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While you might want to cut corners by either borrowing or purchasing used live traps for catching rats, this can be dangerous because those traps could contain leftover viruses and bacteria that will enter your home. Always start fresh with new materials to avoid contamination.

If you find bed bugs on your mattress, your first step is to put your sheets, pillowcases, pillows, and nearby linens into a trash bag and wash them in hot water. Then, vacuum your mattress and the rest of your bedroom, paying special attention to the mattress seams and crevices near your headboard. Next, use one (or more) of the solutions listed above to kill any live bugs, or call an exterminator for a professional treatment.

First, you’ll start noticing fewer flying termites in the air. Second, you’ll see fewer ground-based termites near the entrances to their colony, and eventually none at all. Third, if you have access to part of the nest like mud tubes, you can scour away a section and watch it. If the tubes don’t get repaired, the nest is probably doomed. Again, it can take several weeks for termites to fully go away, depending on the type of treatment.

Common house roaches, typically American cockroaches or Periplaneta americana, usually live for around one year. The male American cockroaches survive for about one year, although the females may live up to 700 days. That’s because the reproductive cycle alone can last around 600 days for this type of cockroach.