A recent study conducted by home services company, Pest Gnome, found Atlanta in the top ten ‘roachiest’ cities in the nation, ranking just below Miami, FL. This is, of course, not great news for everyone who hates roaches (which is everyone).
Okay wait… how do they know?
According to 11Alive News, “Pest Gnome says the results were determined by using data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and considering the climates of each location for the rankings.”
11Alive continued, “The ranking placed Atlanta as the seventh most ‘roachiest’ out of 25 other U.S. cities. The city ranked high in several areas of the creepy crawly list, coming in second in the number of homes with the most signs of cockroaches within the past 12 months.”
7th in the country!? NO!
Yeah. But really, it’s not super unexpected. Of course roaches (and all bugs) thrive in warmer climates, which is why the southern cities seemed to have more roaches than anywhere else. In fact, Pest Gnome reported that roaches, “can’t survive temperatures below 45 degrees F, but this temperature must be maintained for a while. And if temperatures fall (or rise) slowly, these critters can adapt. Cockroaches at room temperature put into a sub-zero freezer will die within 30 minutes.” So, a cold front might actually be just what we need.
Fortunately for us, but unfortunately for the roach problem, Atlanta has a relatively temperate climate, and stays pretty warm throughout the year. The roaches thrive in this weather.
So what do I do?
11 Alive reports, “To prevent roaches from roaming in your home, Pest Gnome recommends sealing any points of entry, cleaning up any stray crumbs, fixing leaky pipes and using Raid and roach motels. If the problem persists, it may be time to call an exterminator.”
And here’s the good thing to remember: getting roaches is a fixable problem, and it’s usually not your fault they’re in your home!
Stay safe out there, Atlanta.