Bug of the Month: Cockroach

There are 4,000 species of cockroaches worldwide, with 70 identified in the United States. Fortunately, most are quite rare or stay away from humans. Three species are most commonly found scuttling about the floors of Tennessee and Kentucky homes.

• German Cockroach: German cockroaches are about half an inch long. The body is tan or light brown, typically with two dark brown stripes running in parallel lines down the back. They have long antenna, six legs and an oval shape. German cockroaches prefer temperatures around 70 – 75 degrees, so they will find your home or office nice and cozy.

• Brownbanded Cockroach: The brownbanded cockroach is the second-most common indoor roach. The body is oval-shaped with the same long antenna, but they are a dark brown color with a light tan band around the outside and on the wings. Unlike the German roach, brownbanded roaches like it warm and dry, so you’ll find them near heaters, furnaces, electrical outlets, television sets and radios. They need temperatures around 80 degrees and are also nocturnal insects.

• American Cockroach: American roaches are about two inches long and a dark, reddish-brown color. They’re oval-shaped with the same telltale long roach antenna. Unlike their cousins the German and brownbanded roach, American roaches prefer living in wet environments, but they will enter homes and other buildings for food. They live in sewers, barns, manure piles and similar places with harmful bacteria, which they can carry onto surfaces that people come into contact with.

Roaches can live for a month without food and up to two weeks without water. They can also hold their breath for up to 40 minutes, and live for up to a week without their head!

Roaches carry bacteria and parasites. They also eat garbage, sewage and anything else they can find, which passes through their system and into your house when they defecate. If that’s not bad enough, bacteria that can make people sick doesn’t faze the hardy cockroach. Cockroach feces and skin also contain materials that cause allergies in people, especially in children. Roaches have been linked to increased incidences of asthma, especially among children living in urban environments.

Roaches cause extensive damage to the areas they infest. Several types of roaches enjoy eating glue from envelopes, stamps and book bindings, and can damage paper, leather and fabric.

If you see these common pest insects in your home, call Ace Exterminating as soon as possible! We can help you identify the species, the source of the infestation, put together a plan to exterminate them and prevent new ones from re-infesting your home!