There are several reasons why you might have noticed cockroaches outside your home. Some of the most important reasons could be:
- Your yard or garden must have rotted leaves or organic waste.
- Your garden might be damp due to overwatering.
Cockroaches are nocturnal insects that can easily be observed outside your home for food and water.
However, it is also true that these pesky insects prefer indoors (especially kitchen) to find their food for thriving.
But the garden is one of the most favorite places outside; these tiny insects move across these surfaces such as patios, porches, and sidewalks.
Hence, in today’s guide, we will dive deep to learn about the exact reasons for roaches outside your home and solutions to get rid of them ASAP.
Let’s begin, shall we?
Is It Normal To See Cockroaches Outside Your House?
Yes, it is perfectly normal to observe cockroaches outside your home.
Wood roaches (as the name suggests) are cockroaches that love to stay outdoors and find shelter in organic waste, wood logs, and forests, here are difference between wood roaches vs cockroaches!
However, some cockroach types, such as American roaches and Oriental cockroaches, can even invade human households; therefore, having roaches outside is a warning.
These tiny insects are nocturnal and can go anywhere to search for food and water, so they can even make colonies in your yard, garden, and home.
Cockroaches eat anything from garbage to organic waste, rotting leaves to dead animals, or even dead skins.
And therefore, the garden is the perfect place for getting organic waste, rotting leaves, and humidity; roaches love to stay around these areas.
It is why you observe cockroaches in your yard.
However, that is a clear sign and a warning to you that the roaches outside your home in the garden or yard can even come inside your home.
German and American cockroaches are among the most common roaches that make colonies in homes and cause home infestation.
Therefore, you must stay aware and careful by taking the necessary steps to eliminate these tiny insects from your garden.
Cockroaches Outside My House At Night
Cockroaches love dark, humid, and safe environments to get out of their shelter and find food.
It is why you might also notice a few roaches in your kitchen at night time.
These indoor cockroaches can infest homes, but on the other hand, some types of roaches live outside, such as wood roaches.
In contrast to common ones, these cockroaches are attracted to bright lights.
And if your porch, yard, or garden has a bright light, it may attract these cockroaches, and you can also notice a roach in the nighttime.
It is why cockroaches living outside your home, such as in the garden or yard, can come out at night.
However, it is also true that there can be several reasons for a cockroach to come out at night outside your home.
Cockroaches prefer living in filth, garbage areas, decaying plant matter, or organic waste; hence,e in search of food, they can come out at night.
7+ Reasons Why You See Roaches In The Yard
As said before, there can be several reasons for roaches outside your home.
However, we have covered only the primary reasons that have the most chance of causing roach problems outside your home.
Knowing the primary reasons, you can find various solutions to eliminate these pesky insects.
Let’s begin:
#7. Bright Lights On The Porch Or Yard
One of the main reasons you might have found cockroaches in your yard or garden, especially during the nighttime, is having a bright light on the porch or yard.
However, a bright light not only attracts cockroaches such as wood roaches and Asian cockroaches but also attracts other insects such as mosquitos and beetles.
Therefore, if your porch is lightened with extra bright lights, it might be one of the reasons contributing to inviting cockroaches outside your home.
#6. Uncovered Garbage Bins
Their pungent smell can attract cockroaches if your garden has uncovered garbage bins.
Roaches such as smokey brown, American cockroach, and wood roaches are some species of cockroach that are attracted by the smell of garbage bins.
And therefore, if you find any garbage bin in your garden, consider covering it to prevent garden roaches from being attracted to it.
#5. Sewerage Holes With Loose Covers Surrounding Your Garden
Cockroaches are one of the most disgusting insects, and they can eat anything.
Some species of cockroaches, such as American and Australian, live inside the sewerage holes and even feed on filth and feces.
If your garden or yard has a sewerage hole near it, you should look for a loose cover.
The loose cover not only spreads the solid smell to attract these pesky insects but also gives them shelter near your home, which is a risk to your home.
Therefore, it is one of the reasons for having cockroaches in your garden.
#4. Your Garden Might Have Plenty Of Stacked Rotting Leaves
Another possible reason for having cockroaches outside your home, especially in your yard or garden, can be rotting leaves.
Cockroaches can eat anything, and some types of roaches, such as wood roaches, are the ones that prefer eating rotting leaves and rotting decaying plant matter.
That means if your garden has rotting leaves, it may attract these cockroaches easily.
However, cleaning your garden regularly and managing the plant leaves correctly can avoid this as one of the reasons for attracting cockroaches.
#3. Cockroaches Are Nocturnal
One of the reasons causing roaches to be outside your home (especially at night) is their natural habit.
During the daytime, cockroaches hide in the safest place to avoid danger and human encounters.
However, they came out to hunt for food and water resources during the nighttime.
It is the nighttime when cockroaches perform their scavenging activities the most.
And those roaches attracted to bright lights are the ones you will find underneath the patio lights during the nighttime.
#2. Dampness In Your Yard
One of the most common reasons for cockroaches to live in a yard or garden is the dampness in your yard.
As said before, cockroaches prefer dark and humid environments to live in.
That means humidity is another life force necessary for these tiny insects, along with dark and places full of food resources.
It is also why cockroaches who hide inside homes hide in places where they can find more humidity, such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, or even basements.
Similarly, overwatering your garden, stagnant water in the yard, and blocked drains are other reasons that increase the yard’s dampness.
And as the dampness level of your yard increases, it also damages walls and furniture to develop cracks and crevices due to increased moisture.
Along with attracting cockroaches, it gives shelter to cockroaches and ants.
Further, the excessive dampness causes organic matter to decay, attracting cockroaches.
Therefore, dampness in your garden or yard is one of the most common reasons for having cockroaches outside your home.
#1. Organic Waste
I have already mentioned too often that some roaches, such as wood cockroaches, prefer decaying plant matter and rotting leaves.
However, these wood roaches prefer to stay outdoors only and are less likely to infest your home.
But on the other side, other organic wastes such as decaying mulch beds, trash cans and bins containing food wastes, and small dead insects are the perfect food resources for the other roaches.
And these cockroaches, which thrive on organic waste, feed upon them and make shelter around them to get the food sources quickly.
Therefore, having any organic waste can cause cockroaches to invade your yard or garden first, and perhaps these insects may also enter your home at some point in search of food and water.
Bonus Point: Roaches Spillover From The Neighbors
If your neighbors have a roach problem or infestation, roaches will take no time to get into your home.
Cockroaches are insects that breed quickly and can make their colonies in no time.
Therefore, you must ensure regular checks in your home if there are any cockroaches.
Once they run out of hiding places and food resources, Cockroaches will look out for new places to infest.
And therefore, even if your home does not have any roaches yet, but you notice a few outside, it might be from your neighbors.
Therefore, you must ensure safety through regular inspection for roach infestation in your residency.
Should I Be Worried If I See A Cockroach Outside My House?
Outdoor roaches, such as wood roaches, are the ones who prefer to stay outdoors and do not infest homes.
However, whether indoors or outdoors, cockroaches can pose health risks; therefore, you must get rid of them quickly.
Cockroaches can provoke allergies and carry various diseases that can come in contact with humans in any way.
It is why it is recommended to get rid of cockroaches even outdoors.
What Cockroaches Live In The Yard?
Various types of cockroaches are associated with humans.
Such as:
- American cockroaches, also known as palmetto bugs.
- German cockroaches
- Asian cockroaches
- Smokey dark brown cockroaches
- Turkestan cockroach
- Florida Woods cockroach
- Wood roaches
- Oriental cockroach
- Brown-banded cockroaches
The most common types of cockroaches found in the yard or outside your home are wood cockroaches, grass roaches, and Asian cockroaches.
Wood roaches love to stay around where they can find wood logs, decaying plant matter, and piles of plant leaves.
It is because wood roaches feed on wood logs, plant leaves, wood piles, etc.
Further, these outdoor cockroaches also do not infest homes but can carry various diseases and cause allergic problems.
Therefore, getting rid of these insects even outdoors with pest control is necessary.
Typical Outdoor Cockroach Hiding Places
Lawn roaches or any other common outdoor cockroach prefer to hide in places where they can find food and water.
Apart from grass roaches, indoor cockroach species, such as German cockroaches and oriental roaches are, also depend on food and water resources inside your home.
It is why indoor cockroach species live around the kitchen, bathroom, and basement.
Once they find their thriving resources, they make shelter nearby.
Outdoor roaches have these hiding places:
- Seal gaps and cracks in walls surrounding your yard or garden
- Piles of leaves, garbage, or waste bins
- Organic waste area
- Around woods
- Around trees
Cockroach Control: How to Get Rid of Cockroaches for Good?
Now you have known enough about roaches outside your home and the reasons for that.
It is time to know how to get rid of cockroaches outside.
You can follow either of the steps, but if you have a serious roach issue, it is always good to call a professional exterminator.
1. Remove Waste In The Yard
The first step towards eliminating cockroaches is to remove waste from your yard.
First, observe if your yard or garden has any waste thrown in the open such as food waste, plant leaves, and other organic waste.
If yes, then you must clean it out.
Cockroaches get attracted by the smell of waste in your yard, and therefore, by removing this waste, you are removing one reason for cockroach invitation.
2. Control And Reduce Dampness In Your Yard
If you water your yard or garden regularly, you can decrease the frequency if it is causing dampness.
Do not overwater, and make sure there are no water leakages either.
Cockroaches prefer dampness and humid environment.
Therefore, by overwatering your yard, you are providing them a reason to infest it.
A damp yard with organic waste is a haven for cockroaches and other bugs.
Apart from this, ensure there are no clogged drains and keep the drains clean or ensure regular checks for cleanliness.
3. Using A Roach Killing Spray, Diatomaceous Earth, Or Insecticide Dust
If you think your yard has a lot of cockroaches and it is not easy to get rid of them through prevention methods.
Then, you can start taking some action.
Various cockroach killer sprays are available in the market, which you can use for your garden.
However, while purchasing a cockroach killer spray, make sure to look out for these two things:
- The spray should be for outdoors.
- It should not be harmful to humans.
Even though you might use the chemicals outdoors, if you have children in your home and they go outside to play, you must ensure that the children don’t get in touch with the sprayed chemical.
4. Using Roach Baits In Your Yard
Apart from the above methods, you can also use roach baits to catch the yard roaches.
To attract roaches, these baits and lures work perfectly.
Roach baits have pheromones that attract cockroaches and roach-killing chemicals in them.
You can keep these roach baits at the tight corners of your yard and 6 feet apart from each other.
These roach baits will not only lure but also kill roaches out of hiding.
Once roaches eat the attached lure, they will carry the chemical to their colony, and the entire colony will be eliminated.
5. Seal Gaps And Cracks On The Walls Surrounding Yard
Sealing the gaps and cracks surrounding the yard is another good practice to help you avoid cockroaches.
You must inspect for any cracks or gaps and seal them.
Cockroaches may hide in these gaps and cracks, preventing them from hiding in such places after sealing.
Furthermore, if your yard or garden remains damp, the extra moisture also damages the wooden boundaries of your garden.
Hence, make sure to control the dampness as well.
FAQs
Cockroaches love to stay where they get enough food and water; the porch, one of the cluttered places for compost piles full of decomposing leaves, becomes a favorite place for cockroaches.
It is why you might notice these tiny insects over there.
Cockroaches can eat anything from food waste to decomposing leaves and decaying plant matter and prefer to stay in a humid and hiding environment.
Your backyard is one of the best places to find food, water, and shelter; cockroaches love to stay there.
It is normal to see roaches outside as these pesky insects can roam anywhere to find food and water to thrive.
Some cockroach species, such as wood cockroaches, prefer to stay outdoors; therefore, they are one of the cockroaches you will often observe outdoors.
Keep your yard clean and make sure there is proper plant waste management along with no dampness.
Cockroaches eat decaying plant matter and prefer to stay around humid and damp areas where they can find water resources.
Therefore, by cutting down on their necessary things, you will get rid of them quickly.
Food, shelter, and water are the basic necessity of cockroaches, just like humans. And therefore, if outside your home is a hub of plant leaves or organic waste, it attracts roaches.
Apart from this, having a damp yard or garden and open sewerage holes are other reasons that invite roaches.
Final Words
Cockroaches outside don’t always mean cockroaches inside.
Cockroaches such as wood roaches do not infest homes; therefore, you should not worry much about them.
However, cockroaches can carry various diseases and bacteria, causing allergies and other problems.
Therefore, you should eliminate cockroaches as soon as possible, even outdoors.
You can try various methods mentioned in this guide or call a professional exterminator if you face severe cockroach infestation issues outside your home.