The American cockroach is the largest species of house-infesting pest, commonly found in cafes, restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, pest shops, and other facilities where food is stored or made. These creatures can be spotted in damp sewers, basements, and heating ducts. In addition, they are often bought into homes in boxes or packaging from infested establishments.
What Is American Cockroaches?
Adult German Cockroaches
Baby German Cockroaches Around Egg Case
Juvenile German Cockroaches
Adult American cockroaches may measure about 1.4 to 1.6 inches in length, but some also exceed 2 inches. They are reddish brown and have a yellow band outlining behind their head. These critters have wings that help them fly short distances.
The males have wings extending little beyond the tip of the abdomen, while the female wings are the same length as their abdomen. Baby cockroaches, also called nymphs, look similar but are smaller in size and have no wings.
The lifecycle of American cockroaches has three developmental stages: egg, nymph, and adult. The eggs are laid in dark brown capsules that are 8mm long. The female drops the egg capsule within 24 hours after it is formed.
On average, she chooses a protected area to drop the egg capsule that contains 14 to 16 eggs. Usually, every week one capsule is produced and glued to a hidden surface. Each female American roach can produce from 15 to 90 egg capsules.
The egg stage can be anywhere from 29 to 58 days. At room temperature, nymphs take about 50 to 55 days to hatch. Young cockroaches are greyish brown; after the first few moults, their colour turns reddish brown.
Dangers to Humans
These cockroaches feed upon things like cheese, bakery products, leather, dead animals, plant materials, glue, and hair. Also, they like to feed and harbour in damp places like sewers, garbage, and bathrooms.
Filth from these places can be spread to your food, kitchen counters, dishes, utensils, and other areas. Contaminated food and cooking areas can be a reason for the spread of diseases like food poisoning, dysentery, or diarrhea.
Moreover, these critters’ excrement and cast skin contain allergens that may trigger allergies. Also, if the infestation level is too high, these creatures may spread an unpleasant odour in your home.
Trust Tom's Pest Control
At Tom’s Pest Control Melbourne, we use advanced and efficient methods for combating the roach issues on your property. In addition, we offer cost-effective solutions to remove the infestation altogether. Our experts don’t just focus on solving the current pest problem but also provide advice on minimising the threat of future pest issues.
With the most up-to-date equipment and safe pest control techniques, we can take care of infestation issues of any level. When you hire us to for the cockroach control on your property, we first conduct a thorough inspection.
This helps us understand the level of infestation, the hiding places, and the pest control requirements of your property. Next, we design a treatment plan for your home or office based on our findings.
The next step is implementing the plan and carrying out the extermination carefully. At last, we share some helpful prevention tips to stop cockroaches from returning to your property.
Contact Us
If you have a pest control problem at your home or commercial premises, feel free to contact us. Our friendly and professional team members are here to help you in case of any pest infestation issue. Call us today.
FAQs
Do American Cockroaches Bite?
American cockroaches can bite; however, they rarely do so. In case of a bite, it shouldn’t concern you unless it gets infected. If an infection occurs, you must seek medical attention.
What Are the Signs of American Cockroach Infestation?
These four signs can tell you if your property has American cockroaches:
- You will see fast-moving insects flying to dark corners of your property
- You will find droppings in dim areas that look small, blunt, and have ridges on the sides.
- You may find egg capsules 8mm long and dark coloured.
- Your property has a musty smell
How to Get Rid of American Cockroaches from Your Property?
Removing these cockroaches from your property may be difficult. It is best to adopt traditional pest control steps to keep them away from your home, like regular cleaning, sealing unwanted entrances like cracks, holes, and broken screens, and fixing leaky pipes.
Since Australian cockroaches are small and can fly, removing them completely may only be possible with the help of a professional exterminator.