Nothing is more annoying than a cockroach. These critters are persistent, breed quickly, and may even transmit diseases. When left uncontrolled, they can swiftly infest your vehicle.

If you're an unfortunate victim of a cockroach infestation, read on to find out how you can prevent future invasions and learn how to get rid of them.

Common Places You Can Find Cockroaches in Your Car

Openings

Cockroaches may enter your car via openings like windows or air-conditioning vents. Thus, it's important to ensure that all openings are securely closed before leaving the car.

Under the car seat or carpet

Crumbs and dirt from your leftover meals may fall into crevices in your car, attracting cockroaches to these areas.

In the car boot

Cockroaches thrive in cluttered areas; a boot packed with items may pose a higher risk of having these pests around.

From other items

Cockroaches can be found in items such as shopping bags, using them as an entryway into your car.

Dangers of Having Cockroaches in Your Car

Health risks

While finding cockroaches in your car is disgusting, these pests can cause more harm than you'd expect.

They'll defecate and regurgitate bodily fluids, transmitting bacteria and diseases that lead to fatal health consequences.

Distraction to drivers

A cockroach scurrying across your dashboard can shock and frighten you. This can be exceptionally dangerous, especially if you're driving on the road.

It can cause a loss of concentration, resulting in potential accidents. It may sound ridiculous, but it's true; in 2018, a cockroach caused a woman to crash into an overhead bridge.

Tips to Prevent Having Cockroaches in Your Car

Tips to Prevent Having Cockroaches in Your Car

  • Avoid eating in the car

  • Cockroaches survive by seeking shelter and food. When you eat in the car, you leave behind crumbs that will attract these food-loving creatures.

  • Avoid parking near drains and bins

  • Drains, sewage openings, and garbage bins are areas where cockroaches and pests flourish. Parking near these places increases your risk of having a cockroach entering your car. Park elsewhere if you want to avoid a cockroach invasion.

  • Clean and declutter the car frequently

  • Cleaning and decluttering are measures you can take to prevent a cockroach infestation. Fantastic Pest Control advises that regular cleaning is the best way to fend off any unwanted pests. Every nook and cranny of your car must be cleaned, and neglected areas shouldn't be left out.

    Cluttered areas are the perfect breeding grounds for cockroaches. To keep them away, keep areas ( such as the boot of your car) well-organised and tidy. In addition, store your items in a tightly lidded plastic container.

  • Avoid leaving anything in the car

  • Your bags make a great form of transportation for cockroaches. These insects make use of your belongings to transport themselves to different areas, spreading the infestation. Refrain from leaving your stuff behind in your car to avoid a potential cockroach intrusion.

Using pandan leaves to repel cockroaches

Contrary to popular belief, pandan leaves don't have cockroach-killing properties. In fact, the leaves simply serve as a weak repel against the pests.

Fresh leaves that dry up may even turn into a source of food, contributing to the infestation.

How to Tell When Your Car is Infested with Cockroaches

  • Faecal droppings

    Finding cockroach faeces in your car is a tell-tale sign of a cockroach infestation. These droppings can look like tiny pepper-like specks or coffee stains.

    The larger the number of droppings, the higher the level of infestation.

  • Cockroach eggs

    When the eggs hatch, they leave behind cases. Identified from their oval shape and brownish colour, these cases can hold between 20 – 50 eggs. The eggs should be destroyed immediately when spotted to prevent them from hatching.

    Brown cockroach eggs on black carpet in the car

  • Odour

    Described as oily and musky, cockroaches produce a pervasive odour that worsens with time. A single cockroach may not produce a smell pungent enough for you to notice; the presence of many cockroaches, however, can intensify the smell.

    A strong offensive odour is often an indication of a serious infestation. Odours are also emitted from the corpses of dead roaches during decomposition.

  • Dead cockroaches

    Cockroaches are gregarious creatures, which means that they live in groups. Spotting the corpse of a single cockroach could mean that there are hundreds of them lurking in your car.

  • Cockroach sighted during the day

    Cockroaches are usually nocturnal; you'll typically find these pests active in the night. If you do find them during the day, it's likely that you have a major infestation. That's because there are so many roaches that some are forced out of their usual hiding space.

Get Rid of Cockroaches in Your Car Quickly

Cockroaches caught on the sticky side of duct tape

  • Vacuum
  • Baits
  • Traps

Vacuum

Leftover food crumbs attract cockroaches, causing them to invade your car. Thus, you have to maintain the cleanliness of your car. Vacuuming your car regularly removes their source of food and they're less likely to stick around when their food source is gone.

Baits

Once your car has been properly cleaned, buy a roach bait to eliminate the infestation. A safe way to use roach bait is to set them in areas under your floorboards and in the corners of your boot. The roaches will come out of hiding to consume the poison-laced food, killing them and their nest.

Traps

Traps are also an effective way to kill cockroaches. Using a lure and strong adhesive, a cockroach comes into contact with the trap, gets stuck and dies.

Best Solution: Car Cockroach Fumigation Service in Singapore

What is car pest fumigation?

Despite your best efforts, your attempts at eliminating the cockroaches have proved to be futile. If you are in a similar predicament, professional car pest fumigation may be the answer to your troubles.

Pest fumigation is an effective pest control technique that covers an entire area with fumigants, killing them successfully.

How does it help to get rid of cockroaches?

Fumigation involves filling your car with chemicals that will reach every possible area of the vehicle. It's a hazardous procedure that should only be carried out by a licensed, NEA-approved fumigator.

Effective fumigation, coupled with proper hygiene, should guarantee the complete extermination of the cockroaches.

Cockroaches are a menace regardless of how many you're dealing with. Take back control with the help of our car fumigation service. Contact us to learn more!