Finding out you have roaches anywhere in your life is problematic. Whether in your home, your personal life (we all know someone), or even your car, they can prove to be an issue. On the contrary, how does one slay the pesky “roach in the car”?
The answer is to use a unique approach. To handle this cockroach infestation, you will need to address a few more significant concerns, like how they are getting there, why they are there, and how severe the roach infestation is.
To kill cockroaches or identify you have a roach problem, you will need to find what can attract cockroaches. Make sure to clean your car regularly and potentially use a few bait traps.
We will address these issues below, so let us get to it!
How Do Cockroaches Enter My Car?
Cockroaches enter your car typically from the slight crease in your door frame, which can be significantly worse if the padding that is supposed to keep water and other elements outside is torn or has a hole.
Roaches are also able to hitch a ride on people, much like bed bugs, so if your belongings or personal clothing happened to have a few clinging, they will gladly ride along into your car and take up residence there.
Having roaches use your car as a breeding ground can pose severe health consequences, but we will dive more into that below.
Let’s shut the door on how they enter and focus more on where they are and can lay eggs.
Where Do Roaches Hide in the Car?
Roaches hide in the car in any portion of its interior. This can sometimes be as invasive as hiding within the car doors or your air conditioning vents.
Still, some of the most prominent places would be under floor mats or inside your glove compartment.
Some other less-than-prominent places would be any shopping bags you have left lying on the floorboard to empty food containers you may have forgotten to bring inside.
All of these can be hiding places and, in a worst-case scenario, perfect examples that can get you into a bad infestation.
If you use the side door pockets as trash bins, you might be even more prone to having cockroaches inhabit those side areas, but other pests can also be found in them, feeding on the cockroaches themselves.
How to Kill Roaches in the Car
Killing the roaches in your car can be done in several ways, like using boric acid or other traps.
However, before you reach those places they may have gone, you will want to remove any food source or other clutter areas they may have crept into.
Step 1: Thoroughly Inspect the Vehicle
Carefully inspecting your vehicle will give you a better idea of how bad the infestation is. It lets you know if any other insects have joined in on the party, particularly bugs that may be preying on the roaches.
One of the biggest things you will be looking for is food sources, which you can remove from your car to help eliminate roach breeding grounds, starting with where you rest your feet daily, the floor mats.
Floor mats are bound to be the most filthy because they make up most of your car’s storage space for possibly a roach’s food source.
Read More: Cockroach Eating & Diet Guide
Step 2: Deep Clean Your Car
Depending on your lifestyle, you may have to scrub any number of things from your vehicle to remove health risks to yourself and food from the roaches themselves.
A prime example is if there is fecal matter or regurgitated bodily fluids in the car from a young child who had an accident. These two bodily fluids and secretions are worthy of a bite for roaches.
Another example is food crumbs from old meals, which cockroaches would nourish for days.
Overall, it is best to clean those up and avoid eating in your car afterward to prevent the whole cycle from the beginning again.
A quick once-over with a portable vacuum can help, but a more detailed cleaning is essential.
Step 3: Extermination Process
Bug Bombs
Assuming you have a nasty roach infestation, you may want to use a bug bomb in an attempt to handle things quickly.
While it could kill more than a single roach, you are opening yourself up to more harm than good as this may eliminate pests but open another world of problems.
Gel Baits
Your best bet would be to use a gel bait because it does not render you without a vehicle for multiple days like a bug bomb.
Gel baits are more practical and safer for you and your family than dealing with chemical residue.
After utilizing a gel bait, please wait for the roaches to ingest it.
The bugs will bring some home to their friends and family and feed upon each other afterward to kill as many little buggers as possible.
Diatomaceous Earth & Boric Acid
Coat your air vents with diatomaceous earth and use a boric acid and peanut butter mixture for maximum effect.
The boric acid will act as another layer in the process and works well when complemented with other gel baits.
Most roaches will not have another meal to turn to aside from the two listed, preventing cockroaches from having any other food available.
Step 4: Steam Clean Your Car
Giving your car steam cleaning is the most effective way to dispose of the dead bugs in your car after a good extermination treatment.
Still, it doubles down thanks to you removing the excess bacteria and grime the roaches produce in the first place.
Hitting all of the difficult-to-reach places will allow you to also clean roach droppings, bodily fluids that may be almost unseen, and areas a vacuum cleaner would not be able to clean as thoroughly.
You must steam clean if you go ahead and use a bomb or any highly chemical-based extermination method.
The steam scrubs away any residue left behind that renders your car unsafe if left unsanitized. Also, this includes those small crevices that you could miss.
Step 5: Remove Any Odors with an Ozone Generator
Cockroaches are filthy, and their scents are very distinct and will linger long after an infestation is gone. Handling this can be easy if you purchase and use an ozone generator.
The generator will handle any trouble spots you could not directly hit with a steam cleaner.
More importantly, it gives your car the odor-free area you will be searching for after a long fight with these pests.
An ozone generator treatment will also target any other bacterial elements remaining after a good steam cleaning, which will mean your car is safer overall to be in as well!
Ways to Prevent Roaches from Entering Your Car
Getting rid of as many insects as possible means nothing if you are not preventing them from returning in the first place.
This applies to roaches and anything else that might slide in after your cleaning efforts.
Keep Your Windows Up
This one might seem obvious, but keeping your windows open is one of the worst things you can do, primarily because roaches and everything else can walk right in and undo all the efforts you’ve made to stem the tide against them.
One roach getting back in can quickly put you right back to where you were.
It might be challenging, but having sticky notes might be necessary if you are terrible at forgetting to put them up when you come back from a long drive.
Be Mindful of Where You Park
Parking under trees will give you shade, but the trees can allow roaches and other pests to fall off the tree on or in your car.
Parking on openly exposed dirt can yield the same problem.
When you are getting in your vehicle again, do a quick inspection of your shoes and the interior to guarantee you don’t have any unwanted guests coming back home with you.
Avoid parking in troublesome locations when you can, and be vigilant of repercussions if you can’t.
Regularly Clean Your Car Out
Cleaning the door mats and all the doors of your car will not only make any rides you take more enjoyable, but you will simultaneously keep your vehicle clean and less hospitable for roaches.
It was mentioned above but avoid eating in your car because food bags can potentially be another chance at a free meal for roaches, or worse, the beginning of yet another infestation.
You can also use pleasant scents to naturally repel roaches, like essential oils and other fragrant things like bay leaves that work well to deter roaches. Be sure you are using items that these insects will not attempt to make a meal out of!
Use Natural Deterrents
Essential oils repel roaches and can make your car smell fresh and come in various scents that you may find appealing.
For example, peppermint oil, is one of the most detested scents for roaches, but it can be lovely to have waft into your nostrils when you initially open your car door.
Diatomaceous earth (DE) can be another natural deterrent you place in your car.
Still, it would help if you only placed DE when you do not intend to drive your car for a few days and have ample time to clean your vehicle after applying it to avoid inhaling too much afterward.
Catnip is another delightful deterrent that might make your favorite kitten more excited to see you when you get home, but placing some traps beneath your seats might do you better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Roach Survive in a Car?
Yes, a roach can survive in a car provided ample food and moisture to keep it alive, leftover crumbs from a past meal, and water from your feet; getting on a mat is all it takes to keep roaches alive in your vehicle.
Read More: What Is The Lifespan Of Roaches When There Is No Food?
What Temperature Kills Roaches?
Temperatures exceeding 115° F kill roaches. Still, to consider it an effective treatment, you’d need to maintain a temperature of roughly 150° F for about five to six hours to yield satisfactory results.
Doing so to your vehicle can damage certain parts, so only attempt this as a last resort, as any other cockroaches that survive will only restart the issue.
Alternatively, roaches can survive temperatures as cold as 32° F, and just like heating, it would require you to keep that low temperature for several hours to ensure all of them have succumbed to the cold.
Can Roaches Damage Your Car?
Yes, roaches can damage your car, ranging from the strong scents that may prove impossible to remove due to you not being able to reach the location to clean it to them chewing on cords controlling your vehicle or seats. They can do some damage, given the opportunity.
