Hi there. First time question asker. I recently bought a house in Durham NC (from Boston, MA). I’m having a nightly American cockroach (the giant ones) problem (inside the house) and according to the people who lived here the year before they had a constant cockroach issue.

I’m doing what I can with boric acid and other baiting/poison techniques without resorting to professional sprays etc. But I want to tackle how they are getting into the house in the first place. There are major gaps between the bottom of the vinyl siding and foundation and there are major chunks of brick missing along the entire height of the chimney (house used to be brick and they removed every other brick apparently on the chimney to install the vinyl siding, it seems.)

In terms of the gap between vinyl and brick foundation, previously someone had applied caulk to close that gap but it’s coming off. So I can go ahead and recaulk but a few questions first: 1) Does sealing that gap prevent the house from breathing and increase chances of mold? (Also dealing with some musty issues here). And 2) If it is okay to caulk could I used my AFM Safecoat caulk or is there something else that would last better? 3) Or does anyone have alternate ideas of how to seal that gap? Was thinking of backer rod / caulking or alternately some type of flashing?

In terms of the missing brinks along the chimney, there is a flashing installed but it hardly would keep mice or roaches out since it’s only tacked down in a few spots. Should I just tack the the hell out of it? Or any other ideas?

Thanks for your help! I’m desperate to solve this problem because it’s deeply effecting my ability to feel at ease in this house.