Burge Pest Control - Serving the East Bay Area of California since 1952. Residential, Commercial, Termites

Bug Facts - Oriental Cockroach

Physical Characteristics

The Oriental cockroach known as the "water bug," is more closely associated with damp areas than the other common roaches. These insects feed on garbage and decaying organic matter and are often considered the filthiest of the house-infesting roaches. They are found in damp basements, cellars, crawl spaces, near drains, leaky water pipes and beneath refrigerators, sinks and washing machines, under floors, and inside walls. They forage mostly on first floors of buildings. Outdoors, they are found beneath decomposing leaves or stones in mulching materials, in trash and at municipal sewer plants. During the autumn, there can be a mass movement into buildings, but because of their preference for cooler temperatures, can be found outdoors and in unheated buildings during the winter.

Most cockroaches have a flattened oval shape, spiny legs and grow long, filamentous antennae. Adult Oriental cockroaches are shiny, dark brown or black, about 1 to 1-1/4-inch long and have nonfunctional wings incapable of flight. Females are about 1-1/4-inch long, broad and have only little pads for wings. Males are about one inch long, more slender and have wings not reaching the tip of the abdomen. Immature roaches (nymphs) are darker in color than adults, similarly shaped and wingless. Egg cases are dark reddish-brown, one inch long (largest of the common roaches), and appear slightly inflated.

Life Cycle and Habits

Oriental cockroach females (more numerous than males) carry the egg capsule 12 hours to 5 days and deposit them in a sheltered location near or within a food supply at a warm, sheltered spot. Females produce 1 to 18 capsules, each containing up to 16 eggs. Eggs hatch in about 60 days and nymphs develop in about one year. Adult females live 1 to 6 months. These roaches, most common during May, June and July, are more sluggish than the other common roaches, developing in damp basements and sewers and foraging mostly at or below ground level structures. They are usually not found in cupboards, on walls or on upper levels of buildings. They occur outside during warm weather, and, during cool periods, may migrate in masses indoors. They have a preference for high-moisture conditions. They can live without food for a month if water is present, but die in two weeks without food and water.

Damage & Disease Factors

Roaches can foul food and produce an unpleasant odor. Some homeowners are allergic to roaches, and the pests can contaminate food with certain bacterial diseases that result in food poisoning, dysentery or diarrhea. Cockroaches can cause childhood asthma.

Detection

Oriental cockroaches can be detected by examining the premises after dark with a flashlight. During the day, probing hiding places with a wire or thin wood strip will expose roaches. Adults and nymphs usually hide clustered together.

Household sprays of pyrethrins applied to hiding places will flush out roaches, sometimes killing them if they contact the spray.

Prevention and Sanitation

Oriental roaches can move from one building to the next during the summer, entering through cracks in foundations, around loose-fitting doors or windows, and along water and gas pipes. Repair leaky water faucets and pipes. Seal openings such as cracks in foundation walls, exterior walls around air conditioners, doors, windows, floors, ceilings, around plumbing fixtures, electrical outlets, baseboards, etc. with putty, plastic wood or other caulking material.

Inspect for roaches and their egg cases in sacks, cartons, boxes, used appliances and furniture, etc., brought into the home. Sanitation is critical in roach control. (Unclean living conditions from housekeeping neglect is the major contributing factor of roach outbreaks.) Clean areas beneath cabinets, sinks, stoves, refrigerators, etc. as well as cupboards, pantry shelves and food storage bins. Clean up spilled foods and liquids. Avoid leaving scraps of food on unwashed dishes and countertops overnight. Keep food in tightly sealed containers, rinse cans and bottles before putting in the trash, and transfer garbage outdoors into roach-proof receptacles away from the house. Leftover pet food should not remain in the feeding dish overnight.

Infestations of cockroaches can be prevented with Burge Pest Control's Residential Power Protection Plan.