Finding an infestation of roaches in your car can be scary. Most people never think that insects can get into the car if the doors or windows aren’t open. Insects can get into the vehicle through a few ways that you wouldn’t think are possible. Those ways would include door gaps, cracks/holes in the windshield area, sunroof, etc. Insects want to be where the humans are, it provides shelter and food.
The bad news is, cockroaches can adapt to any weather and can still wiggle their way into the vehicle, whether it’s hot or cold. Read on below to learn how to get roaches out of the car and how to prevent them from coming back into it.
1. Check the Entire Vehicle for Signs of Infestation
Roaches love to hide in places you wouldn’t think they would be. Such places would be:
Glove Boxes
Stereo Speakers
Seats
Floor
In the AC/Heater Vents
Seams
You should look for dead cockroaches or bugs, as well as their eggs and larvae. It’s very important to check every single tiny crevice, and that includes between the seats. The unpleasant odors and smells can also give off where the roaches may have been in your vehicle.
2. Clean Your Vehicle
This is an obvious next step. After finding a roach infestation, is to clean your vehicle. This means taking a garbage bag and cleaning out everything that may attract bugs. Hair, old food, papers, crumbs, etc. You will want to remove blankets or any other item where the roaches can be hiding and driving. It is important to clean your vehicle as much as possible with hand and pick up as much debris as you can, as it will make the next step so much easier.
3. Vacuum Your Vehicle
This is the second step in cleaning your car that will move all the crumbs, hair, or any other organic material that you won’t be able to see. It will also remove microscopic food sources that you would normally miss because you would probably never see them by cleaning with your hands. The vacuum cleaner will clean most of the areas, but you’ll still probably need to use a long nose nozzle to get the tough spots. Such spots include in between the seats, in the vents, and more.
4. Getting Rid of the Pests
Now it is time to get rid of the roaches. You want to use controls that can show the roaches that are made by either commercial range or you can use an organic solution to kill them, their larvae, and their eggs.
Keep in mind, well you may be tempted to you to bug bomb it may not be the best solution. The main reason behind that is that the roaches will find a deeper place to hide in your car to make the bug bomb ineffective. If you have to use a bug bomb or even a spray for your vehicle, you’ll need to make sure that you do not plan on driving your car for a few days and accept the cosmetic damage that it can cause. You’ll need to turn your air conditioning system on blast to move out any residue and then have it deep cleaned.
One of the best ways to get rid of the roaches for good is using biological products. You can choose to either use gel baits or boric acids, which are both safe for pets and children.
If the infestation is bad, you can call your local pest control to help you discover other solutions to make your vehicle roach-free.
5. Use a Steam Cleaner
After the roaches are taken care of, you will want to use a steam cleaner to really deep clean your car. It will ensure that all the roaches and any other debris left behind are gone by steam cleaning.
6. Remove the Odor
Roaches, believe it or not, have a distinct smell that can linger after they are gone. With that said, you’ll want to use an ozone generator to completely get rid of the smell. The gas will ensure that all remaining odors will be gone, as well as the bacteria and viruses.
These are the ways how to get roaches out of the car. If you need help getting rid of them, call a pest control company, so they can help you be roach-free again.