When dealing with roaches, it’s best to hire a professional—they can be very good at hiding and are even better at hiding their eggs. Roaches reproduce very quickly and in a short time can get out of hand. Indoors is a great place for them to thrive due to an unlimited food supply, water, warmth and a multitude of places to hide, causing roaches to be a pest all year long. They can be brought in by deliveries, grocery bags, used appliances and electronics and personal items like purses or backpacks. Some roaches can even carry and transfer disease and a variety of pathogenic organisms such as food poisoning, diarrhea and other illnesses.

GERMAN COCKROACH

The German cockroach is the most common and biggest nuisance of all the roaches. Adult roaches range from light brown to tan in color with 2 dark stripes on their head. Immature roaches are dark brown to black in color with a pale stripe on their backs. The German cockroach prefers living in warm, humid areas and are usually found in kitchens and bathrooms, but may spread to other areas in a bad case. German roaches can be introduced to a structure on grocery sacks and boxes or inside infested refrigerators, microwaves, television sets, etc. Due to their rapid reproduction rate, an infestation can become extremely bad unless treated immediately. They will feed on almost anything with nutritional value such as food, glue, soap, etc. It is possible for the German cockroach to travel outdoors and from house to house in the summer months.

ORIENTAL COCKROACH

This common roach is also known as a “water roach” or “water bug” and are shiny black to dark reddish brown. The Oriental roach prefers to spend its life outside under debris, stones, mulch, etc. but may occasionally stumble indoors. When found inside, it is usually in basements, cellars, and around water pipes.

 

BROWNBANDED COCKROACH

Adult brownbanded roaches have pale brown bands running across their wings, while the immature roaches have pale brown bands running across their body. Adult roaches have a brown liberty-bell shaped pattern on their heads and their wings get lighter towards the tips. Brownbanded cockroaches prefer warm areas (over 80º) but can be found throughout structures. Brownbanded roaches also prefer to be in the higher areas of a room or appliances. Be sure to check in and along drop ceilings, anything high on a wall like picture frames and wall moldings, in motors and electronics of appliances, outlets and light switch covers and even up in light fixtures.

 

WOOD ROACH

Pennsylvania wood roaches can range in color from a little honey color to chestnut brown color. The males are fully winged and fly, while the females have very short, functionless wings. The Pennsylvania wood roaches are mostly found outdoors under loose bark of dead trees, in tree holes, in woodpiles, under cedar-shake shingles, siding and in and around gutters. The male roach is attracted to light and may be found flying around porch lights and windows at night.

 AMERICAN COCKROACH

These large roaches are reddish brown in color with a pale brown to yellowish band across the bottom of their head shield. Adult Amercian roaches have full sets of wings. Immature American cockroaches are shiny and uniformly grayish brown in color. While the American cockroach can be found in houses, they are more common in restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals, and other commercial buildings where they infest basements, food-storage, prep areas, and steam tunnels. They enter structures through sewer drains or may be brought in by an outside source. American roaches can infest any structure, but generally it will be a older building.