Do Palm Trees Attract Roaches?
Cockroaches can be a massive phobia for most people. Some can fly, some can be pretty big, and all of them would survive a nuclear conflict. However, not a lot of people know that they might make their home in palm trees?
At first glance, the question ‘Do Palm Trees Attract Cockroaches?’ seems a bit silly. Palm trees are synonymous with white sandy beaches, parrots, and coconuts.
The American cockroach and palmetto bug don’t just use trees as a bridge to get from place to place but also make their home in trees.
Why Do Cockroaches Nest In Palm Trees?
Cockroaches often nest in palm trees close to houses, using the tree’s palms to make their way to the house’s roof and then find their way inside. They often worm their way into the second floors or attics of taller homes looking for food and water, and then they start to breed.
If you live in the southeast, you may be familiar with the infamous palmetto bug. Palmetto bugs are the Florida cockroaches. They thrive in tropical and subtropical areas, such as Florida, and they’re called palmetto bugs because they live near or under palm trees (palmetto trees or sabal palms). They can fly short distances as well, so even if a branch doesn’t outright touch your home, they will still be able to flutter over to your roof.
You are unlikely to find german roaches in your palm trees. German roaches are typically found in kitchens, bathrooms, and food prep or storage areas. This type of roach is usually not found in trees or bush-like plants. Other insects and creatures that you are likely to encounter around palm trees are bees, wasps, rats, scorpions, ants, and snakes.
The Dangers of Cockroaches
Now you might be thinking, what harm can cockroaches do? Sure they might eat food, crawl around, breed, and prove to be very resilient to a shoe or heavy object… but what harm do they do? The breed of cockroach hanging around palm trees, the palmetto bug, can be dangerous.
They bite, even though reports of actual biting are quite rare, but more importantly, they also like to live in dirty places. These include garbage bins and sewers, and they pick up a lot of bacteria and dust in their travels, which they will then bring into your home.
If someone in your home has allergies or asthma, then the cockroaches can make that worse for you as well. Removing the palmetto bugs from your home is the best way to reduce the risk of illnesses to you and your family.
How Do I Get Rid Of Roaches In My Palm Tree?
Now that you know how dangerous the palmetto roach is, here’s how to get rid of them and make your palm trees infestation-free.
One of the easiest things you can do is coat the area around the palm tree with diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth is all-natural and non-toxic. It is a natural pesticide formed from the fossilized remains of the diatoms, which were single-celled organisms with shells made of silica.
Even though it looks like simple dust to our human eyes, every single molecule is as sharp as razor wire to a bug. The physical damage that each of these molecules creates for the roach is enough to pierce and poke the roach’s exoskeleton. The tiny earth particles continue to enter the body of the insects. They will dry the cockroach out by sucking out all the oils it needs to live.
After spreading the diatomaceous earth, the roaches will either be dead or too scared to get into the palm tree. It’s the quick, lethal approach, and it certainly works for a lot of people.
While you can use the lethal approach, the best way to make sure the roaches never make a home in your tree is to make sure that they never approach your yard, to begin with.
How To Keep Roaches Out Of Your Yard
First, make sure you have a clean yard and home. Close your garbage bins, fix up any cracks and crevices in your foundation, and ensure that the roof is secure and doesn’t have easy access for cockroaches. Go through your kitchen, bathroom, second floor, and attic, and ensure that all food is cleaned up and locked up. Fix any leaking water and illuminate any dark areas because that is where the cockroaches tend to congregate.
Lastly, make sure to pick up and relocate any dead fronds or leaf litter at the base of your palm trees to ensure that no outdoor cockroaches can use them as a place to hide.
If you have roach-proofed your home and find that cockroaches are still getting inside, then you should focus on killing the bugs that are getting near your palm tree. There are several options, from traditional insecticides to homemade repellents, and you will need to pick the one that works the best for you.
What Trees Attract Roaches?
It turns out that while a palm tree is an inviting place for roaches and other bugs, it’s not the trees themselves that attract them. Instead, it’s the area around the trees. Cockroaches love to hide in the piles of leaves and wood near the bottom of the trees, so your priority should be keeping that area clear.
Additionally, you need to trim the trees that are closest to the house regularly. If the tree branches can scrape the shingles of your home or bash against the windows, then they are nothing more than bridges to a bug! If you keep the branches trimmed and the areas around the tree clear, then you should be all good.
Prevention Is The Key
Keeping cockroaches out of your home is not a one-and-done solution but rather a lifelong process of prevention. If you forget to clear the area around your trees, don’t keep your attic or kitchen clean, or allow holes to fester in your foundation, then the roaches will find their way inside.
Make sure always to be vigilant and either kill or repel any cockroaches you find in your home. That way, your home will be healthier and much cleaner because the creepy crawling bugs won’t be running around.
If you find that your cockroach infestation has gotten too out of control, it is best to get in touch with a pest control expert as soon as possible.
Sources:
https://www.terminix.com/pest-control/cockroaches/identification/cockroach-vs-palmetto-bug/
https://extension.psu.edu/pennsylvania-wood-cockroaches
