Cockroaches: Facts, Identification & Control

Cockroaches can spread germs, make allergies worse, and multiply at a record-breaking speed.  Cockroaches can wreak havoc on your home. To win the war in cockroach control, here’s what you should know:

Types of Roaches

There are four kinds of Roaches that can infest homes and businesses in the New York area.

• German Cockroach
• Brownbanded Cockroach
• American Cockroach
• Oriental Cockroach

 

General Cockroach Facts

• Cockroaches have been around since the time of dinosaurs, or over 200 million years.
• Cockroaches are among the most common of insects.
• The American cockroach is the largest cockroach found in house.
• A cockroach can live up to two weeks with water and they can live almost a month without food.
• A cockroach can live for up to one week without its head.
• Cockroaches can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes!
•  Cockroaches can run up to three miles an hour.
•  Cockroaches don’t get their wings until the become adults.
• Cockroaches crawl through dirty areas and then walk around our homes tracking in lots of bacteria and germs. They ca contaminate food by shedding their skins. Their cast off skin and waste byproducts are allergens that can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and other illnesses, especially in children.  Cockroaches have been shown to carry bacteria on their bodies and are potential sources of salmonella food poisoning. 

German Cockroach

Most common cockroach found in homes and food service establishments, and has the highest reproduction rate of the four common cockroaches.

Appearance: The German cockroach is a relatively small species, measuring approximately 3/4-inch in length. Light to medium brown with two dark longitudinal streaks on the thorax. Male and female German cockroaches appear the same and both are fully winged.

 

Habit: Nocturnal; primarily infests areas close to food, moisture and warmth (apartments, homes, supermarkets and restaurants). They are common pests of kitchens and bathrooms.  It is common to find them in places like beneath appliances, in cracks and crevices (spends about 80 percent of its time resting in cracks and voids).  They are nocturnal insects that hide during the day and scavenge at night.

 

Reproduction: Females can produce one egg capsule every 20 to 25 days. Each capsule contains from 18 to 48 eggs. Unlike other cockroach species, the female German cockroach carries the eggs attached to her abdomen until they hatch. German cockroaches breed continuously. In a lifetime, a female cockroach is capable of producing up to one million eggs, and a population can grow immensely under optimal conditions. 

 

Life Cycle: Development from egg to adult can occur in as little as 36 days. German cockroaches undergo three distinct life phases: egg, nymph and adult. Their entire life cycle spans approximately 100 days, although this is dependent on factors such as temperature, diet and injuries. They undergo six or seven nymphal stages before emerging as winged adults capable of reproduction.  Adults can live up to one year.

 

Diet: Omnivorous and will scavenge and consume a wide variety of foods, including papers, cloth and decaying plants and animals.

 

Other Facts:

• Because they are small, German cockroaches are easy to transport with every sort of human products. German roaches are found throughout the world.
• Their small size allows them to hide more efficiently and they have few natural predators inside human habitats. For these reasons, German cockroach populations tend to grow rapidly.
• Despite their fully developed wings, German cockroaches very rarely fly. 
• The German cockroach has been identified as a trigger of asthma in sensitive individuals especially children. 

 

American Cockroach

Also known as “Water bugs,” the American cockroach is the largest of the species common to the northeast. This species often becomes abundant in city dumps and is most common in the basements and steam tunnels of restaurants, bakeries, food-processing facilities, and grocery stores.

Appearance: The largest structure-infesting species—Up to 2 inches long. Reddish-brown wings with light markings on thorax.

 

Habit: Very aggressive. They prefer moist and humid environments (sewers, steam tunnels, basements, crawl spaces, and boiler rooms), but are also capable of surviving in dry areas if food and water are available. More likely to be seen in daytime and outdoors than other species.   They gather together in open spaces, while other domestic cockroaches tend to hide in cracks and crevices. 

 

Reproduction:  A female needs to mate only once to produce many egg capsule (with each an average of 13 eggs).  After carrying the egg case on the tip of her abdomen for two days, the female deposits it in a hidden location. 

 

Life Cycle: Under good conditions and optimal temperatures, immature cockroaches, also known as nymphs, will emerge within 24 to 38 days. To reach maturity (which takes 6 to 12 months), nymphs will undergo metamorphosis and shed their exoskeleton about 9 to13 times.  After undergoing their final molt, they are equipped with wings and reproductive capabilities.  American cockroaches live for approximately one year.

 

Diet: Scavengers. They are omnivorous and will eat just about anything that has nutritional value. They enjoy sweet foods, but prefer decaying material.   

 

Other Facts:

• Unlike other cockroach species, American cockroaches are good flyers. Although immature, or nymph, American cockroaches are wingless and incapable of flight; adults have useful wings and can fly for short distances.
• American cockroaches are also known as “waterbugs” because they are commonly found near rich water resources, like puddles and water pipes.

Prevention For ALL Cockroaches

• Keep cooking, eating, and food storage areas clean and dry.

• If you see cockroaches, it is best to treat the problem immediately.  Infestation can be controlled by using retail supplies or by calling in a professional pest control company such as Inter-County Exterminators, Inc. or Victory Pest Control, Inc. at (718) 723-2072 or (516) 683-1011.