Roaches in Cardboard Boxes: Deliveries, Moves, the Garage

Yes, roaches use cardboard boxes. The corrugated layers are tight, dark hiding spots, and roaches hide and lay eggs in corrugated cardboard. In South Florida that gives them three easy ways in: a delivery box that sat in a warehouse, a truck or a hallway; moving boxes from someone else's garage; and the stack in your own garage that hasn't moved in a year. The fix is mostly habit. Open deliveries outside or in the garage, break the box down and get it out that day, and store things in plastic bins with lids, off the floor.

Roaches in delivery boxes and packages

A package can sit in a warehouse, a truck and a building hallway before it gets to you. Most boxes are fine, but it only takes one. A few habits help:

• Open deliveries outside, in the garage or on the patio, not on the kitchen counter.
• Look at the flaps, the seams and the corners before you bring the contents in.
• Break the box down and put it in the recycling that day.
• Do the same with grocery bags and produce boxes.

In a condo, get delivery boxes to the recycling room quickly. Our post on condo trash room pests covers what happens when cardboard piles up there.

Cockroaches in garage storage

The garage stack is where boxes do the most harm. They sit for years in a warm, humid space next to the house. If you're seeing roaches out there:

• Move what you're keeping into plastic bins with tight lids.
• Keep bins off the floor on shelves, and a few inches away from the walls.
• Recycle the empty boxes and clear the clutter.
• Put a sweep on the door between the garage and the house.

Don't set off a bug bomb in the garage. It doesn't reach where roaches hide, and it can make them scatter. Our post on whether bug bombs work on roaches explains why.

What we do about roaches from boxes

We start with an inspection. Garages used as storage are checked too. Inside, we use baits and crack-and-crevice treatment where roaches hide. Outside, we treat a band around the foundation and spot-treat entry points. If German roaches came in with a box, our post on small roaches in the kitchen shows what that treatment looks like. Keep kids and pets off treated areas until dry, and follow your technician's instructions.

Living in a condo where roaches keep showing up? See roaches that keep coming back. Hosting rental guests? Our Airbnb roach post is written for hosts. More on roach types in our cockroach library.

Our roach control is part of the general pest plan, which is $125 per quarter, about $42 a month, and monthly or custom schedules are quoted after the inspection. For plan customers: "If pests come back between visits, so do we, at no extra cost." There are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees, just a simple service agreement. We're family-run and licensed, with 30+ years in the business, and hablamos español. Browse more guides.