There are two common types of roaches that invite themselves inside your home. The main one we will talk about in this article is the German Cockroach and how to get rid of them. They come inside by hitching a ride in cardboard boxes, grocery bags, furniture, or luggage. Sometimes you might carry a pregnant female German cockroach or an egg case inside.
The other pest is a brown-banded cockroach that likes to hitchhike into your home. Ensure to check these containers closely when you empty your groceries or other contents out. Another way this pest gets indoors is by way of the plumbing system. Many other factors might be considered on how to move without bringing roaches with you.
What does a German Cockroach look like?
The Blattella germanica, or adult German cockroaches, can be noticed by their coloring. They are tan or light brown with two horizontal black stripes found on the pronotum. This is located right behind their head.
A nymph German cockroach is dark, nearly black, with black stripes behind the head, German cockroach, as an adult, gets 13-16 mm long. They do have wings but hardly ever fly. Their preferred mode of transport is running. But to the query, "can roaches survive cold?" The answer varies.
Why do I have German cockroaches?
The German cockroach is known worldwide as an indoor cockroach. This species of cockroach is actually one of the smaller pests. Because they are tinier than other roaches, German cockroaches love to hide out in spaces that are small.
How do they get inside?
German roaches also like to latch onto bags or boxes, taking a ride in with free shipping. If you live in an apartment complex that has multiple units, German cockroaches can move easily from one unit to the next.
They use the pipes and plumbing shared between homes to search for food, water, and shelter. This gives the best way to get German roaches in your home, like an open highway.
What is in my home that attracts these pests?
If you have any old luggage or furniture stored away, these are common items attractive to German roaches. Also, electronic items that others have owned are fantastic areas they like to hide. German cockroaches move towards devices emitting warmth.
In addition, if there are food particles lying on kitchen cabinets, you have now met two out of three of their needs--protection and food. Do you also have pipes that are leaking to provide them with their third basic need--water? If so, you have the makings for a cockroach infestation.
How long does it take for an infestation?
German cockroaches reproduce very quickly; laying about 40 eggs takes around two months to mature.
At this rate, the roach population grows rapidly. When they are living safely inside a home, cockroaches, and German pests, don’t have many predators.
These pests are also very fast and hardy, which allows cockroach populations to increase and makes it difficult to get rid of a German cockroach.
What are the signs you have an infestation?
One of the signs you have a German cockroach infestation is their droppings. These appear like small pieces of pepper lying around in kitchen drawers or on countertops. All are indications a roach population is nearby. There may also be dark smears or spots, which are the fecal stains that appear in the following locations:
- On the top areas of doors
- In or around tiny cracks or openings in walls
- The corner areas of rooms
How do roaches reproduce?
The female German cockroach bears her eggs for one or two days before laying them. She leaves these empty egg capsules lying around, which is also another sign of an infestation.
Also, a musty odor could be a sign you have a roach population. German cockroaches commonly excrete numerous compounds which are odorous. When there are roach populations in nearby areas, you may notice these mild odor secretions.
What do German Cockroaches eat?
German cockroaches are known to scavenge whatever they can to find something of sustenance. German roaches will eat almost anything they find. Such as:
- The bindings on books
- Missed crumbs when wiping countertops
- Dishes left unwashed in the sink
- Soap and even toothpaste
- Pet food left unattended in a bowl on the floor
How long do these pests live?
When a female deposits her egg capsule, also called the ootheca, it has around 30 to 40 eggs inside it. The female roach bears these egg cases for a couple of days before they hatch. The average life cycle, banking on good conditions, is 54 to 215 days to develop from egg to adult. Yet the average time period is about 100 days.
A female German roach requires only one mating period in order to create more young roaches. The result of this mating period is 4 to 6 egg cases throughout the female German roaches lifespan. An adult German cockroach is capable of surviving for about 100 to 200 days.
What’s the difference between a German and an Asian Cockroach?
The southeastern parts of the United States have an insect known as the Asian cockroach. These pests look like German cockroaches. Although these two species of roaches appear similar, they act quickly differently.
A German cockroach commonly invades structures and is most often discovered in areas of excess temperature and humidity. However, Asian cockroach lives mostly outside and will use their wings for flying. This is unlike the German cockroach, which will rarely use its wings to fly away. German roach wings are primarily for looks because their preferred mode of flight is running.
Is it hard to get rid of a German cockroach?
German cockroaches are very hardy. They move fast. So you should know how to not take roaches with you when you move.
Additionally, when inside a human habitat, roaches have few predators. This makes it very difficult to get rid of a German cockroach.
Also, because of how fast cockroach populations can increase, these pests can be difficult to be rid of.
How can we exterminate German Cockroaches?
In many cases, a professional pest company is required to completely get rid of a German roach infestation. Often it is only the professionals who will make sure to use the best German cockroach control techniques.
One of the most critical weapons when doing roach management is gel bait. This bait traps roaches by mimicking a food source. They eat the gel bait, which has an insecticide in it to effectively wipe out German cockroaches.
What is a natural way to get rid of a German cockroach?
The answer to this question is yes. You can use 3 household products to easily and naturally get rid of German roaches. Form a bait, first mix some sugar and flour with some boric acid to form a dough. Make several small balls out of this dough.
Apply the bait balls in areas you have noticed German roaches. The scent of sugar and flour will be the bait to draw out the German roach, and when they eat it, the poison kills them. This is a very good German cockroach control technique to try at home.
What makes German Cockroaches the worst roaches?
There are several reasons why the German roach is thought to be the worst species. One reason is the German roach is hard to notice as they scurry around in the dark, crowded spaces of your house. Their tan to light-brown coloring and long dark antennae also make them hard to find.
In addition to how rapidly they dart across the floor when they are spotted. The German roach can quickly make sure all areas of an office or home are infested, primarily because of how fast they reproduce before they are recognized.
Can I get rid of or totally kill a German cockroach with vinegar?
In dealing with this pest, does vinegar kill roaches? Certainly, no, you cannot use vinegar to kill German cockroaches. Yet, by thoroughly cleaning kitchens and bathrooms and sanitizing cooking spaces, you can deject German roaches from looking for food and water. You can get rid of a German cockroach by placing traps and insecticide in the kitchen and other areas. You can also use roach bait, specifically the advion roach gel bait which is a type of cockroach gel bait.
Are there any scents that deter roaches?
If you are looking for a natural way to get rid of a German cockroach, doing so with essential oils can prove effective. Scents such as cedarwood, cypress, and peppermint oils are all proven methods of effective roach control.
Other scents that repel these cockroaches, German roach pests, are coffee grounds and crushed bay leaves. If you are looking for a way to kill roaches naturally, mix some boric acid with powdered sugar. Does borax kill roaches? Well, boric acid seems to be the best roach control. Use it as bait to get rid of a German cockroach.
Why are there roaches in my clean house?
German cockroaches in homes need water and moisture for survival. Therefore, even the cleanest home will attract cockroaches if there is water or excessive moisture. In starting cockroach control, have your plumbing inspected for any faucets or pipes that might be leaking. These are two of the most popular items for attracting roaches. Inspect things behind in the laundry room, kitchen, and bathrooms. This is where roaches like to hang out most as well.
How do I kill or get rid of the eggs of a German cockroach?
If you find an ootheca, or German cockroach egg case, squish it or stomp on it first. Then make sure to vacuum all the crushed pieces and dispose of them in a garbage receptacle outdoors.
Next, spray some insecticide all over the areas where you crushed the ootheca. This will kill any remaining roach embryos.
Lastly, apply boric acid to the entire area to bait it and get rid of other German cockroaches.
What kind of sprays kill Roaches?
IGRs used for the control of roaches are called Gentrol IGRs. This is available in a point-source tablet, aerosol, and concentrated liquid. Gentrol IGR is recommended to be put into a hand sprayer and showered directly onto the baseboards. Also, spray this IRG in any places where roaches have been recognized to gather.
What are the most difficult roaches to get rid of?
In the eyes of a rights-reserved pest control professional, the German cockroach is what makes up our worst nightmares. These pests, once inside a home, can become very destructive and are the most difficult to eradicate.
Cockroach control is difficult but not impossible. They reproduce in greater numbers, more than any other species of cockroach. If only one roach survives pest control attempts, all efforts you apply will prove worthless at extermination.
How effective is Gel bait for roach control?
Using gel bait is a good way to control roaches. When using a bait gel, roaches are duped into believing it is food. The roach will eat the gel bait you use and the insecticide that it contains, thereby killing it.
Is there anything these roaches fear?
Do you know how much you love the scent of fresh citrus? Well, this gives the opposite response to roaches. Citrus can be an excellent way to control roaches. They despise the smell of citrus. Therefore, it would be advisable to use cleaners in kitchens and bathrooms that are citrus scented. You should apply some lemon, lime, and orange peels to various areas around your home. This should keep these roach pests at bay as well as control them a little better.
Will cockroaches crawl on you at night?
It is common knowledge that cockroaches prefer the nighttime. This is when they search for areas with food and water sources, as well as shelter. It just so happens that this is also when we are sleeping. Therefore, our sleeping, motionless body makes us victims of cockroaches crawling on us at night. German cockroaches love places that are warm and humid.
How do they get inside your house?
Cockroaches are very resourceful pests. Roaches can get into the smallest of cracks and crevices in search of a food source.
They cling onto boxes, bags, suitcases, and backpacks to find access inside where the food sources are. This pest can also come in through cracks in windows and open doors. Roaches will come inside looking for water sources because they cannot live without them.
Where do cockroaches lay their eggs?
You may find that cockroach females live in warm, humid places. This is where female roaches like to lay their eggs. Places like in the bathroom or kitchen. There are about 40 baby cockroaches that result from an egg capsule. The egg capsule is about one-fourth an inch in length and has a light brown color.
Do German roaches live inside the walls?
Roaches prefer places that are humid and warm. This makes buildings like hotels and apartments prime areas for infestation. German cockroaches are able to live within the walls of a building as they go from apartment to apartment in search of food sources.
How do they get inside the walls?
German cockroaches are able to squeeze their way into any flaws of a building structure. They are able to penetrate the walls by way of the baseboards, crevices, conduits, and cracks.
Abundant infestations are usually found in structures that have hollow walls. They swarm together near the fixtures with moisture, such as in the kitchen and in bathrooms.
German cockroaches love and relish humidity. Applying baits and traps filled with insecticide behind appliances where they hide is an excellent means of removing German roaches.
Can cockroaches eat through walls?
The answer to this question is no. German roaches are pests that are unable to eat their way through walls. However, they are able to slither through the tiniest cracks, holes, and crevices that may be on walls. Yet, maintaining the walls in your home by keeping them adequately sealed should ensure these pests are kept outside. You can also apply baits and traps inside and behind these holes.
What are the dangers of German cockroaches?
In the United States, there are fifty-five different types of cockroach species. This statistic comes from the Agriculture Science Department of Penn State College. Cockroaches are the carriers of the bacteria which causes food poisoning. This is due to their roaming over the surfaces used for preparing food as well as getting inside food containers that are not sealed air-tight.
Other dangers of roaches
Cockroaches also eat fabric and paper while searching for sustenance. Along the way, they leave a trail of fecal matter and odors.
German infestations are known to create asthma attacks and allergic reactions in people who have a history of these ailments. They also disperse the dust from insulation throughout the inside of walls, basements, and crawl spaces.
How do you get roaches out of your walls?
To get rid of a German cockroach taking up residence within your walls, you must deny them three things. Those three things are water, food, and warm shelter. Here are some tips to aid you should an infestation of German cockroaches gets in your home:
- Getting rid of all sources of water is the first step to pest control. A cockroach can survive without food for two months, yet, it's water this pest needs for survival. Therefore, if you have pipes that are leaking or water that is standing in pools, it needs to be fixed.
- Eliminate all food sources. Go through your entire house and get rid of any food sources that might attract a German cockroach. Ensure to wash dirty dishes after every meal. Keep counters wiped clean of food and crumbs, as well as sweep the floor when you finish cooking. If you have leftover food, make sure to store it in containers that are airtight.
- Dispose of any forms of clutter. Get rid of any empty cardboard boxes, stacks of newspaper, and paper bags that aren’t being used. By eliminating clutter, you are not only tidying up the place, but you are also getting rid of hiding places for a German cockroach.
A German cockroach infestation within the walls or other areas of your home that are dark requires immediate eradication.
Sometimes this proves difficult, yet it is not completely impossible. The above steps are only part of your elimination plan.
In some cases, you may be required to enlist the aid of chemicals. These chemicals can be used as bait and placed in areas where they gain access to food.
Setting traps for roach control
Apply traps and bait in places where roach activity has been suspected or seen. Traps should be put behind the stove, refrigerator, pantry, and cabinets. You can also put bait inside these traps along the baseboards and counters and beneath the bathroom and kitchen sinks. It should be clear on both sides of the traps in order for roaches to enter from either side.
The use of bait for pest control
Another very effective means of controlling roaches are baits. Correct placement of bait is the key to how successful the bait will be.
Some successful sites for the placement of bait are underneath sinks and around the bottom of the toilet bowl. An effective type of bait is sticky traps and bait. You should place all baits in places where you have noticed roach droppings are present.
Where does the German cockroach originate?
This cockroach is the number #1 cockroach pest worldwide. Contradictory to common belief, this cockroach does not come from Germany. Whereas the Germanic people believe this pest is actually an “American” cockroach. However, this is an error because it is a completely different species, and American roach infestation can be present too. The scientific name for the German cockroach is “Blattella Germanica”.
How to get rid of the German cockroach
The job of getting rid of a German cockroach is not an easy one. There are no magical pest control sprays or products. There are ways to eliminate German cockroaches as long as the proper methods of treatment are used.
Determine how serious the infestation is
Cockroaches love water, moisture, and heat. The combination of two of those elements--moisture and water--breed fungus and bacteria.
This bacteria may be a source of food for these pests. In the most extreme of roach infestations, you can track their presence in water, heat, fungus, or another source of food. Their food and heat sources may be found anywhere.
These sources may be inside walls, under stoves, under refrigerators, and in dishwashers. It is in these locations that cockroach breeding begins, and this is how the infestation can grow very rapidly.
These pests reproduce very quickly
This rapid reproduction rate is why the population of a German cockroach infestation gets so out of control. As many as 50 nymphs of baby cockroaches are in one single egg capsule or ootheca of the female cockroach. That’s a lot of baby roaches to add to a current infestation!
As their population gets larger, they need to find a new location to congregate inside. This is why they can be found in electronic equipment, behind wallpaper, pictures, and inside furniture.
What are Insect Growth Regulators (IGR)?
There are insecticides that copy an insect's hormones while young, interrupting the cycle in which they grow and later reproduce. These insecticides are known as IGRs or Insect growth regulators.
A lot of insects, such as cockroaches, mosquitos, and fleas, can be controlled by insect growth regulators. These IGRs are usually not deadly to adults, yet, they deter reproduction. The stages of reproduction are altered during each of the normal stages.
There are a lot of IGRs that are combined with other insecticides to kill cockroaches that are adults. A good thing is insect growth regulators have a low toxic rate with humans.
How does an IGR operate?
Another popular way to get rid of a German cockroach is with IGRs. When using IGRs, the adult cockroach usually survives this treatment. They will die a natural death as they continue being troublesome to you.
However, those IGR-treated eggs these adults lay will not hatch. Therefore, if the eggs don’t mature, the insect inside might not live.
The worm-like larva, once exposed to an insect growth regulator, has a lesser opportunity of developing into an adult roach. This is usually when the young cockroach dies. The life cycle of the cockroach is deterred by the IGR.
Although an insect growth regulator doesn’t kill the insect right away, it will slow down the population of the pest. As science indicates, if adults are not allowed to reproduce, eventually, their society will die off.
Methods of DIY Pest control
You have identified the cockroach infestation, done all the sanitizing, and cleared away clutter. Now is the time to get down and do some serious pest control. There are a variety of gel baits and insecticide sprays, but which do you use?
Gel Baits
There are gel baits you can place in your cabinets and counters. Place these gel baits near food packages, silverware, and other cooking utensils.
Wherever you believe are the entry points for roaches to get into your house. You need about 50-100 of these pea-sized gel dots in the kitchen alone to exterminate properly.
Insecticides for roach control
Insecticide dust is another form of getting rid of German cockroach. This is used in cracks and crevices, voids, and inside the walls. You should not be able to see the dust after you apply it. Drill holes in walls, or take off electrical plates to get the dust into voids and walls.
The use of aerosol sprays is if you want to get rid of cockroaches right on the spot. These sprays are to kill roaches on the spot.
Lastly, there are the insect growth regulators, which manipulate and halt this pest's ability to reproduce quickly.
When it’s time to call a professional
When natural and store-bought remedies are not getting rid of German roaches, it’s time to call the professionals. Call the rights-reserved pest control specialists at A.N.T. PEST CONTROL NEW LENOX.
We know how to get rid of cockroaches for good, with the best solutions available for your infestation problem.
Call us today, and your problem with cockroaches will be a thing of the past!
