Keep Palmetto Bugs Out by Sealing Around Pipes

Palmetto bugs — the big outdoor roaches of Florida — mostly wander in through gaps, not infestations. Their favorite doors are the holes where pipes enter your walls, which are always cut bigger than the pipe.

Seal the highways

• Under every sink, look where the water lines and drain pass through the cabinet back and wall. Stuff the gap with copper mesh (they won't chew it), then seal over it with caulk.
• Do the same around the AC line set, dryer vent, and hose bibbs outside.
• Replace worn door sweeps and repair torn screens — the other two big entrances.
• Pull leaf litter and mulch a few inches back from the foundation; that's their staging area.

You won't get to zero in Florida — anybody who promises that is selling something — but sealing the pipe gaps cuts the indoor sightings dramatically.