Don’t be surprised to know that lot of cat owners wonder how to keep roaches away from cat food. Cockroaches carry bacteria and parasites with them and many of us feel disgusted to look at those creatures crawl into our belongings and food items. Though it is difficult to trace them in daylight, they somehow find a way into our house from the gardens.
8 Major Ways How To Keep Roaches Away From Cat Food
Appropriate preventive measures such as cleaning the house, storing cat food in air-tight containers, and other measures such as setting up traps, and using a bug-proof cat food bowl are some of the ways to keep roaches away from cat food. Let’s look at them one by one in detail:
Cleaning your house regularly
If the house is not cleaned regularly and if leftover items of cat food are present, roaches are attracted to cat food. While cleaning tries to ensure the following steps are addressed.
- Since roaches can hide behind refrigerators, shoes, cabinets, and old unused items, please take time to check those areas regularly and clean roaches if you found any.
- Wipe over tables and kitchen slabs after you cook so that leftovers don’t attract those bugs.
- Clean your dishes regularly and don’t let them lie in your kitchen sink.
- Look for crumbs or spills and remove them.
- Whenever you have trash, remove them from your house as soon as possible. (at least once a day is preferable)
- If there are old items that accumulate such as newspapers or unused items/equipment, either dispose of them or dust them regularly.
The above methods must prevent roaches from inhabiting your place.
Using Air-tight containers and sealed bags
One effective way how to keep roaches away from cat food is to store cat food and other eatables in air-tight containers or sealed bags.
If you store cat dry food, try to store them in original bags in sealed condition. Also, try using metal or plastic containers such as Tupperware to store them which contain a lid to seal them in a solid way.
If you want to store wet cat food which is not opened, please store it in pantries. If you have opened wet cat food, store it in the refrigerator and this will keep roaches away. However, if you have placed wet cat food out in an open environment for cats to eat, try to dispose of it within 4 hours.
Using Caulk to seal off cracks
Caulk is used to sealing off openings under the doors, and fissures in tiles and walls. This will close entry points of roaches closed. This wears off in time and hence you need to check them and re-apply them as needed.
Using Roach Repellents
One of the best ways to prevent cockroaches from spoiling cat food is to use homemade repellents such as baking soda, lemon drops, boric acid, diatomaceous Earth, and gel repellent.
Lemon drops, boric acid, and diatomaceous earth are safe for pets but they harm roaches. Use lemon drops in the water while cleaning the house and wares. Mix boric acid in peanuts which attracts bugs and kills them. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth where roaches are present and they will damage the roach’s exoskeleton and will dehydrate them.
Sprinkle baking soda where roaches are present and they are also effective roach deterrents. If cats ingest a little amount of baking soda, it will not harm them.
Use gel repellents available in stores which also keep roaches away from cat food.
Using glue traps
This is one of the effective ways to trap roaches. The smell of glue trap lures roaches and once roach’s legs are in contact with the glue trap they can’t escape. Keep these traps away from cats and kids.
Using bait stations
They come in long tubes and once roaches ingest them, they die on their return to homes. Other roaches feed on this dead roach and it leads to many roaches getting killed. Please use this with caution as it is harmful for cats.
Using bug proof cat food bowl to feed
There are many bug deterrent bowls in the market and you can use one of them. Some of them have a special rounded lip to prevent bugs from entering the bowl.
There are special concentric bowls that have a 1-inch moat between the outer and inner walls. You can fill water and few drops of soap water/lemon in them to prevent roaches from crossing the outer to the inner wall.
You can prepare a similar bug deterrent bowl at your home by keeping two bowls one within another. By filling the water with lemon in between two bowls you create a barrier for roaches from entering the main food bowl which is placed in the center.
Hire a Pest Extermination Professional
If you think the pest situation is out of control or if your new home has a lot of holes and old items, take professional help. They will have the best expertise to remove pests from your home. Before they are approached, please try to clean dirty items and areas in your home. This will make their job easy and effective.
Conclusion
Just like a lot of cat lovers, if you are wondering how do I keep roaches out of my cat’s food, the measures are simple. First take preventive measures such as maintaining a clean home, storing food in sealed containers, and try using caulks and seal off entry points of roaches.
Use bug-proof cat food bowl and repellents to keep them away from your cat food.
Also, try trapping them with glue straps and bait stations. If the situation is not good, take the help of pest extermination professionals.
