COCKROACH

There are over 3,500 species of cockroaches in the world! There are only four species that live and breed in our homes and work places. These four are the German, Brown ‚ banded, Oriental and American cockroach. Cockroaches live in dwellings in all ethnic groups and all economic classes of people. Cockroaches are often brought into non-infested residences through hitchhiking , examples are: in egg cartons, soft drink cartons, bags of potatoes, beer cases, or even through used furniture or appliances. Once introduced into the home, these cockroaches generally start to populate in the kitchen and bathroom.

The most common cockroach in New York is the German cockroach

1. SIZE: Adults are about 5/8 inch long.

2. COLOR: Adult German cockroaches are light brown with two dark streaks on the thorax. The female is darker in color. Both sexes have wings as long as their bodies and very long antennae.

3. BIOLOGY: Female German cockroaches (unlike most other species of roaches) carry their egg capsule protruding from their abdomen until their capsules are ready to split open. Females may produce for to six casings in her lifetime, each containing 30 to 40 hatchlings. Eggs hatch in 28 to 30 days, and (hatchlings) nymphs develop in 40 to 125 days. Female roaches live about 200 days, males do not live quite as long.

The Female German Cockroach produces more eggs and has more generations per year than any other roach species.  Which means, only a few individuals are needed to develop into a serious infestation

DISEASE: Cockroaches have been found to harbor Staphyloccus, Coliform, and have been implicated in cases of Salmonella food poisoning. Many people who are allergic to house dust are also allergic to cockroaches. Crushed body fragments and feces become part of house dust. People continually exposed to cockroach infestations show to have a higher number of allergies and /or asthma.

SIMPLE FACTS:

• The presence of cockroaches in the home or apartment causes more distress to the dwellers than any other insect pest.
• Cockroaches prefer to hide within five feet or less of their food and water source.
• If you see activity in the day time, you probably have a large infestation.
• A clean home will not sustain as many cockroaches as a home that is cluttered and dirty because there is less food for the cockroaches to eat. Humidity and harborage areas are very important in infestation levels as well.

Cockroaches can live on glue from a postage stamp or wall paper!