Cockroaches

Let All Pest Exterminator Richmond deal with these tiny crawling buggers.

cockroach
photo source: pixabay

The American Cockroach

…is probably the largest of the five roaches. This cockroach has a yellow band across its head. The smokey brown cockroach can be just a little smaller than the American Cockroach and is a dark brown or mahogany in color. The Oriental cockroach is about the size of the smokey brown cockroach or maybe just a little smaller and is a dark brown or black. These are the three larger cockroaches ranging in size from 1 inch to 1½ inch in size.

The two smaller cockroaches ranging in size from ½ to 5/8 inch are the German cockroach and the brownbanded cockroach. The two look somewhat alike. The German cockroach is probably the most presistant cockroach found in the United States. You’ll find these German cockroaches mostly in the kitchen area or around a water source such as bathrooms. They will infest inside your cabinets and other cracks and crevices. Its best to eliminate the German cockroach as soon as possible or you will have a house full of them in no time.

German Cockroaches

German cockroaches can become an enormous problem if something is not done to control them.

 Did you know that one German cockroach egg capsule can contain 20 to 40 small baby cockroaches when hatched?

The German cockroach is the most presistant cockroach found in the United States. The reason for this, and the reason this cockroach multiplies so quickly is that the egg capsule is carried during is complete life cycle. The German cockroach only releases the egg capsule when the babies are ready to emerge, thus increasing the life cycle of the German cockroach. Most other cockroaches paste their egg capsule to a surface which makes it vunerable to environmental conditions and other predators thus reducing their life expectancy.

German cockroaches normally live inside as opposed to the American cockroaches and the other large cockroaches that live outside and come inside for food and shelter. The German cockroach is usually brought into your home in a grocery sack or some other way. Let’s say you know someone that has German cockroaches in their home, or maybe you don’t know that they have them. They come to visit you and boom, you have a house full of cockroaches. German cockroaches, as with other types of cockroaches, can be brought in in boxes, purses, clothing, furniture (especially used furniture) or anything else.

Cockroach Facts

  • Cockroaches will eat almost anything, from book bindings, paper, food and even human flesh.
  • Did you know that doctors in some inner city areas report that one-half of the foreign objects they remove from children’s ears are cockroaches?
  • Cockroaches have been identified as a common cause of asthma. Health experts say inhalation of cockroach feces and body fragments, particularly among inner-city children, has resulted in an explosion of asthma cases in the past two decades.
  • It is believed that the cockroach may be a carrier for a range of bacteria, including salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus.
  • What is the difference between a waterbug and a cockroach?  There is no difference.
  • The American Cockroach is also known as a “waterbug” or “palmetto bug”.
  • American Cockroach is reddish-brown, about 1.5 inches long or longer, winged, but seldom fly.
  • They prefer decaying organic matter, but being scavengers will eat anything. Sweets are attractive to them.
  • The American cockroach will also feed on starchy items like book bindings, and the back of wall paper.
  • American cockroach females produce many egg capsules, having 14-16 eggs hatching in 50-55 days into grayish-brown “nymphs”.
  • As they mature they become more reddish-brown in appearance.
  • Adults and nymphs can be found in a variety of places.
  • In the North,they are commonly found in steam heat tunnels or in large institutional buildings.
  • American cockroaches more commonly congregate in open spaces instead of small crack and crevices.
  • When indoors,they can be located in dark, moist areas like basements and crawl spaces.
  • Other likely areas indoors would be around bathtubs, floor drains,and sewers.
  • Outside the American cockroach can be found in moist, shady areas like: yards, hollow trees, woodpiles,and mulch.
  • At times the American cockroach can be found under roof shingles or attics. Usually they will live outside, but will wander inside in search for food and water or during extremes in weather conditions.

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