What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you’re driving down the highway and you suddenly catch a glimpse of cockroaches running across your dashboard? How to get rid of roaches in car fast, right?
I agree with you! Cockroaches are more common in vehicles than you think. Like homes, cars too can become infested with bugs. Yet, many people are shocked when cockroaches set up shop inside of their vehicle in Malaysia, Singapore, North Carolina etic, especially if the car is not a clunker and you’re a neat driver.
So, how to get rid of cockroaches in vehicle naturally or quick? In this no-nonsense guide, we’d show you why you have the mess in the first place, and then provide some tips on how to safely rid your vehicle of cockroaches, and how to get rid of roaches in car vents and parts.
How to Identify Roaches in Your Car Fast
To be honest, the roaches are present in your vehicle because of you, your friends or family.
How? It is either you forget to roll in your windows all the way up at night or you like to eat in your cars. This is more true if you’ve got kids or always on the move all the time.
While rushing to get to your destination and at the same time eating, you drop some crumbs here and there on your truck floor mats. Over time, these tiny crumbs add up and become a feast for hungry bugs.
While there are different species of cockroaches, all of them do share typical traits. First, they all are oval-shaped that appears flat and ranges in length between ¾ of an inch and 3 inches.
Many are brown or red in color, or appear to be whitish just after they shed their former skin.
They are quick on their feet too, so manually stomping or swiping them isn’t going to do much. Plus, roaches are carriers of bacteria and viruses, that could pose danger to your health.
In fact, it has been shown that these carry more than 30 types of bacteria, as well as parasitic worms.
When dealing with cockroaches inside of your truck, van, SUV, or car, you need to be aware that they are in your vehicle in the first place because they will find food there. Keep in mind that these critters only require 3 things to thrive and will continuously hunt for these crucial must-haves, including shelter, water, and food.
If you eliminate those items, they’ll give up tenancy in your car or die.
READ ALSO: EcoSmart Ant and Roach Killer Reviews
Where to Check and What to Look For
You should inspect the insides of your car. Most notably, where food crumbs might have built up. They may have crawled into your vehicle or hitched a ride on your possessions or clothing.
So, begin by inspecting on, under, and around your seats. Do not forget to check small spaces of the seat fabric and cushioning, glove compartment, where you stash your garbage, and on the doors.
When you looking for cockroaches in your bus, car, or vehicle, check for live bugs as well as droppings. You’re more than going to detect a foul and unique odor if the infestation is a significant one.
The Dangers of Having Roaches in Your Vehicle
Bugs inside of cars are both gross and dangerous as well.
As earlier stated, wild roaches are wild carriers and spread more than 30 bacteria types. Plus, they crawl through your car and leave their skin shedding, feces and bodily fluids everywhere.
Because your car is such a small space, this can fast turn into a haven for roaches to breed.
Roaches can even carry diseases, including salmonella. This can trigger typhoid. Some bugs have proven to be carriers of polio too, which can turn extreme diarrhea and bleeding in humans.
How to Get Rid of Roaches in Car Fast in Malaysia, North Carolina, Singapore and Other Countries
Now that you have identified the roach problem and causes, it’s time to get to work. Here are some tips to ridding your car of cockroaches:
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Vacuum Your Car’s Interior
This step should not be skipped. You can purchase a hand vacuum or drive to a DIY car wash and use their vacuum to clean out the insides of your vehicle.
Remember, throw and thrash away any garbage that has built up inside of your truck/motor. Once complete, you can then apply insecticide to guarantee that no bug are still inside of your vehicle.
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Apply Novacide
Novacide is one insecticide that kills matured cockroaches. Plus, it also features a bug growth regulator that stops cockroaches from being ever able to lay eggs again by sterilizing them.
If you have a substantial roach infestation at hand, we recommend spraying the Novacide throughout your vehicle’s seats and floors.
Be sure to leave all of your motor windows and doors open while you spray. Spray in a downward sweeping motion and allow your truck or vehicle ventilate until the fumes have disappeared and the Novacide is completely dry.
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Spray Pyrid Aerosol
Using Pyrid Aerosol to control roaches is another great method. Pyrid Aerosol is a flushing agent that can do wonderful work of ridding your car/vehicle of unwanted pests.
To use, simply spray the solution into all corners, crevices, and cracks of your vehicle with the windows and doors open.
Ensure the car seats are sprayed too. Once you’re done spraying, leave your windows open and let the car to fully dry and harsh vapors to dissipate before trying to drive your car.
That shouldn’t take more than 40 minutes.
ALSO READ: What Baby Cockroaches look lIke
How to Get Rid of Cockroaches in Car Naturally
Aside using chemicals, there are lots of organic methods to get rid of cockroaches in your car.
Here are some natural methods to include:
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Use of Diatomaceous in Your Vehicle:
Once you sprinkle diatomaceous earth in your car, any bug (including roaches) that comes in contact with this powder dies.
How? This powder will kill any insect with an exoskeleton by cutting it and dehydrating it to death.
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Use Roach Repellent Foods
While it may not make sense to leave more meals inside of your car/vehicle, there are some foods that actually keep cockroaches away, including bay leaves, cucumber, and garlic.
Simply place the foods in areas where you come across cockroaches inside of your car. Bay leaves and garlic can be left out for up to many weeks while the cucumber slices can be kept in your car for several days.
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Boric acid:
Boric acid is one natural roach killer that is almost completely harmless to humans. Cockroaches find it hard to digest this acid while humans occasionally use it to sooth tired eyes, reduce acne, and fight off fungal infections.
Simply sprinkle some of the white powder in areas of your car. Once they walk over it, they will want to clean themselves, ingest in, and give up the ghost.
WARNING: You should use boric acid sparingly though. This is because when you turn on your car’s air conditioning or heat conditioning, the powder can also blow and circulate throughout the air, resulting in a mess. Let us not forget the risk of you inhaling it too.
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Catnip:
Catnip provides you cats wonderful experiences. The opposite can be said for cockroaches. By sprinkling some catnip throughout your car, you can drive the bugs out.
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Soap:
Do you know that using soapy water is one of the how to get rid of cockroaches in car naturally method that work?
The detergents in the soap creates a clogging barrier and prevents bugs from breathing in air. To use, simply keep a bottle of soapy water with you inside of your car, truck, or mobile.
Once you sight a roach, press FIRE before it can escape to its hiding place.
All of the organic methods discussed here are safe to use around kids, pets and yourself and are really effective at treating cockroach infestations.
If Everything fails, Can I Hire an Exterminator?
A professional bug exterminator is one primarily trained in the act of preventing, containing and eradicating mice, cockroaches, bed bugs, rats and other pests, even in cars.
So, before hiring one, ensure that you have exhausted all other methods available.
Exterminators are costly and unless you have a high budget, I wouldn’t recommend hiring one.
What Not to Do or Use When Ridding Your Car of Roaches
First thing you should know is that what worked in your home to eradicate roaches may fail to work in your car because it is a much smaller space.
One roach control measure to avoid is BUG BOMBS. Even when you let the air completely out, you may still inhale the dangerous fumes.
You may also have heard some people say things like “hot summer will kill cockroaches”. This makes no sense since cockroaches only come out at night to run operations and hide away from the sun during the day.
How do Roaches Get in Your Car?
Roaches can get into your car through the following means:
- Hitching a ride via Food Stuff Items
- Unclean habits
- Parking near drains and bins
- The presence of one cockroach in your car invites many
- Carrying dirty passengers with roach infested fabrics
How to Keep Roaches Out of Your Vehicle
Now that you know the answer to the question – how do roaches get in your car? Let’s see how you can keep cockroaches out of your vehicle.
Here are some amazing tops to keeping roaches from ever coming back, again:
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Clean thoroughly:
Cockroach infested your vehicle in the first place because they can smell the crumbs you dropped while eating. So, make conscious effort of taking away their food source by continuously cleaning your vehicle.
Throw out any thrash you’ve got frequently and vacuum every inch of your ride every week.
If you’ve set a high budget, you can get your car professionally detailed. This allows for deep cleaning method that rids your rides fabric of bug debris, grime, and dirt.
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Fight off the Urge to eat in your Car:
This one is simple to understand yet hard to follow! You took out time to make your car spotless. So, don’t eat foods in your car! If you must eat anything, take away all of the leftovers, drinks, and garbage from your car immediately and vacuum up the crumbs.
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Check Everything
You should carefully examine whatever you’re bringing into your vehicle. As earlier stated, cockroaches can cling to your possessions and clothing.
Plants too can be the biggest culprit for bringing cockroaches inside of your car. They also have a natural hiding place for these pests, where they remain until the sun goes down.
So, you should carefully check all plants before bringing them in your vehicle.
Can I Bomb My Car for Roaches?
No! We do not recommend roach bombs because even if you let your car air completely out, you may still breathe in the harmful fumes. Plus, these bug bombs can stain and discolor your seats, headliner, and upholstery, leaving your car not only full of cockroaches, but looking worse than it did previously.
A better alternative to car bombs is using a product known as gel bait. Gel bait surprises the roaches. You simply apply small amounts in or near the trouble areas you identified and vacuum earlier. And it works amazingly too!
How to Use Bug Fogger in Car
To use bug fogger in your vehicle, you simply apply according to the instruction it comes with. But, we don’t recommend it because it hardly gets to the corners and crevices of your car but drives the roaches deeper into your car.
Do you have helpful tips on how to get rid of roaches in car fast in Malaysia, North Carolina, Singapore and more? Let us know by using the comment section below!
