American Cockroach

The American cockroach is the largest cockroach that infests buildings in the United States. This insect may be recognized by a yellow "figure-8" pattern on the shield at the front of its body. In Florida, the American cockroach is called the "palmetto bug," and it has the nickname "water bug" throughout the United States.

• Behavior – Like all cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will and many things we won't.
• Habitat – This cockroach thrives in warm, damp environments, such as sewers, steam tunnels, basements, crawl spaces, and boiler rooms. In southern states, it will also be found living and breeding outdoors.
• Tips for Control – The key to control is to find and treat these sources directly. In many cases, the services of a professional company, are required to achieve long term relief. In southern states where this cockroach lives outdoors, successful control involves treating the attic, crawl space, and exterior cracks in the home and finding and treating likely cockroach harborages over the entire property.

Brownbanded Cockroach

The brownbanded cockroach is light gold to glossy dark brown, and is 1/2 to 5/8 inch long. It has transverse yellow bands across the base of the wings and across the abdomen. The wings of adult males cover their abdomens, while the females' wings are shorter. The yellow bands across the back are more pronounced on nymphs than on adults.

• Brownbanded cockroaches are more apt to be found in homes, apartments, hotels, motels, nursing homes and hospitals than in restaurants, grocery stores and other commercial establishments. They prefer starchy foods and appear to have lower water requirements than other cockroaches. They can occupy drier locations within a building. Nymphs and adults frequently are found on ceilings in dark or dimly lit rooms, behind picture frames, in light switches, in upper walls of cabinets and closets, or on undersides of furniture and inside upholstered furniture. Because brownbanded cockroaches are found in so many locations they may be more difficult to control.
• These cockroaches are quite active, and the adults, especially the males, fly rapidly when disturbed. Both adults and nymphs may jump to escape danger. The adult female carries her egg capsule for only a day or two before gluing it to a protected surface underneath or inside furniture, in a closet or on the ceiling in a darkened room. They can also be found in televisions and other appliances.
• HABITAT: They prefer to hide in warm, elevated areas near the ceiling, behind wall decorations and loose wallpaper, in closets, beneath or inside upholstered furniture, and in electrical appliances such as TV sets, stereos, radios, and toasters. They develop and live throughout the building, making control difficult. No room or furniture is immune to infestations, and one may find tiny, dark droppings and cast skins on cabinets and shelves. The roaches are commonly transported in furniture, luggage, and other items in houses and soon develop into annoying infestations under warm, humid conditions.
• LIFE CYCLE: Egg capsules are about 1/4 inch long and reddish-brown. Brownbanded cockroach females deposit egg cases in clusters on furniture, draperies, wall decorations, shelving and ceilings. The egg capsule contains 14 to 16 eggs; a female produces 10 to 20 cases in her lifetime. Eggs hatch in 50 to 75 days and nymphs develop in 90 to 270 days, with adults living 150 to 200 days.
• TYPE OF DAMAGE: Roaches can foul food, damage wallpaper and books, eat glue from furniture and produce an unpleasant odor. Some homeowners are allergic to roaches. The pests can contaminate food with certain bacterial diseases that result in food poisoning, dysentery, or diarrhea.
• CONTROL: Control is difficult-treatments must be extensive or directed at population sources determined by bait trapping. Traps can determine infestation severity and monitor chemical controls, especially with brownbanded and German cockroaches.

German Cockroach

It is recognized by the two dark, longitudinal stripes on the "shield" at the front of the body under which the head is located.

• Behavior – The German cockroach is the most prolific breeder among all cockroaches. Each egg capsule can contain up to 40 eggs and development from egg to adult can occur in as little as 45 days. Like all cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will and many things we won't.
• Habitat – In homes, this pest will first locate itself in bathrooms and the kitchen, as close as possible to food and moisture sources. It spends 75% to 80% of its time resting in cracks and voids.
• Tips for Control – Control of German cockroaches takes persistence and experience. An infestation can be controlled using over-the-counter products, but homeowners often meet with frustration and call a professional.

Oriental Cockroach

Dark brown about one inch long common outdoors often enter buildings through sewer pipes tend to live near the ground and in warm damp areas eat anything, but found often feeding on garbage, sewage, and decaying organic matter seem to prefer starches if available adults can live up to 180 days more sluggish than other species give off distinctive unpleasant odor

• Females may be nearly 1-1/4 inches long, while males are 1 inch long. The male's wings cover most of the body, while the female's shorter wings are reduced to mere lobes. Neither sex can fly, and in fact, these cockroaches are rather sluggish and do not move very fast even when disturbed. Nymphal cockroaches are smaller than adults, dark brown to black, and have wing stubs without definite veins.
• The adult female oriental cockroach usually carries her egg capsule for about a day, then drops it or attaches it to a protected surface near a food supply. These cockroaches appear to have a seasonal cycle in their development. They overwinter as large nymphs or adults, and are usually noticed in the spring when they mate. In the spring of the year, they migrate from buildings to the out of doors where they spend the summer months. In the fall, the next generation tries to find shelter indoors where they can spend the winter. Natural mortality usually reduces the number of adults in the population during the summer, fall and winter.

Wood Cockroach

Wood roaches are very similar in appearance to the common household cockroach called the American roach; flat, oval body, long antennae, spiny legs, chestnut brown color. However, wood roaches are slightly smaller, about 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch long, and the adults, especially the males, appear tan because of the color of their wings. Adults and large nymphs of the wood roach can be recognized by a pale, creamy white or transparent stripe on the outer edge on the thorax. The pale edge extends onto the first 1/3 of the front wings of the adults. Positive identification of small nymphs is more difficult and usually requires microscopic examination.

• Wood cockroaches, also known as wood roaches, are common outdoor dwelling insects native to North America and found throughout Iowa. Their normal habitat is moist woodland areas but they frequently become a household nuisance because they wander into or are carried into houses as "accidental invaders."
• Wood roaches that have wandered into the house usually behave differently than the household roaches. Wood roaches are not secretive; they are active both during the day and at night and they are less likely to scamper out of sight when approached. Also, they will wander about the house without congregating in any particular location.
• Wood roaches do not thrive and reproduce in homes because they require the consistently moist environment of their natural habitats such as under wood piles or loose bark and in decaying logs. Indoors, their presence is strictly a temporary annoyance. They do not harm the house structure, furnishings or occupants.
• Control: The sprays and dusts used with success against household cockroach species are of very limited benefit against wood roaches. Exclusion techniques that prevent wood roach entry should be considered. Doors and windows should be tight fitting and cracks, gaps and other possible entry points should be sealed. If a breeding site can be moved or modified (e.g., relocating a wood pile farther from the house) it might help. Also, store firewood outdoors until you are ready to burn it. The males are attracted to lights at night and limiting porch light use in late May through June when males are flying might be of some benefit. Outdoor insecticide barrier treatments of diazinon, Dursban, malathion or Sevin around windows and doors and along the foundation or firewood pile are a last resort that may reduce the number of wood roaches that get indoors. Direct application of insecticide to firewood does no good and is discouraged. Wood cockroaches inside need only be picked up discarded.