German Cockroaches

If you have ever lived in an apartment or rented a home, you have likely encountered the German cockroach. It is the most common cockroach found in homes, apartments, and restaurants.

Identification

• German cockroaches are brown with 2 longitudinal stripes running down the thorax

• 1/2 to 5/8 inches long

Environment

• German cockroaches will live anywhere humans build heated structures

• Usually found in kitchens in secluded areas

• Behind and under appliances

• In cracks and crevices behind backslashes

• At counter edges

• Behind and under cabinets

• In void areas around plumbing

• Backs of drawer wells

• Will infest warm areas around appliance motors such as refrigerators and dishwashers

Threats

• German cockroaches will invade your home and leave fecal matter and other debris in and around food and food preparation areas

• Can enter homes when boxes or products are shipped moved from one location to another

• Reproduces at a high rate, completing a life cycle in 30 to 45 days

• Produces 30-48 eggs at a time

• Can generate 3 to 4 egg cases in a lifetime

• Difficult to eradicate because they can infest so many areas and can be very difficult to contact with an insecticide

Treatment

• German roaches are most commonly treated inside a home with baits, sprays, or an aerosol product (baits preferred)

• Roaches disperse the bait back into their refuge sites when they ingest it

• Most have a secondary and even a tertiary killing effect, meaning roaches that die in the harborage site from a bait are cannibalized by their fellows, causing additional mortality

• Sprays are applied to surfaces that roaches crawl across or into harborage areas

• Often mixed with insect growth regulators (IGR) will reduce or eliminate egg production and cause mortality in immature forms of the German cockroach

• Aerosols are referred to as crach and crevice treatments; Forces roaches out of their harborage sites with a product that excite their nervous system (flushing agent)

• Then sprayed directly with a contact product

• Residual aerosols may be applied into harborage areas and onto surfaces where roaches crawl in the same manner as sprays

• Commonly sold as over the counter remedies for homeowners, but typically has a short life span