Cockroaches from Your Home
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Which one is it? Can’t I live with a few roaches? Specimens shown are adults, actual size Perhaps they don’t digust or embarrass you, but there are good reasons to exclude cockroaches from your home. A cockroach will travel through many types of Found a wastes then walk over, and defecate on, your kitchen Female on left (in counters, plates, silverware, and any accessible food. Most common both illustrations) roach in New York Cockroaches are known to carry disease-causing German Cockroach Brownbanded Cockroach Oriental Cockroach American Cockroach bacteria, although their ability to transmit diseases to cockroach? humans is under study. They’re still a significant health Blattella germanica Supella longipalpa Blatta orientalis Periplaneta americana concern because they trigger allergies that contribute a.k.a. “Croton bug” a.k.a. “Water bug” or “Black beetle” a.k.a. “Palmetto bug” or “Water bug” to asthma. Adult size 0.5 inch 0.5 inch 1 to 1.25 inch 1 to 1.75 inch Finding even one roach warrants alertness. All roach (Saw a GAZILLION?) problems start small, but roaches reproduce rapidly, Thorax Light brown. Two black stripes Light brown. Light colored bands Dark, reddish-brown to black. Brown. Light markings on pronotum so early intervention is highly recommended. Look (“Body”) on pronotum (back of head). on wings (both sexes). Bands more (back of head). Wings one color. inside for a common-sense approach to cockroach noticeable in nymphs than adults. management. Wings Cover tip of abdomen. Female’s wings do not quite cover Traces of wings on females; short wings Adults only. Female: equal in length the tip of her abdomen; male’s wings on males. to abdomen; Male: extend past tip of The New York State IPM Program do cover tip of his abdomen. abdomen. We encourage people to adopt a sustain- able approach to managing pests, using Egg Case Light brown. Female Light brown. Egg case glued to Nearly black. Egg case deposited Dark brown. Blends with IM Integrated Pest methods that minimize environmental, carries it until 1-2 days ceilings, picture frames, furniture, on debris or food in sheltered area. surroundings; hidden in Management before hatch. in closets or other dark places. cracks, soft wood, moist debris. health, and economic risks. For more information: NYS Integrated Pest Management Program, NYSAES, Geneva, NY14456; 1-800-635-8356; <www. Don’t panic. Pepper-like specks on the wall, Pepper-like specks on the wall, Similar to mouse droppings. Under Similar to mouse droppings. Under Feces nysaes.cornell.edu/ipmnet/ny>. For additional copies of near nest site. near nest site. magnifier, one end is rounded, the other is magnifier, blunt with ridged markings. slightly tapered. this brochure (IPM No. 602), contact your local Coopera- tive Extension office or the NYS IPM Program. Warm, moist areas. Prefers Throughout the house, prefers high Below ground level, in damp crawl spaces, Usually in commercial structures. Prefers Produced by the Community IPM Program, which is funded by Cornell University, Cornell Habitat Cooperative Extension, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. kitchens and bathrooms. Likes to locations. Also in closets, under basements, and floor drains. Can over- warm, moist areas in basements, near Based on a brochure by Kathleen Sharpe. Editing/design: Jill Shultz; Carrie Koplinka-Loehr. Illustrations: Karen English-Loeb (mirror/flashlight); U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and squeeze into tight cracks. furniture, and in heat-generating winter in cisterns and other protected heating ducts, pipe chase areas, and Welfare (cockroaches). House interior and cockroach egg capsules are copyrighted by the appliances. outdoor areas. sewers. Forages mostly on first floors. Regents of the University of California (Leaflet number 21035, Controlling Household Cockroaches) and used by permission. The recommendations in this publication are not a substitute for pesticide labeling. Read the label before applying any pesticide. Cornell Note: The Pennsylvania wood roach is sometimes discovered in homes during warm months. It is about the size of the German and brownbanded but does not reproduce inside and dies quickly. Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. 7M AP 5/00. For more information: Buoniello, R. 1999. Integrated Pest Management Around the Ogg, B., D. Ferraro, and C. Ogg. Cockroach Control Manual. • NYS IPM Program: www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ipmnet/ny Home and Garden. Cornell University Program on Breast University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural • NYS Dep’t. of Health, Center for Environmental Health: Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State, Resources. To order, call (402) 441-7180 or check http:// To find local health dep’t. phone numbers, call (800) Ithaca, NY. To order, call (607) 254-2893 or check ianrwww.unl.edu/ianr/pat/cocktoc.htm 458-1158 or check www.health.state.ny.us www.cfe. cornell.edu/ bcerf/FactSheet/Pesticide/fs31.ipm Olkowski, W., S. Daar, and H. Olkowski. 1991. Common-Sense • Cornell’s Pesticide Management Education Program: Klass, C. and K. Snover. 2000. Pest Management Around Pest Control. Taunton Press, Newtown, CT, 716 pp. http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu the Home: Cultural Methods. Miscellaneous Bulletin S74, Smith, E. and R. Whitman. 1992. NPCA Field Guide to • National Pesticide Telecommunications Network: Part I. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY. To order, Structural Pests. National Pest Control Assn. To order, call call (607) 255-2080. Call (800) 858-PEST [7378] or check http:// (703) 573-8330 or check www.pestworld.org/homeowners/ ace.orst.edu/info/nptn Lifton, B. 1991. Bug Busters: Poison-Free Pest Controls for Your spotlight/spotlight.html House & Garden. Avery Publishing Group, Inc., Garden • “Featured creatures” (University of Florida): City Park, NY 254 pp. Other resources: www.ifas.ufl.edu/~insect Mallis, A. 1996. The Handbook of Pest Control, 8th ed. Edgell • Find your local Cooperative Extension office: • Least toxic cockroach control methods in schools (U. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/43848 IM Communications, Duluth, MN. www.cce.cornell.edu Florida): www.ifas.ufl.edu/~schoolipm/tp3.htm Integrated Pest Management American cockroach—most likely found in drains or sewers; more common in commerical structures than homes Think you’re done? Check again: Why can’t I just spray? Is your home fit for a cockroach? Disposing of roaches Because roaches taste their food To quickly reduce cockroach Keep them starved and parched before eating it, they learn to avoid populations, vacuum them chemically treated surfaces. This habit OTHER ROOMS: Vacuum drapes and furniture, especially Reduce moisture with the hose attachment, ✔ Store food in tightly closed containers off the limits the long-term effectiveness of some under cushions and in crevices. Empty and clean book Repair leaks, insulate pipes, and preferably using a machine floor and away from walls, or keep it in the insecticides; also, roach eggs are not affected shelves, and shake out the books. Check closets, desks, caulk gaps around sinks, tubs, equipped with a HEPA filter. by pesticides. Aerosol sprays often make roaches refrigerator. Rotate stock, inspect. clocks, radios, stereos, computers, televisions—where- and pipes to prevent water from getting As soon as you’re done, remove scatter, so those that aren’t killed can German cockroach ever it’s warm and dark. return. Two black stripes behind walls. Repair worn grouting; moisture- the vacuum bag and quickly seal ✔ Scour the kitchen. Clean refrigerator; stove; on back of head proof walls behind dishwashers. Secure it inside another bag, then dispose • cabinets; drawers; counters; floors; walls; Integrated pest managment (IPM) focuses on solving countertops and the splashboard behind the of both bags. kitchen sink. corners; fixtures; and under the sink. Keep it your current problem and preventing future invasions. Insecticide baits (available in small Make your home unfit for roaches—fix the problem at • • Dots show placement clean! of 9 sticky traps (2 go Hang your dishrag and shower mat in the containers that look like hockey pucks, its source—or you’ll likely welcome roaches again. underneath appliances) open to dry. Keep the bathroom as dry or as gel) are highly effective and are ✔ Empty and secure trash, compost, and • • as possible. Wipe up spills and puddles. among the more environmentally recyclables every evening. To find the lair, think like a roach Don’t let water stand in houseplant sensitive controls. Be patient; it will Four species of cockroach are common pests in New York: •↵ dishes or in the pan under the refrigerator. take about two weeks to see results. These baits act as ✔ ↵ KITCHEN: You’re most likely to find a food source, so make sure no other food is available— Repair leaks. Seal gaps around pipes, tubs, the German cockroach, American cockroach, oriental • • German cockroaches here. Look only hungry roaches will be attracted to them. Some and sinks. Keep bathroom dry. Eliminate cockroach, and brownbanded cockroach. on the floor underneath and behind Destroy their refuges © Regents of the University of roaches will eat the bait directly, while others will be other “watering holes.” California. Used by permisson INSIDE: Eliminating clutter is a critical part of roach Cockroaches are nocturnal and live in groups. They seek sinks, stoves, and other appliances. management. A clean but cluttered home may still poisoned after feeding on those roaches or their feces. cracks and crevices that are warm, dark, and moist; they Peer at the back of, and along the ✔ harbor roaches if there’s ample shelter and access. Do Don’t use pesticides or cleaning compounds near the Wash and dry dishes promptly. Wipe up also live inside cardboard and paper bags. Roaches eat • interior frame of cabinets and not store paper bags, containers, cardboard, magazines, baits because they may repel the roaches. spills and puddles. anything that is organic—even cardboard and the glue drawers, looking into any spaces.