ADULT FEMALE GERMAN ROACH

ADULT MALE GERMAN ROACH
  

The German roach is indeed the breeding king of the cockroach species. The most commonly asked question is how did I get roaches? There are so many answers it would be impossible to list them all. The German cockroach is always introduced into an area. This introduction may be via deliveries, guests, customers, brought home from work, by crawling up or down the pipes from your neighbors apartment etc. In order to eliminate (yes they can be eliminated) this roach once it has arrived, a three pronged strategy must be employed.

#1 Sanitation - Readily available food sources for this roach must be eliminated. This means no dirty dishes left lying around or in the sink. No greasy walls, floors, or stoves. Opened foods must be resealed and properly stored. Trash must be covered and removed daily, particularly if it contains garbage. All sources of water must be removed. This would include but not be limited too glasses of water left on the kitchen counter, water left in the sink, water left on the floor, or water left inside pots and pans. Spilled pet foods must be cleaned up off the floor. Remove all paper bags and cardboard boxes as soon as you unpack them. Folded paper or cardboard is prime real estate for a German roach. Put it next to a heat source such as a refrigerator or stove and you can almost watch the population explosion. Removing all food, water and paper sources will put a tremendous amount of stress on current German roach populations.

#2 Structural maintenance - The German cockroach spends approximately 90% of its time in its harborage. What is the German roaches harborage? Any crack or crevice that the roach can slide into and feel secure (feel its feet and back at the same time) in. This is a crack as small as 1/16 wide. Since this roach likes to live where it is warm and dry near water it is usually found in kitchens and bathrooms. All small cracks in and around the kitchen and bathroom should be sealed where practical. The temperature range most suitable to breeding for this roach is 80 to 90 degrees. A hot humid atmosphere is ideal. Keep the temperature as low (comfortable) as you can to restrict its breeding.

#3 Application of insecticides - When starting any cockroach elimination service you must have a flashlight with strong batteries in it. If you can’t see the cockroach harborages how are you going to treat them? Insecticides available to eliminate this roach are numerous but the key to elimination is proper application of the insecticide(s) chosen for the job. This would include the proper formulation of insecticide, use of proper application equipment and proper targeting of application areas.

The application of roach baits has increased to the point that it is now employed in the majority of cockroach elimination services. The most beneficial aspect of baiting is the amount of site preparation is minimal. Maintaining proper sanitation is still a must to assure successful elimination when applying roach baits. The are numerous formulations of roach baits available. The most common is the bait disk which consists of a measured amount of bait enclosed in a plastic "bait station". Other bait gels are contained in small tubes and are applied with a tool resembling a small caulking gun. The key to a successful baiting program is to place the proper amount of bait in the proper places. In order to determine the proper amount of bait placements an inspection of the area to be treated must be conducted first. Once again a strong flashlight is essential. You can expect to start seeing dead roaches two to three days after the application of baits. It may take up to three weeks to eliminate all the roaches in a heavily infested area . A good way to monitor the progress of a baiting program is to place zone monitors (roach motels) in infested areas and check them on a weekly basis.

Oriental Cockroaches are usually black and between 1 to 1 1/2 inch in length.  This roach is commonly referred to as the "Water Bug".  Adult females are larger (1 1/2") than adult males (1").  Adult females lack wings, while adult males have fully developed wings that cover about 3/4 of their body.

This species of cockroach does lay its eggs in secluded areas to hatch out later..  How much later would be determined by several factors such as temperature and and amount of moisture present. The female produces about eight capsules in its lifetime, each one about 3/8" long, red-brown to black in color.

American Cockroaches are the largest of the roaches found in this area.  Adults often times are larger than 2" long.  This roach is reddish brown in color with a distinctive yellow circle around the head.  Both the male and female adults have fully developed wings which completely cover their bodies. 

Female American roaches lay eggs in secluded areas which can hatch out up to 60 days later depending on conditions present.  Females may produce up to 60 egg capsules during her lifetime. Nymphs are 1/4 inch long and gray-brown in color when they emerge from the egg capsule.  This cockroach prefers warm moist areas and are often found in large numbers on the walls of boiler rooms or steam tunnels.  It may take up to four years to complete the life cycle of the roach.

The elimination of  roaches should be left to a trained professional. If you spend the money for a professional service then heed the advice you will receive. You must take the responsibility for proper preparation as well as making any sanitation or structural improvements necessary to assure cockroach elimination. The cost to treat the average 3 or 4 bedroom home starts at $155.00.  One or two bedroom apartments start at $130.00. The guarantee will be for 90 days if conditions present at the time of application are acceptable. The guarantee is extendable by implementing our "Homecare Service" or monthly maintenance service on multi unit buildings.