Cockroach

Vacuum cracks and crevices to remove food and debris. Vacuuming also removes cockroaches, shed skins, and egg capsules. Removing cockroaches reduces their numbers and slows development. Because bits of cuticle and droppings may cause allergies, it is recommended that the vacuum cleaner have a HEPA (high efficiency particulate absorber).

• Reduce food and water sources
• Store food in insect-proof containers such as glass jars or resealable plastic containers
• Eliminate plumbing leaks and correct other sources of free moisture. Increase ventilation where condensation is a problem

All cockroaches go through three stages of life: egg, nymph, and adult. While these insects usually live about 6 to 15 months, the cockroach lifespan varies based on species, moisture, and temperature in each of these phases. Understanding the cockroach life cycle can help you catch infestations before they grow into a serious problem.

Egg

The life cycle of a cockroach life begins with an egg. The pests lay cases of 10 to 50 eggs in warm, humid, and secluded spots of homes and businesses. You may find these small, leathery capsules:

Most females create multiple egg cases during their lifetimes, so infestations grow rapidly. For example, one German cockroach can produce over 300 eggs in a year.

Nymph

Next in the cockroach life cycle is the nymphal stage. Nymphs hatch and undergo several molts, growing a little each time they shed their skins. As they emerge from their old shells, immature pests have soft, white bodies that harden and change color to brown, tan, or gray. They will reach full adult size and coloration with their last molt.

Adult

After their final molt, nymphs enter the adult stage and reproduce to start the cycle over again. Since the cockroach lifespan is relatively long and the pests can infest buildings by the thousands, control is crucial. If you think you have an infestation, contact the experts at Johnson Group.

Egg Tube: Under the central back structure (carina). There are 8-9 rising spots

Adult: 2 inches. Reddish brown; large body, edges of pronotum are light colored

Preferred location: Sewers, water meter boxes, storm drains, steam tunnels, animal-rearing facilities

The American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, prefers warm and humid environments, usually with temperatures in excess of 27°C. Under the right conditions, they readily live outdoors and are common pests in zoos and animal-rearing facilities. They are also common in sewers, steam tunnels, and masonry storm drains. Occasionally they forage from sewers and other areas into the ground floor of buildings.

Egg Tube : About 8 sections . The length is twice the size of the width

Adult: 0.5 inch. Light brown, two dark stripes on pronotum

Preferred location: kitchens, bathrooms, food preparation and storage areas

The German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is the most common indoor species, especially in multiple-family dwellings. They prefer food preparation areas, kitchens, and bathrooms because they favor warm (21 to 24°C), humid areas that are close to food and water.

This species reproduces the fastest of the common pest cockroaches: a single female and her offspring can produce over 30,000 individuals in a year, but many succumb to cannibalism and other population pressures. Egg laying occurs more frequently during warm weather. The female carries around a light tan egg case (about 1/4 inch long) until 1 to 2 days before it hatches, when she drops it. Sometimes the egg case hatches while it is still being carried by the female. Each egg case contains about 30 young, and a female may produce a new egg case every few weeks.

Egg Tube: Under the central back structure (carina) There are 2-13 rising spots

Adult: body length about 3 cm; distinct light yellow streaks on the sides at the base of the wings, Periplaneta americana does not have similar yellow markings on the wings

Preferred location: drier areas like cupboards, storerooms

The Australian cockroach, P. australasiae is very similar in appearance to P. americana except for a lateral pale yellow stripe on the each of the forewings which is about a third of the length of the wings and of course the yellow margin around the pronotum. They are also slightly smaller, 27 – 33 mm long. They prefer temperatures which are warm, 30 °C.

The female lays an ootheca about 10 – 11 mm long which contains about 22 – 24 eggs in two rows of 11 or 12 which take about 40 days to hatch, but only 60 percent of this number usually hatch. Once hatched, the nymphs molt 6 – 12 times depending on food, temperature and humidity. Females produce ootheca 20 days after maturation; produces 20 – 30 ootheca at 10 day intervals.