Roaches can survive anywhere in your home, including your garage.
And if cockroaches are in your garage they can spread everywhere in your home if you don’t get rid of them.
In this guide, you’ll find out how to get rid of cockroaches in the garage in five steps.
These five steps have tips and information that will eliminate roach infestation from it’s source in your garage.
Plus, there are also preventive follow-up steps that guarantees no roach invasion in your garage, ever again.
Let’s dive right in.
5 Steps To Get Rid Of Cockroaches In The Garage
Here are the five steps to eliminate roaches in the garage –
- Eliminate paper piles and cardboard boxes in your garage.
- Clean your garage.
- Fix moisture issues in your garage
- Seal gaps and cracks on your garage’s walls and doors
- Use roach baits or roach poison to trap and kill the roaches.
Let’s get into each of these steps.
Step#1 – Eliminate Paper Piles And Cardboard Boxes In The Garage
Bugs, especially roaches, love cardboard boxes, paper piles, and old books.
Why?
It’s because the starch in the paper is their food. Also, the glue that binds the books’ papers is also one of the favorite things for the roaches to eat.
No wonder that cockroaches are one of the bugs that eat and damage books on your bookshelves.
On top of eating, paper piles, like old newspapers and magazines, stored in the cardboard boxes are also roaches’ hiding places.
These heaves of papers are comfortable for roaches and many other bugs like silverfish, and spiders.
So, the first thing that you must do is get rid of cardboard boxes and all papers, books, and magazines lying in your garage.
While doing it, you’ll definitely notice roaches coming out from these piles.
Step#2 – Clean Up Your Garage
Roaches love trash and clutter. After the first step, thoroughly clean your garage.
You garage is a store house of many things. Tennis rackets, golf clubs, bikes, garden supplies, car washing supplies are all inside your garage.
That creates a lot of clutter. And if you don’t use them often, dust gathers on the surfaces of these things.
Fluid spills and piled up trash in the trash bins or garbage cans of your garage also create a perfect environment for roaches to make your garage home.
So, vacuum clean the garage and remove the unwanted things that create clutter.
Use better storage solutions to efficiently utilize the storage areas of your garage. Also ensure that you get rid of things in your garage that you don’t use.
Cleaning your garage and eliminating paper products will deny roaches the hiding places, and food sources, that are essential for roaches to survive.
Step#3 – Fix Moisture Issues In Your Garage
On top of clutter, dirt, and wastes, it’s the moisture that roaches seek.
There are many species of roaches that need constant moisture supply to remain alive. American cockroaches and oriental cockroaches are two of them.
However, there’s also a species of roach that is well built to survive in dry places. It’s the German cockroach.
That’s why your garage can have a roach infestation if there’s clutter and moisture.
Check for any leakages under the sinks or on any pipe lines in and around your garage. These leakages are sources of moisture that keep roaches alive.
If there’s any, fix it.
Also, repair damages, if any, on walls and floors caused by excessive moisture.
Cockroaches can also hide in damaged walls and floors.
However, keep in mind that German roaches, that prefer to live in dry places, can also infest your garage despite no moisture problem.
Most of the time, the source of German roaches in cars is a garage badly infested by German roaches.
So, fixing only the moisture problem, but not removing the other factors that draw roaches won’t eliminate roaches in your garage.
Step#4 – Seal Gaps And Cracks On The Garage’s Walls And Doors
Garages are not well secured from harsh weathers like other areas of your homes.
The walls and doors wear out. That leads to development of cracks and crevices that are entry points for roaches in your garage.
Roaches will crawl through these gaps. Upon entering, they’ll hide in the tightest corners and in the clutter of your garage.
So, seal those gaps and cracks. Caulk those crevices with a quality sealant.
We recommend using silicone-based sealants. These are tough and roaches can’t chew through them.
Step#5 – Use Roach Traps And Sprays To Kill Roaches In The Garage
Till now you’ve done the heavy lifting. You’ve denied roaches food sources, moisture sources, and hiding places.
Now it’s time for the final blow.
Use roach spray all over inside your garage. Ensure that you cover all the tight corners of your garage.
While spraying, you’ll notice roaches crawling randomly. Spraying the roach spray on the roaches directly will kill the roaches.
You can also squish the roaches under your boots. But do not forget to dispose of the dead roaches and clean the surface with a disinfectant.
Dead roaches attract other roaches. It’s because roaches can eat their own dead.
We highly recommend using Raid spray for roaches. It has got enough residual toxicity that lasts long.
So, the roach-killing effect is longer than most other roach sprays.
After spraying, keep roach sticky traps in different corners of your garage.
Why?
It’s because roaches are sneaky creatures. They can crawl in and hide in the tightest of gaps while you’re cleaning and getting rid of them.
The sticky roach traps emit scents that make the roaches think it’s food. Some traps have pheromones which attract the roaches.
Once the roaches step on the trap, they get stuck.
There are also gel baits available in tubes that you can use. All you’ve to do is put a few drops of gel bait on places like tight corners and on places where there was roach activity.
The gel bait will also lure the roaches.
Some roaches can carry over the bait to their nests. Multiple roaches in the nest consume the portions of the bait and they all die.
Caution: Roach sprays and roach baits are poisonous. Read the instructions on the label and follow them. Also, keep them out of reach of children and pets.
An alternative to chemical roach sprays and baits to kill roaches in the garage is boric acid.
Boric acid is proven roach and bug killer. It kills roaches by destroying the digestive system of roaches.
To use it effectively, you’ll have to prepare a boric acid roach killer recipe. The ingredients for it are boric acid and sugar.
Instead of sugar you can use corn starch or flour too. All of them works.
Mix equal amounts of boric acid and sugar and keep it in tight corners of your garage. You can also keep it in places where you’ve witnessed roach activity.
The sugar will attract the roaches, and they’ll eat it. After a couple of days of consuming the mixture, the roaches will die.
If you’re using flour, then make a dough out of boric acid and flour. Make small balls of the dough and keep them in your garage.
It’ll attract the roaches and on eating it, the roaches will die.
Keep the boric acid mixture out of reach of children and pets.
Preventing Cockroach Infestation In Your Garage
So, you’ve gotten rid of roaches in your garage.
Now it’s time to ensure that you don’t witness a cockroach infestation in your garage, again.
Preventing roaches in the garage, and in your home, is easier than eliminating them from your garage. All you’ve to do is follow the five steps once or twice a week to keep roaches away.
#1 – Spray Essential Oils In Your Garage
Roaches hate the strong smell of essential oils. And studies have shown that essential oils are a great repellant to keep roaches and insects away from a human dwelling.
You’ve got many options when it comes to choosing the right essential oils to keep bugs and roaches away.
Lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint oils are the most common ones.
However, in our experience peppermint sprays works best among all of them.
Spray the peppermint spray twice in a week in your garage. The strong minty smell of the spray will keep roaches, bugs, and even rodents away from your garage.
#2 – Use Weather Strips For Your Garages’ Doors And Windows
Roaches are great crawlers. They can easily sneak through gaps which is half the size of their bodies’ width.
It’s not just the gaps and cracks on your garages’ walls that roaches will use as points of entry.
The gaps between the door frames and window frames are also entry points for roaches.
So, use weather strips to close those gaps. The weather strips underneath the garage doors stops roaches from crawling in through the undersides of the door.
#3 – Keep Natural Roach Repellents Like Bay Leaves And Cinnamon In Your Garage Storage Areas
Natural repellents like bay leaves and cinnamon sticks are often overlooked when it comes to repel bugs and roaches.
And keeping them inside your garage is the last thing that will come to your mind.
But do it.
Keep a few in the storage sections of your garage. The intense smell of these spices are roach repellents. And the best part is that they’re non-toxic.
#4 – Do Not Let Organic Matter Gather In And Around Your Garage
Roaches feed and hide in decaying organic matter like foliage, wood, and food wastes.
As long as these things are inside or around your garage, roaches will sneak into your garage and home too.
So, ensure that you maintain proper cleanliness and do not allow organic wastes to pile up around your garage.
If your garage is close to your yard then keep your yard clean too. A dirty yard is a source of roach infestation in many homes.
If there are trash cans inside your garage then ensure that you dump in food wastes or organic wastes in them.
And most importantly, regularly dispose of the trash. Do not let trash lie idle in the trash cans for days.
These wastes will start to stink and decay. It’ll attract roaches.
#5 – Check For Plumbing Issues
Plumbing issues in the garage, like leaky pipes and faucets, increase the dampness of the garage.
It makes your garage an attractor for all types of insects and bugs including roaches.
So, check for any leakages underneath sinks, hoses, piping, and water heaters in and around your garage.
If there’s any, fix those issues.
Keeping your garage clean and dry will keep roaches and bugs away.
FAQs
What Attracts Cockroaches In The Garage?
Lack of sunlight, moisture or dampness, nooks and crannies to hide, and garbage in your garage attract the roaches in the garage.
And the primary sources where the roaches come from are garage drains and from your yard.
Can Roaches In Garage Spread All Over Your Home?
Yes, roaches in garage can spread all over your home if you don’t get rid of them.
Roaches are always on the look out for new food and hiding sources. And they multiply fast.
So, it’s only a matter of time that their numbers will increase and they’ll infest your kitchen and rest of your home.
Is It Normal To Have Roaches In The Garage?
Yes, absolutely. Roaches can survive in any type of human dwelling.
All they need is some wastes, moisture, and clutter to thrive. So, unless you make your garage and home repellent to roaches, roach infestation will happen.
What Do Cockroaches Eat In Garage?
Cockroaches will eat cardboard boxes, old books, paper piles, food crumbs, pet food, and even other dead insects in your garage.
They can also feast on stains and liquid spillovers.
Can American Roaches Infest Garages?
American roaches are large reddish-brown roaches. They infest humid places and most of the time they’ll hide near the water sources like near leaky pipes underneath sinks.
That’s why kitchen and bathroom are the American roaches’ go to places to infest.
If there’s a water leakage problem in your garage then American roaches will infest your garage too.
Why Do You See Dead Cockroaches In Garage?
The reasons for dead roaches in the garage can be anything- from roaches dying their own death to the effects of insecticides you use to get rid of them.
It’s also common to see dead roaches and baby roaches in garage for a few days after roach treatment.
The residual toxicity in certain pesticides makes kills roaches even days after spraying.
But if you didn’t do any treatment for roaches and you’re seeing dead roaches, then it’s a clear sign of roach infestation.
Roaches discard their dead from their nests. At times, you’ll also notice that the dead roach’s abdomen is eaten.
Roaches don’t shy away from eating their dead especially when sources of food are scarce.
Cockroach wings on the garage floor can also be an indication of roaches’ presence in the garage.
If You Found One Cockroach In Garage, Can There Be More?
Yes, certainly. Roaches can be random wanderers and can accidently get inside your garage.
But chances are sighting of one roach is an indication of more roaches hiding in your garage.
If you see one roach in your home or garage, then inspect for roaches and roach nests. You might come across more roaches.
Can Roaches Infest Garage In Summer?
Yes, roaches can infest garage in summer. They’ve all the reasons to do so.
In summer, the weather outdoors becomes dry. The sources of moisture dry up.
So, roaches will look out for damp and moist places inside your home. Doing so, roaches will sneak inside your garage.
Signs Of Cockroaches In The Garage
Physical sightings of cockroaches in the garage are a sure shot sign of roaches living and breeding inside your garage.
But there are other subtle signs that you may ignore, or they don’t catch your attention.
The first sign is a rusty odor that roaches emit. The smell comes out from the roaches’ glands, which also acts as an invitation call for other cockroaches to come and join them.
If you can smell this odor, then it should alert you of a possible roach infestation. It would be best if you start to look out for roaches in the tight spaces and corners inside your garage.
The second sign is roach skin and dead roaches. Roaches shed their skin when they’re growing. These shed skin can give allergic and asthmatic attacks to many people if they’re prone to both of them.
The third sign is cockroach droppings or poop. Roach poop looks like a cylindrical pebble resembling a coffee bean. They’re brownish-black in color, and you might come across them in the shelves and corners of your garage.
Conclusion
Here are the five steps to get rid of cockroaches in the garage –
- Remove paper piles and cardboard boxes in your garage
- Thoroughly clean your garage
- Fix moisture issues in your garage by repairing leaky pipes
- Seal gaps and cracks on the garages’ walls, floors, doors, and windows
- Use roach baits and sprays to kill roaches in the garage
The above five steps will ensure zero roaches in the garage. However, in case of heavy roach infestation in your home will need professional pest control.
Nang Chen is an Entomologist and Arachnologist who is associated with Vienna’s museum of natural history. He’s also a consultant with real estate groups, insecticide conglomerates and law enforcement groups as a forensic entomologist. Nang Chen holds an M.S. from South China University and he’s a regular contributor to our site.