What’s lurking inside your cardboard box- A closer look at what you may have ordered online

You may love online shopping – quick click and days later, what you want arrives on your doorstep; you bring the box inside never expecting it to cause any problems – but in this special report News 11 gives you a closer look, at what you may have ordered.

Online shopping is a booming business. An estimated 79 percent of Americans shop online and that’s a lot of cardboard boxes.

“I online shop at least once a week now,” Andrea Mendez said. But sadly some of those boxes, filled with your favorite new shirt, products or electronics may also come with some unwanted pests – like cockroach eggs that could hatch at any moment.

“I think it’s gross, disgusting, they reproduce really quickly,” Dana Nail said.

Mama roaches can have up to 800 babies a year so ever since online shopping spiked so did calls to pest control. They say they have seen countless cases of newly purchased merchandise.

“I love what I do, taking care of the community,” Hector Valenzuela said, of Sun City Pest Control. Valenzuela sprays pesticides at about 15 houses or businesses in Yuma every day.

Here’s why: Cardboard is essentially paper and paper comes from trees, so the boxes you bring into your house are a food source – basically your storage room is an all you can eat buffet.

Valenzuela says the eggs are visible; it would look like a clear sac in the corner of the box so when you get a package, be sure to give it a quick exam.

News 11 reached out to both Amazon and Costco, asking about their presumably exhaustive efforts made to keep pests at bay but Costco only issued a statement, saying – “Unfortunately, we are not able to provide a response at this time.” We are still waiting for word from Amazon.

“It’s scary, something unnoticeable that I’m never going to know is there, like a deadly killer that comes out later,” Mendez added.

Sun City Pest recommends throwing out or burning boxes because it’s obvious Yumans are fed up with the unwanted pests.

“They like boxes doesn’t necessarily mean you have a dirty house,” Nail added.

Valenzuela says for every one roach you see – there are at least eight others, you don’t see. “To prevent roaches, sanitation is key. Avoid crumbs, grease – they’re looking for food, water and places to hide.”

Cockroaches have been linked to breathing and stomach issues. “They’re harmful, filthy – they do carry a lot of bacteria,” he said.

So while the online shopping craze is only going to grow, just know, you may be ordering more than you expect.