Oriental Cockroaches

Description

This primary domestic pest is found in the Midwest, Northwest and Southern United States. An adult Oriental cockroach is about one inch long (2.5 centimeters). Its bright body is dark brown or black. The female has a broad body and looks like it is wingless, but actually has two, small, flightless wings (tegmina) below her head. The females resemble the cockroach species of Florida woods and are often confused with it. The male Oriental cockroach has long brown wings (tegmina) covering most of its narrow body. The head of a male Oriental cockroach is almost hidden under a large hard neck (pronotum) on the front of the thorax. The cerci in the back of the abdomen are used as sensory organs.

Habitat

This cockroach is a slow traveler. People refer to them as waterbugs because they live dark and humid environments. They congregate around damp basements, decaying organic materials, drains, porches, under sinks, trawl spaces, and sewers. On the outside, they like wet areas like shrubs, under cover of the sheet, cisterns, water valve wells, foundations, landfills, garbage bins, garbage kicks, and under mulch.

These pests need food and water and hot, humid places to hide between 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) and 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius). Oriental cockroaches often go out at night and are good at hiding during a casual inspection of a suspected infested house during the day.

Adults and nymphs are slow and often live on or below ground level on the inside. They are not often on the walls, high cabinets, or on the upper floors of buildings. Sometimes a population of Oriental cockroaches will hang near leaks in a basement or crawl space.

In warm weather, Oriental cockroaches like the outdoors, but they move indoors during droughts that seek higher humidity. These abominable cockroaches enter houses under doors, through air ducts, garbage cans or fans, or in food and laundry packages.

Elimination Or Control

Oriental Cockroach Identification

A professional exterminator will look for boxes of cockroach egg that the females have dropped. This is a sure sign that Oriental cockroaches have invaded the home.

Bait & Insecticide

A professional expert in pest control can use baits with abamectin, boric acid, hydramethylnon, and sulfur amid. They can spray a perimeter insecticide to make a continuous barrier around the house. Boric acid, diatomaceous earth, and silica airgel powder can be sprayed into cracks, crevices, and voids that will stick to the oily surface of the cockroach’s body and dehydrate or poison them to death.

Elimination Of Oriental Cockroaches

These pests may be harder to exterminate than other cockroach species. Adults can easily die with residual insecticide, but pesticides need to be reapplied because females will hatch more nymphs. It is recommended to aspirate and disinfect the area after multiple pesticide applications.