Do you know there are 4500+ different species of cockroaches?
Luckily only 30 of these are invasive!
But still, these limited invasive species can easily be found in your home, kitchen, bathroom, and car.
When cockroaches get into your home, you can use insecticides or call an exterminator to eliminate pests.
But what if cockroaches get into your car?
How will you get rid of them, then?
Should you use an insecticide in your car as well, or should you follow some other steps?
Don’t worry! We have got all the solutions for you!
There is a quick and easy solution for getting rid of roaches in a car, which we will discuss today in this guide.
Following these simple steps, you can say goodbye to roaches from your car, forever!
Let’s get started. Shall we?
How Did I Get Roaches In My Car?
Roaches can carry 30 different types of bacteria along with them becoming a reason which may cause serious health consequences if you don’t eliminate them.
Therefore, let’s start from the basics: how did you get roaches in your car?
Well, roaches, by nature, are experts in hiding around objects.
They can easily hide in anything, for instance, a suitcase, shopping bag, yard sale box, purse, clothes, or anything else that can carry them.
And this stuff becomes the entry point for the cockroaches to infest your car.
They can quickly get and hide in your shopping bags or maybe in the suitcases and then multiply their numbers to infest your car.
Also, if you are one of the riders who always eat something in the car, then you are more likely to be loved by the roaches.
The hamburger wrapper you thought you threw away becomes the weekly supply for roaches and reason to thrive happily in your car.
And after that, your car becomes the breeding ground for roaches.
Moreover, roaches find a place to lay eggs to multiply themselves to bother you further.
And once you got an infestation in your car, you need to put a lot of effort into eliminating them, as even a single cockroach or its residue eggs can give birth to new roaches again.
On top of that, cockroaches need very little to survive, and the stuff that you eventually leave in your car becomes their ration for several days and a reason to happily settle there for the long term, not to mention to breed and multiply themselves more.
4 Signs If You Have Roaches In Your Car
The Roach problem is widespread, but before you can finally conclude that your car might be having cockroaches, you might be able to observe some beforehand signs.
These signs can help you detect the arrival of roaches, thus enabling you to take the required action ASAP to get rid of them.
Let’s find out what are those signs you can observe in your car:
Bad Odor
Once your car has a colony of cockroaches, it will start stinking even though you might have the best car perfume.
Most people observe this smell as musky and oil. And with an increased infestation, the strength of smell will also increase eventually.
Also, a single roach will not be able to produce such a strong odor; therefore, if you observe a strong smell in your car, then most likely, your car roaches are doing this.
Therefore, having a bad odor in your car is an early sign that you can observe the infestation of roaches until or unless the smell is not happening due to other reasons.
By being aware of this one of the early signs, you can put quick action into work to eliminate cockroaches from your car.
Fecal Matter
Noticing fecal matter or regurgitated bodily fluids of a roach in a car is one of the first signs people report roach infestation.
Cockroaches defecate anywhere, and almost everywhere they go.
You can quickly come across such instances where you can observe droppings similar to coffee stains or grain-like specks with a brownish color.
And if you notice any of these droppings, it is a clear sign that your car must have a roach infestation.
Finding Dead Roaches
It is an obvious sign that your car may have more cockroaches once you have noticed one or a few dead roaches.
Also, a dead roach attracts other cockroaches, so you better get rid of it quickly.
And once you observe some dead cockroaches in your car, you should jump to the action part and start taking the necessary steps to get rid of them ASAP.
A Few Scurrying Roaches
Even though cockroaches are nocturnal insects, they can show up even during the day, indicating that your car may have an infestation.
The show up of roaches during day time may be influenced due to climate reasons (mainly temperature), hunger, food, or other factors.
But once you observe them, you must be sure that the cockroaches now infest your car.
How To Get Rid Of Roaches In Car? [7 Easy Steps]
Finally, now you have got the signs for cockroaches in your car. So what is the solution now for this?
Whether cleaning your car will be enough?
Or do you need to do something else not to let the cockroaches make your car home?
Let’s find out the steps to get rid of roaches in your car in these ten easy steps:
Step 1: Remove Seats
Before you can jump onto the cleaning section, remove the seats from your car so that you can thoroughly clean it.
You will also need to vacuum-clean the seats thoroughly, so remove the seats to make ample space for the work.
Apart from this, if you regularly eat in the car and you are sure that there might be food spills in the cracks or small crevices of the seats, then you may consider pressure wash or steam cleaning the seats.
Also, by doing so, you can clean up any stains on your seats.
Furthermore, you also need to focus on cleaning the carpet beneath the seats.
Sometimes, one of the main reasons for eradicating roaches is to clear the sticky mess beneath your seats, which usually happens due to food litter in your car.
Therefore, you need to deep clean the area around the seats where you are sure that some liquid or sticky mess might be present.
Step 2: Clean The Floors
The next step after removing your seats is to clean the floor mats.
Get hot water and a brush to clean the floor mats. You can also use a cleaner that is supposed to disinfect and deep clean the carpets of your car.
After cleaning up thoroughly, you must dry them in the sun so that no water should be left on the mats, as keeping carpets moist can lead to mold or mildew in your car, which should be avoided.
Further, steam clean the carpets. However, you can rent or buy one if you don’t have one.
Again, keep in mind that after washing the carpets, you must make them dry before returning to their seats. In short, don’t let moisture remain on any car parts after cleaning.
Step 3: Cleaning The Trunk
The car trunk is a great place to carry a lot of stuff while traveling.
But the trunk is also a heavenly place for the roaches because trunks are where stash messes can take place quickly.
Whether you have carried a suitcase or spilled food accidentally in your trunk, it can easily give rise to roach infestation in your car.
Therefore, after cleaning the central interior of the car, you should move to clean the trunk.
Follow the same step of steam cleaning the floor mats and carpets in the trunk. Also, you can use light to clean the deep corners and almost every part of the trunk where cockroaches can hide.
Step 4: Vacuum Everything
Now you must vacuum clean everything where food debris might be present, especially the dash surfaces and door pockets. So you do it with a portable vacuum.
You also must prefer some of the most vulnerable locations holding food debris, dirt, and other substances that can let roaches make it home.
Now, clean inside the windshield and windows, remove all the stuff from storage compartments and vacuum out these spaces.
Step 5: Using Space Heater Or Hairdryer
Cockroaches cannot live in a heated environment.
If you continuously apply heat for a while in the interior of your car, you can quickly kill the cockroaches or make them come out of their colonies so that you can clean them.
If you doubt that cockroaches might hide in the deep corners or areas, you can use heat to make them appear.
You can also follow this step to ensure that cockroaches are still there.
You can apply some heat to the areas where roaches are more likely to live. For example, you can either put a space heater in your car for a while and run it for a few hours.
Note: Remember to keep the electric cord dry and far from water or water droplets while using electric appliances.
Apart from this, you can also use the hairdryer in the corners and areas where roaches are most likely present.
For instance, the underside of the dashboard, glove compartment, air conditioning vents, and car seats are hiding places for cockroach nymphs.
It is the perfect place to follow this step.
Step 6: Using Gel Pod Trap
If you want to eliminate the cockroaches from your car, you can drop the little bait traps into the compartments, corners, and darker spaces where roaches are more likely to hide.
Also, it is a better option than that using a spray-type bomb canister because it may leave a stain on the interior of your car.
And a chemical stain is not what you will ever want on your car, which can also lead to a slight smell.
Therefore, gel pods are the best savior in such cases.
You must also clean up dead bugs and other food crumbs from your car.
This little mess can be generated over an extended period as you use gel baits for roaches.
Step 7: Borax Or Boric Acid Or Diatomaceous Earth Insect Killer
An alternate way to kill cockroaches through natural processes is using borax or boric acid.
You need to put a little sprinkle over the carpets and seats of boric acid or borax, which will work as natural bug bombs.
Make sure to do it in control and not make a big mess of this chemical.
Also, this method is safe with the kids and riders of your car and should not be an issue.
However, one major drawback with these bug-killing agents is that you must vacuum clean your car frequently and re-apply them until you don’t eliminate the cockroaches.
So, with these easy seven-step procedures, you should get rid of roaches in the car.
And once you are entirely free from this issue, you need to follow the precautions not to let cockroaches enter your car again.
However, if even after following these steps, you cannot eliminate pests from your car, then you can try an insect growth regulator, another way to prevent cockroaches.
Diatomaceous earth powder is also a recommended alternative to boric acid.
How To Prevent Roaches In The Car? [5 Things To Do]
This 5-step precaution will ensure that you are not doing any activity which can lead to cockroach infestation.
These are:
Avoid Eating In Your Car
The first step to avoiding cockroaches in the car is to avoid eating in the car.
And it is one of the most common mistakes a car owner makes, so the best defense against car cockroaches is not to eat in your car.
Food debris and other residues (spilled or accidentally left) can be a primary reason for the roaches to live.
Once you are cleaned up with everything and get rid of these insects in your car, you need to take this first precaution of not eating anything in your vehicle.
Keep The Windows Closed
Once you park your car in the garage, don’t open your car windows. This step becomes essential when living in an area with cockroaches as native bugs.
Even if you mistakenly left your car windows open, you should observe if any cockroaches come inside during the next ride.
By doing so, you can quickly know if there are any signs of cockroaches, and you can soon get rid of them even if they have attacked your car.
Clean Properly Your Car On Right Schedule
Another critical step in preventing your car from cockroaches is cleaning the vehicle on the proper schedule.
Make the proper schedule for a car to clean it. You can calculate the appropriate plan according to how frequently you use your vehicle and other factors.
Cleaning your car regularly becomes more important if you have spilled something or created a mess.
By a schedule clean, you are avoiding any probability of cockroach infestation, which you may or may not be aware of.
Therefore, having a set day of cleaning your car each week or every other week keeps the car clean from the bugs.
Check Yard Sale Items
If you put something in your car outdoors or buy items at a yard sale, you need to check if it is free from cockroaches.
Also, checking if it is free from bugs before putting something in your car is always a good idea.
This is an excellent way for people to get bugs and roaches in their cars.
Therefore, thoroughly check if any item is free from cockroaches and other bugs before putting that item in your vehicle.
Regular Inspection
Keeping an eye on the car and its interior frequently can also make you aware if your vehicle has roach infestation or bugs.
Inspecting your car frequently can tell you if there is anything to look upon, whether it is a bug or something else.
It is similar to the cleaning schedule.
However, this step allows you to ensure your car remains free from bugs and cockroaches.
FAQs
Roaches can live for several weeks if your car has food sources and optimal temperature. Even some cockroaches can thrive in slightly higher temperatures as well.
Therefore, you need to get rid of the cockroaches ASAP because they can live in your car for weeks.
Yes, a roach can easily survive in a car if your car has food sources and optimal temperature.
However, roaches are more likely to avoid high temperatures, but with a slight increase in temperature, cockroaches don’t get disturbed at all.
It is estimated that roaches can easily survive even in a hot car for weeks, even if the temperature goes over 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 49 degrees Celsius. However, they should have food sources.
Many chemicals and spray products claim to kill cockroaches instantly. However, you should check these products before buying for safety, especially when you have kids who frequently travel in your car.
Multiple reports suggest you should not use a bug bomb in your car as it is ineffective. Rather, you can try to kill roaches by the methods mentioned in this guide.
Get Rid Of Cockroaches In A Car With Ease
The all-time best advice that one can give for riding a cockroach-free car is always to keep your car’s interior clean.
And by doing so, you can get rid of roaches in your car naturally and also avoid health risks.
You can maintain your car’s hygiene with frequent cleaning and inspecting sessions.
Also, never assume that there is just one roach; there can also be many insects.
There may be several more hiding in your car, which you can avoid or kill by deep cleaning.
Also, many gel bait or roach killer products are available online, which you can try in case of very bad infestation.
On top of that, following precautionary steps like not eating in your car and not creating any mess, along with keeping windows closed when you leave the vehicle, can help you avoid attracting cockroaches or other pests.