Could Your Coffee Machine Be Infested With Cockroaches?

Would you believe, that it’s quite common to find cockroaches in coffee machines? It’s an issues that seems to have only become much more problematic in the last few years. Have cockroaches for some reason found out about the utopia that a coffee machine is for their species, only recently? Not likely. More likely is that the explosion of households having a machine in their home has really only exploded in the last 10 years, with mass produced affordable machines widely available.

The Delonghi Affair

The story below pertains to a particular coffee machine cockroach infestation that took place in the UK earlier this year.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jan/27/coffee-machine-cockroaches-delonghi-repair?CMP=twt_gu

This is one of those stories that you only read about, can’t believe it couldn’t happen, and hope it doesn’t happen to you.

When Adrian Turner went to refill the fresh beans in his £1,195 De’Longhi coffee machine, he was stunned when bugs began scuttling out. Although he and his wife, Emma, were not familiar with the tiny dark-bodied insects, it emerged later, to their horror, that they were baby cockroaches. These nasty crawlers may be known and unwelcome residents of damp New York kitchens, they are hardly a common sight in leafy Henley-on-Thames.

The reason, apparently, that this is a not so uncommon occurrence, is that cockroaches are routinely found in coffee machines due to the dark, moist environment that the bugs love.

What was most alarming for the Turners was that the infestation had not happened in their home, but only after they sent their top-of-the-range machine for repair to the De’Longhi service workshop in Havant, Hampshire, at the end of October. They have since had to hire an exterminator to get rid of the pests.

In this particular example, Delonghi had to replace the machine with a new one.

Roaches & Coffee

In another article http://www.fightbugs.com/are-roaches-attracted-to-coffee/ they point out that it’s not only the moist and dark environment, but also the nutrients that they are attracted to.

Roaches aren’t particularly in love with coffee, but they’re not known to be picky eaters either. They’ll eat almost anything to get the energy and nutrients that they need to survive. So if they won’t find anything else sweeter or more delectable in a cupboard, they’ll definitely go for your coffee. That’s why they can absolutely nibble at that bag of ground coffee beans you’ve been saving.

They’ve also created a simple guide on how to get rid of them in this situation.

• our first and safest option would be to wash all the removable parts of the appliance. Flush out the droppings and egg casings left behind by the roaches.​
• If that’s not possible, try out natural methods like using a dry mixture of sugar and baking soda. Put the mixture in a bottle cap and position this inside the machine or somewhere near it. Pair the mixture with another battle cap that’s filled with water. The sugar will attract the roaches, and the reaction between the baking soda and water will fill their stomachs with gas that will kill them.
• You can also use brewed catnip tea. Try to run the machine using the tea inside. Catnip tea is safe for humans, so you should have no problem using it.
• Using boric acid for a coffee machine is dangerous when the insects have already infiltrated it. The powder is highly toxic to humans, so it shouldn’t be placed anywhere near parts that make contact with consumable coffee.

It more common that you think!

Check out these tweets:

We just found a family of cockroaches has been living in our coffee machine. I don’t recommend them to improve the taste!

— Rob (@RobWrightNZ) June 7, 2016

I’ve got cockroaches living in my coffee machine, I googled to see how to get rid of them and now I’m frecking out. There maybe egg sacks

— Trent Lidstone (@trentlidstone) April 25, 2014

I found a dead cockroach in my coffee machine

— Tuck (@VouIcan) January 23, 2018

Mamamia also has discussed it here: https://www.mamamia.com.au/cockroaches-in-coffee-machine/

They suggest a further method:

Vaseline method: “Take an empty glass jar and line the rim with Vaseline. Add some fruit peels to the jar (like banana) and keep it open and available in the area where the roaches are.”

In New Zealand, there was even a call to audit espresso machine standards in 2009.

One espresso maintenance business says up to a quarter of the machines serviced are infested with cockroaches.That company is calling for a nationwide espresso standard to be introduced so coffee junkies know what they are drinking.

Source: http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/call-for-nationwide-espresso-standards-as-cockroaches-infest-machines-2009051819

Cockroach in Coffee Machine Videos

 

What To Do If You Find Roaches In You Espresso Machine In Adelaide?

The first option would be to follow some of the approaches we’ve outlined above. If all else fails, and you want a professional solution, give us a call, and we can not only remove, but ensure the pesky roach or roaches do not return!