This doesn’t make for pleasant reading.
There has been a 50% increase in callouts for cockroach infestation in Ireland in 2016 compared to last year, according to figures released by Rentokil.
Data collected by the pest control company revealed that there was a 50% increase in callouts in Ireland April 2016 compared to the same period the year before, with Dublin suffering more than most counties.
Since 2014, there has been a significant increase in the number of callouts and half of them have been to homes and businesses in Dublin.
65% of the callouts in 2016 have been to residential properties and three quarters of that figure has been to houses and apartments in the capital.
According to Rentokil, the growing popularity of eating out and travelling during summer months, combined with poor hygiene, can contribute to the increased incidents with these pests.
Cockroaches pose a number of worrying health risks to anyone that comes into contact with them. The bugs carry salmonella, typhoid and gastroenteritis, while their droppings can cause both asthma and eczema. Cockroaches cause a terrible odour in the place where they infest as well as posing health risks.
Rentokil is highlighting the importance of proper waste disposal at home, particularly of food packaging, to avoid allowing colonies of the pest to take hold. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, basements and drains are most likely to harbour colonies of cockroaches.
Dr. Colm Moore, Area Technical Manager at Rentokil UK, Ireland and the Baltics, has pointed out the most common signs that can help people identify a possible cockroach infestation:
- Unusual smell – An established cockroach infestation produces a lingering and unpleasant odour that taints items they contact.
- Cockroach droppings – If little water is available cockroaches will produce brown/black cylindrical droppings, approx. 2mm long.
- Smear marks – If water is abundant cockroaches will produce brown and irregular shaped smear marks. Check for marks on horizontal surfaces and at wall-floor junctions where cockroaches scuttle along.
- Shed skins – Cockroaches shed ‘cast nymphal’ skins 5-8 times as they mature to adults. These shed skins are usually found close to where the cockroaches are sheltering.
For more information, check out the Rentokil website.
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