Residential areas in some parts of northern Texas are seeing insect plagues of epic proportions. Insect pests like Oriental cockroaches, mosquitoes, fire ants and numerous fly species are “flooding” into homes in massive numbers. So what is causing this regional insect pest invasion into homes and buildings in the area? If you have been watching the news lately, you know that urban and residential areas located on the Texas panhandle are currently being flooded. The floods are displacing some and destroying thousands of dollars in property, but hardly any homeowners or tenants in the area are able to avoid the massive amounts of insect pests that the floodwaters are pushing into homes, businesses and public buildings.
The worst of the flooding occurred during the last week of May and during the first few days of June, so luckily, residents of the panhandle are finally able to clean up and salvage their goods. This clean-up process becomes even easier when you get property damage restoration services, to help drain out and fix the property. However, area pest control specialists and entomologists are stating that insect pest issues become particularly severe during and after floods. Once the heavy bouts of rain began in the area less than a month ago, pest controllers in the region became inundated with service requests. The most abundant and problematic insect pest for homeowners has been the Oriental cockroach. One pest controller in the area stated that he had been receiving a record amount of calls concerning the roach pests, which many residents refer to as “water bugs” on account of their preference for damp conditions.
Oriental roaches are well known by pest controllers and residents alike in the area, as the insects are abundant even under normal climatic conditions. Pest experts claim that Oriental roaches maintain a thriving habitat within the sewers below urban and residential areas in the panhandle region, but the flooding caused sewers to overflow. Naturally, this overflow has pushed the filthy Oriental cockroaches out of their sewer habitat and into human populated regions, like city centers and neighborhoods where they are invading homes en masse. Although the roaches prefer high-moisture conditions, they are certainly not aquatic insects, so they are struggling to reach higher ground that is relatively dry in order to survive. Unfortunately, the roaches are choosing residential homes as their refuge, as all other locations remain inhospitable to the bugs. Some reports claim that Oriental roaches are entering homes through showers, sinks and floor drains. Filth flies are also emerging from sewers and entering people’s homes in large groups. As it happens, monsoon season is only a few weeks away for residents in the panhandle region, so the current roach nightmare may not be over yet.
Have you ever captured a roach in a jar in order to keep it as a pet?
