the kitchen where cockroaches are most attracted, means your home isn't appealing to bugs.
Roaches need moisture to survive and this search for water will bring them into even the cleanest of homes. Leaky pipes and faucets are one of the most common attractants for cockroaches and is one of the main reasons you often see them in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.
Metal containers are another excellent choice for keeping your food safe from cockroaches. They are air-tight, meaning no roach can get into the container, and they're also easy to clean. You can double-check your metal container to ensure it's air and water-tight.
Use sticky traps to prevent roaches and other crawling bugs from entering your coffee maker. If you struggle with fruit flies in your coffee maker, use a fly trap. You can purchase these or make a homemade fly trap by combining fruit and water in a jar and covering with perforated aluminum foil.
Cockroaches are extremely good at seeking out even the tiniest morsel of food, so they will find their way to old spilled substances in your fridge, microwave or stove. They can also infest the refrigerator seals and motors. Be sure to remove grease and soap residues off counters and other items.
Roaches are repelled by ground coffee. In fact, putting some ground coffee down in the corners or windowsills of your kitchen can actually help keep them insects away.
Food & Grime
Crumbs, spills, and food that has been left out are a great way to end up with a roach infestation quickly. The key to keeping roaches out is to keep your home, but most importantly your kitchen, as spotless as possible. After cooking or preparing a snack, wipe up crumbs and spills immediately.
If you have ample food sources in your house that are easily accessible, that's basically a greeting card for cockroaches. Food left on countertops, open packages in your pantry, crumbs on the floor, and even pet food will welcome these pests inside your home.
Mint, such as peppermint oil, contains a compound called menthone that can kill cockroaches. And since menthone is what gives the oil its smell, it works great as a deterrent. For best results, mix mint oil and water in a spray bottle and spritz anywhere bugs can enter your home.
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It happened to Katie Inman when she used her Keurig. "I went to put the little pod in and a cockroach pops out of the top of my Keurig," she recounted. If you want the bugs to stay away, Lane says keep things clean. "Clean everything.
For a more serious clean, use white vinegar or descaling solution to remove mineral deposits from the water reservoir. You only need to do this every three to six months. Now, start the brew cycle using fresh water only. You're not making a cup of coffee yet so skip the pod.
You might be wondering if white vinegar is going to hurt your Keurig. No, it won't. White vinegar has enough acidity to clean the machine without damaging the mechanisms. So, it's a harmless cleaner.
Roach Repellents
Peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, and cypress oil are essential oils that effectively keep cockroaches at bay. Additionally, these insects hate the smell of crushed bay leaves and steer clear of coffee grounds. If you want to try a natural way to kill them, combine powdered sugar and boric acid.
Hiring an exterminator is probably what you'll have to end up doing. Because roaches are so resilient, it is nearly impossible to clear out an infestation yourself. Some methods can cull their numbers and keep them out of certain areas of your house.
Pest and disease control: Pests and diseases lead to reduced production, reduced quality, and losses to the farmer. Some of the pests include the Coffee Twin borer (BCTB), Coffee Berry Borer (CBB), Coffee Mealyburg, Coffee Leaf Miner, Coffee Leaf Skeletonizer, tailed caterpillars and Tailed Ant.
The FDA considers bugs "natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard." What that means is that bugs naturally end up in coffee grounds and other foods during the manufacturing process. For the most part, these bugs are harmless.
The coffee stem borer is the pest of Arabica coffee, whereas the shot hole borer prefers robusta coffee. In certain areas the severe attack of white stem borer leads to discontinuation of the crop.
So, if you have a roach infestation in your fridge it's most probably a cleanliness issue. A worn gasket on the door, or the fridge door not closing properly, also gives easy entry to the roach. A combination of an unclean fridge and easy access can cause a cockroach infestation in your refrigerator.
Laundry Room: Roaches look to hide under washers and dryers, in a stack of clothes or under a pile of towels, so check the laundry room for creepy crawlers.