Hyannis Woman Has Spent 2 Years Battling An Infestation Of Roaches That Have Been Found In Her Ventilation Ducts, Cabinets, Refrigerator And Even Freezer
Along with ants and flies, cockroaches tend to be the most common insect pests of homes and buildings in all areas of the US, and they are particularly common within big city apartment buildings. According to the 2015 American Housing Survey, Boston was ranked as one of the 30 most roach infested cities in the country, but extensive roach infestations are also commonly found in apartment buildings located in smaller urban areas. For example, a massive cockroach infestation in a Hyannis apartment building has affected several tenants for months, and in some cases, years. One tenant going by the name “Montana,” has struggled to eliminate countless cockroaches from her apartment unit for two years, and despite efforts by the property managers to eradicate the infestation, the pests continue to proliferate.
While multiple cockroach species in Massachusetts are able to thrive within indoor environments, German and brown-banded cockroaches, both of which are common in the northeast, are the only species that dwell solely within homes and buildings, as opposed to the natural environment. All cockroaches, particularly German and brown-banded species, have adapted to thrive within obscured indoor locations where they remain out of human sight. The most common indoor roach harborages can be found within wall voids, ceiling voids, attic spaces, basements, storage areas, and beneath furniture and appliances. In order to collect food, cockroaches only leave their indoor hiding spots at night when humans sleep. Spotting indoor cockroaches during the daytime indicates that all available hiding spots have become overcrowded with roaches. Unfortunately, Montana cannot go a day without spotting large clusters of roaches crawling about in every area of her home, including on her coffee table, on pantry shelves, in kitchen cupboards, out of ventilation ducts, in bedding, within her microwave door, and even inside of her refrigerator and freezer.
Montana claims to have killed thousands of cockroaches within her apartment since she moved in, and she often wakes up at night to find roaches crawling on her face. In response to living in roach-infested conditions for years, one of Montana’s two children has developed asthma. This is not surprising, as medical researchers have found that indoor roach feces, urine, body fragments, shed skins and eggs serve as common indoor allergens. Surprisingly, evidence has shown that inhaling roach allergens within indoor dust may be the primary cause of most asthma cases. Several other tenants in Montana’s apartment building have also been struggling with roach pest issues.
Have you ever lived within a home that contained an unmanageable number of cockroach pests?
