Cockroaches sneak into homes through cracks and crevices.
They’re hard to see and get rid of, and they could multiply quickly. If you don’t want the cockroach problem to get worse, you have to keep up with it.
So, why are there cockroaches in my bathroom? Cockroaches are disgusting creatures that creep us out.
However, surprisingly, many people encounter cockroaches in their bathrooms. Cockroaches are attracted to areas with moisture, like bathrooms, because they love to eat decaying matter.
In addition, roaches are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide, which are both present in all homes. Cockroaches also lay eggs in damp places, such as bathrooms, which helps keep the population growing.
Finally, cockroaches can survive without food for several months. So, if you have cockroaches in your bathroom, don’t worry because they’re just trying to survive like you.
Why Are Cockroaches In My Bathroom?
Contents
Food
Even though roaches don’t like to eat in bathrooms as much as they do in kitchens, they can still find plenty of food there.
This may include used sanitation products left out on counters as well as dirty dishes left in the sink overnight that collect moisture and decay.
Darkness
Most of the windows are small and do not open to allow natural light to enter the room.
Bathrooms, on the other hand, are dimly lit at night due to the lights left on when leaving to go to bed and the dim illumination of night lights.
Roaches are left alone and unbothered in a dark bathroom where there is plenty of food and water.
That’s exactly how they are able to survive without food for a very long period of time—up to several months.
Heat
On a semi-regular basis, your water heater heats the water that enters your pipes in order to warm it up.
Cockroaches like warm places because they can hide from predators in the cracks in your walls or under your furniture.
If the rest of your house is cold in the winter and hot in the summer, the bathroom may be the only place in your home that provides an ideal temperature for a roach to nest in.
Good Hiding Places
Cockroaches recognize that humans do not spend a great deal of time in the bathroom.
When bigger animals are around, they tend to hide more to avoid detection.
Bathrooms have several hiding spots, including under the sink, in the bathtub, or shower stall.
Water
Bathrooms are wet spaces, so there’s usually a lot of water on the floor after a shower and after the toilet is flushed.
Cockroaches will consume the rotting materials left in the water on the bathroom floor. However, they will also take advantage of the water itself by drinking it and using it as a water source while bathing themselves.
Where Do Roaches Come From in the Bathroom?
Cockroaches enter bathrooms by crawling up drains, squeezing through gaps under doors or windows, or through cracks in the wall where plumbing enters the house.
Cockroaches are drawn to the bathroom by food, water, and warmth.
Nothing can be poured down the drains to kill them. However, you can get rid of them by sealing up cracks and gaps in the walls and floors of your house and installing a good, strong door seal to prevent their entry in the first place.
Bleach, pesticide, vinegar, and boric acid are all commonly used to kill cockroaches. However, these treatments should be used with caution and only according to label instructions to ensure the health and safety of your family.
Pour boiling water down the tub drain to kill any roaches that may have found their way into your toilet.
Then, seal any places where roaches could get in with caulk or sealant to keep them from coming back.
Can Cockroaches Come Up Through the Toilet?
They seldom pass into the toilet bowl because they are already in water, but if they crawl up out of the drainpipe, they can enter the bowl through the trapdoor at the bottom of the bowl or the vent pipe leading to the outside of the house.
Roaches are not natural swimmers, although they will drown if pushed into fully submerged water. Therefore, a toilet bowl that is full of water is a good place to get rid of them before they die in the bowl.
So a roach can pass through a wall but not through the floor.
A cockroach, on the other hand, will walk through most anything to reach its destination.
It will swiftly climb over books and other small objects to reach a high surface like the top of the refrigerator or a cupboard shelf.
How Do Roaches Get Into Bathrooms?
Gaps Under Doors
In fact, a cockroach can pass through almost any material.
It may go undetected for some time in a bathroom because its small size makes it blend in well with the surrounding surfaces.
Your kitchen may keep a clean appearance because the cupboards are full, but there may be many roaches hiding under the bottom of the cabinets in the kitchen or the cabinets in the bathrooms.
Cockroaches will seek refuge in cupboards to hide from predators and also to escape harsh weather.
Baseboards and Tiles
Consider the bathroom tiles in your home; if the grout between the tiles is cracked or damaged and the tiles themselves are loose or cracked, then roaches can enter through those openings.
A cockroach may fit through a crack as small as the diameter of a pencil.
Tiling facilitates this process since small fractures are inherent in the manufacture of tile itself.
Cockroaches might be living in those frayed edges because they are the perfect place for the bugs to get in.
Holes or Cracks in the Walls
It is typical for holes or cracks to appear in walls over time due to changes in the foundation structure of your house.
Small fractures may form in drywall as it is nailed to the studs of your house and may go unnoticed for long periods of time.
If they get too severe, the drywall may start to peel away from the studs, leaving a hole through which a roach may enter the bathroom of your home.
A cockroach, on the other hand, will walk through most anything to reach its destination.
Pipes
Roaches often infiltrate a home through pipes or through drainage areas in the basement.
Pipes that are broken, leaky, or exposed to the outdoors provide an easy path for roaches to enter a home.
What appears to be minor water seepage beneath the sink may be far more serious than you realize; even a small crack in a pipe can allow dozens of roaches to enter your home.
What Is the Best Way to Get Rid of Cockroaches in the Bathroom?
Boiling Water
If cockroaches are crawling up your walls and around the toilet bowl, you can kill them with boiling water by pouring some into the toilet bowl and covering it with a lid overnight.
Hot water, unlike bleach, is effective at killing all stages of a roach’s life cycle.
It will also not harm the environment or cause irritation to your skin.
When roaches come into contact with hot water, they will die within a short period of time.
Baking Soda with Vinegar
Vinegar and baking soda are a powerful combination that will kill all stages of a roach’s life cycle, including eggs, nymphs, and adults.
When baking soda and vinegar are combined, they create sodium acetate, which is extremely toxic for cockroaches and other pests.
This is claimed to dehydrate them and even affect their nervous systems, making them incapable of movement.
In truth, this mixture will not kill all stages of the cockroach life cycle, so you will need to use it on a regular basis to keep roaches at bay.
It is not toxic to humans or other pets and is easy to use since all you have to do is pour some into a spray bottle, shake it up, and spray it around the areas where you have seen signs of cockroaches in your home.
Insecticide
Roaches are killed using household insecticides that contain a neurotoxin called acephate.
You should be careful when using insecticides and follow the directions on the label to keep your family and pets safe.
For example, you can place a roach killer bait station in areas where cockroaches live and breed.
These bait stations have cockroach-killing chemicals like boric acid and other insecticides, as well as chemicals that attract the cockroaches. Once the cockroaches get to the station, they will get sick and die from the poison.
Most products, on the other hand, are only made to kill adult roaches. They don’t work on other stages of the insect’s life cycle.
Bleach
Bleach is a cheap and easy-to-use product that will kill all stages of the cockroach life cycle as well as prevent new infestations from occurring.
While bleach may kill roaches, it will not prevent them from coming back, so you will need to use it regularly to ensure they remain under control.
Metal, plastic, and other things can be damaged by prolonged exposure to bleach, so you should avoid leaving it on any surface for longer than is necessary to kill your pest problem.
This may cause further fractures or breakages in your belongings that could cost you money to repair in the future.
If it doesn’t kill the bugs, it will at least weaken them considerably so that they are easy to catch and remove from your house.
How To Prevent Roaches from Entering Bathrooms
Remove Humidity Sources
Roaches might be attracted to your bathroom by moisture in the air and the warm temperatures that the space provides.
Consider installing a bathroom fan to draw moist air out of the space immediately and replace it with drier air from outside of your home.
Pipes Must Be Repaired
When dealing with leaking pipes, you should call a plumber to repair them.
During the winter months, the water in the pipes can freeze and expand, causing cracks to form in the piping that can allow water to seep into the walls of your home where it can cause mold to grow and damage drywall, ceilings, and other materials.
It’s also great season to take care of any plumbing repairs to prevent future leaks that might draw in pests like roaches.
Repair Holes and Cracks
Apart from damaged pipes, walls can be damaged by a number of things, including poor construction, wear and tear, and more.
Caulk and patch up small holes, cracks, and other openings with caulking paste to seal the entry points used by pests to enter your home.
Roaches may live in your house’s walls and ceiling if they feel protected from predators and can hide safely there without being disturbed for long periods of time.
Maintain your bathroom regularly by cleaning it thoroughly after use and removing standing water from the sink to prevent the growth of mold, which can attract more roaches into the space.
Install Water Traps in Sinks
A water trap is a device that is placed at the bottom of a sink and prevents water from flowing out when a faucet is turned off.
They may also prevent roaches from entering the home as they cannot climb over running water.
Roaches are effectively deterred by the presence of moving water, and a simple trap placed below the sink can prevent the insects from entering your bathroom and other areas of your kitchen where water is used on a regular basis.
Furthermore, installing these traps prevents water damage in your home, which could damage belongings and cause thousands of dollars in repair costs if left unchecked for a long period of time.
Trash
Secure garbage cans so that they are not accessible to pets and children in the home.
This may include purchasing a more secure trash can or placing one inside a cabinet with a lock to keep the trash inside and not accessible to the general public.
Hair
Remove rotting hair from bathtubs and showers and fill the holder with baking soda to kill any insects that might be in the container.
Paper Towels
Similarly, toilet paper should no longer be replaced once it has been used because old tissues can harbor bacteria and germs that attract roaches into your bathroom and other rooms of the home.
It should ideally be kept inside a container with a lid that can be sealed tightly to avoid moisture buildup, which can cause bacteria to grow and attract bugs such as cockroaches.
Roaches are drawn towards paper as it provides them with moisture and encourages them to stay near the source, which is where they can eat the tissue and gain sustenance from it.
It is not only a source of food but also a breeding ground for germs that can harm your health if ingested over a long period of time.
Soap Bars
Because of the high moisture content present in soap bars, they are attractive to bugs and pests that feed off this fluid to survive.
Animal fat may be the source of sustenance for cockroaches, so they are attracted to areas where they can consume it, including soap bars, which may be kept in the bathroom and kitchen, where the bugs can feast on the bar of soap and reproduce easily.
If you have a soap bar, make sure it is emptied on a regular basis to ensure that no bugs stay near this source of food, which is not only unclean but unhygienic as well.
You may also want to consider using liquid soaps instead of bars, as they do not have any such moisture and are not as appealing to cockroaches and other bugs alike.
Also Read: Does Boric Acid Kill Roaches?
Final Words
Cockroaches are disgusting creatures, and they’re hard to get rid of.
This is especially true if you live in a city with hard water. Hard water contains so many minerals that it makes it tough for cockroaches to survive.
If you live in a city with hard water, it’s best that you avoid cockroaches. However, if you do have some cockroaches in your home, it is important to get rid of them quickly.
You can do this by spraying bleach over the cockroaches or by using boric acid to kill them. Both of these methods work quickly and effectively.
