Round Rock woman says she's moving after swarms of cockroaches threaten her home

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – Carolyn Weathers said she was coming home from work one night a few weeks back when she saw swarms of big black cockroaches emerging from a manhole and encroaching upon her home. 

“They were all over the driveway, coming through the grass,” Weathers said. 

Before that night, Weathers said she hadn’t seen too many cockroaches around her home. But then she started seeing them “everywhere.”

“Every night, they're running all over the driveway,” she said. “During the day, even, you can see them in the grass sometimes. They live there.” 

But then Weathers, a renter, said she started seeing an increasing number in her home. She and her granddaughter, who she lives with, both have health issues, so she wanted to mitigate the situation. Her granddaughter has asthma, and the bugs are known to exacerbate those symptoms and cause allergic reactions in some. 

She contacted her landlord, who she said recommended contacting pest control, and called the City of Round Rock to see if it would help but never received a callback, she said. 

Her son is an exterminator and sprayed the home twice, but nothing seemed to deter the creepy critters. 

”In the last two weeks is when we decided that we are absolutely not living out this lease,” Weathers said. “Because the little babies are coming through the tub, we have taped over [it]. We can't even use the tub because they come through.” Weathers said the move is costing her $4,000. 

The Williamson County and Cities Health District states on its website if a tenant is dealing with cockroaches, they should contact their landlord. It says if after that the issue is not resolved, the person should reach the city’s code enforcement.

A Round Rock spokesperson said if they do not have a wastewater maintenance crew looking into this, they will be sending one out.

Central Texas cockroaches 

Wizzie Brown, a Texas A&M entomologist and self-identified cockroach enthusiast, said there are several species of cockroaches that live in Central Texas. She said there is the Geman cockroach, which are smaller and breed indoors, and two species of larger cockroaches, one of which appears to be the culprit at the Weathers' residence. 

Brown said the larger cockroaches – the smokey brown cockroach and the American cockroach – strictly live outside but may come inside in search of food or water. 

Brown said she wasn’t surprised the cockroaches had made a home in the drain near Weather’s house as drains and sewers are “dark and they're somewhat wet. So there's plenty of moisture, and it's cozy for them. It's just like the perfect habitat.” 

Tips for dealing with them

If a homeowner sees the smokey brown or the American cockroaches around their home, the best way to keep them from coming inside is by sealing off the house, Brown said. 

“Making sure there is weather stripping around doors and the windows have a good seal. Essentially, if you can see daylight around the doors from the inside, it's not sealed properly,” she said.

Homeowners should also maintain trees and shrubs away from the house. “A lot of times, roaches will climb up the trees and then use [branches] as bridges to get onto the roof of the house,” Brown said. “Then they can get in through the attic,” she said.

If cockroaches are coming through the attic, one might consider putting a screen over any openings on the roof. People can also hire a pest control company to add pesticidal dust around entry points. 

Are cockroaches dangerous?

Aside from triggering allergies in some, Brown said cockroaches are no more dangerous than humans in terms of how we transfer bacteria. 

“They're scavengers. If they're looking for food, that could be any sort of organic matter, [which] might lead them into garbage. And if they walk from [the garbage] into another area, they could possibly transfer bacteria,” she said.  

Cockroaches are not vectors of disease like other pests, including mosquitos, are.

When do we see them? 

Brown said there is no season when cockroach populations flare up. The German cockroaches live indoors, so chances of seeing them in the winter are as good as in the summer. 

You might see the larger ones more often from spring into the fall, Brown said.

“We don't tend to see them as much in the winter with the colder temperatures. But they're still here,” Brown said.   

Brown said you may see them indoors more often during the winter because they’re searching for a warm place to stay.