AFFORDABLE PEST CONTROL COOMERA
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Cockroaches. What you need to know.
Cockroaches are one of the oldest of all insects of our planet. There are four common cockroaches in the Gold Coast and Brisbane regions that frequent our homes and work places.
The Australian Bush Cockroach, Brown Banded Cockroach, Oriental Cockroach and the dreaded German Cockroach. The latter of the species requiring immediate and specialised treatment as they are prolific breeders with up to 40 offspring from a single adult cockroach in as little as 4 to 6 weeks.
Contact Affordable Pest Control Coomera today and we will take care of your Cockroach Pest Control.
Cockroach Identification
The Australian Cockroach is a large reddish brown cockroach with yellow margin round the thorax and yellow edges to front part of fore wings.
The antennae are long and the legs are spiky.
This is a common pest in homes and can transmit disease by contaminating food.
The Australian Cockroach is actually an introduced species from Asia.
Approx Size : 35mm
Habitat: Common around urban and suburban areas, and often seen in and around homes, and gardens.
Breeding:
The female lays eggs in a hard casing called an ootheca.
The young nymphs hatch as smaller versions of the adult cockroach after an incubation period of about 40 days.
The female lives for up to 6 months.
An infestation can rapidly expand in ideal ​conditions.
Adult American cockroaches are reddish brown or mahogany colored with the area behind their heads outlined with a yellow band.
Adults can fly and normally live outdoors.
They prefer warm, damp areas and enter homes to find water or food, often they go to bathrooms, kitchens, or laundry's.
Approx Size: Adults 50 mm long
Female American cockroaches make protective capsule shaped cases for their eggs which can contain approx 16 eggs.
When the eggs hatch, the young nymphs come out of the capsule.
Immature roaches shed their skins as they develop and reach adulthood in as little as 5 months.
Australian Cockroach
American Cockroach
Shiny black to a dark reddish-brown color, frequently gains entry beneath doors, following utility lines, pipes, open drains or sewers.
The adults male is smaller than the adult female and can be identified by the presence of ¾ length wings, the female lacks wings altogether, only having large wing pads that cover the first couple of segments of the body. Neither the male nor female is capable of flight.
Approx Size : Males 25mm, Females 32mm
Habitat: Most outdoor populations can be found living beneath mulch and leaf litter, storm drains and sewers. Internally in wall voids and subfloors
A single female oriental roach can produce approximately eight egg cases, or ootheca, with approximately 16 eggs per case.
Approximately 30 hours after she has produced the egg case, she will drop it in a protected area where it will stay until the young hatch.
In the warmer months, the time needed to develop from an egg to an adult may take as few as 200 days. However, when the weather becomes colder it can take as many as 800 days.
​German cockroaches are indoor cockroaches.
Adults are light brown or tan with two black horizontal stripes located immediately behind the head.
The smaller juveniles, or nymphs, are darker, almost black in color with the black stripes behind the head.
While adult German cockroaches have wings, they seldom fly and prefer to run.
Approx Size: 13 - 16mm
Habitat: Commonly found Indoors. Cracks and Crevices, Inside Appliances, Dishwashers, Fridges, Under Sinks and other warm damp areas.
German cockroaches are known for their ability to reproduce quickly.
Females on average, produce 4 to 6 egg cases during the course of their lives, with each egg case containing approximately 30 to 40 eggs.
This egg case is then carried by the female until 1 to 2 days before hatching.
The average time for development, from egg to adult can range from 60 to 100 days.
They can survive from 100 to 200 days.
Oriental Cockroach
The Smoky Brown cockroach is a common pest in Australia. They are primarily an outdoor pest and gets its name from its brownish-black uniform coloration.
They are strong flyers and have wings that extend beyond their body and are opportunistic feeders utilising any food that may be available, including human food scraps, dead insects, fecal matter and plant materials
Habitat: Outdoors they can be found in areas that are warm, moist and protected from the elements.
Around homes they can be found in cavities, beneath mulch and areas where moisture problems may exist.
Dependent upon environmental conditions, the development time from egg to adult, can vary greatly, with a range of 160 days to 716 days.
An adult lives an average of 205 day.
A female will produce an average of 10 egg cases with an average of 20 eggs per case.
The 11 to 14 mm long, dark-brown to black egg case may be observed in areas that the smokybrown cockroach frequents.
The Brown Banded Cockroach is one of the smallest of the invasive cockroaches, and received their name from the light brown or tan bands that are present on the wings of the adult and across the body of the juvinilles, or nymphs.
Unlike the German cockroach which prefers a warm, humid environment, these cockroaches tend to inhabit areas that have less humidity and warmer temperatures.
Approx Size : 11 - 14mm
Habitat: In houses, these insects are most frequently found on ceilings, in roof voids and in or around appliance motors, like fridges and freezers.
Active primarily at night but may be seen wandering in search of food during the day.
An adult brown-banded cockroach can live anywhere from 130 to 315 days, with an average lifespan of 206 days.
A female will produce approximately 14 egg capsules during the course of her life, which contains an average of 10 to 18 eggs.
Once the young hatch, the time needed to develop varies greatly depending upon the environmental conditions, and ranges from as little as 90 days in ideal conditions or as long as 276 in more harsh environments.
Smoky Brown Cockroach
Brown Banded Cockroach
Signs of Infestation
Seeing Cockroach activity, particularly during the day as cockroaches are generally nocturnal and evasive by nature.
Cockroaches produce a chemical called an "aggregation pheromone." The odour of this chemical causes the roaches to stay together in groups. Some people describe the odor of these pheromones as having a "musty oily" smell. As the roach population starts to grow, people with sensitive noses may begin to notice this odour.
Cockroach droppings may appear as small, dark, "pepper-like" material left on countertops or in drawers. Fecal staining may appear as dark spots or smears, some that are slightly raised, in the corners of rooms, along the tops of doors or around small cracks and openings into walls.
Egg casings found in pantries, under sinks and other areas that they may frequent.
How Serious is a Cockroach Infestation?
Cockroaches are filthy pests. They can spread disease, contaminate our food and cause allergies and even asthma. Cockroaches can pick up germs on their legs and bodies as they crawl through decaying matter or sewage and then transfer these germs to food or onto food surfaces.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), they are proven or suspected carriers of the organisms causing diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, leprosy, plague, typhoid fever and viral diseases such as poliomyelitis.
As they reproduce very quickly, Cockroach numbers can increase dramatically within a number of weeks.
Cockroaches can enter your home in many different ways, through cracks and crevices, open doors, windows and in drain pipes. We even bring them inside ourselves hidden in grocery bags and cardboard boxes.
Ideal environment
Your home is an ideal breeding ground for certain species of cockroaches. When supplied with plenty of food, warmth, water and areas to harbor, they can remain active all year round.
Cockroaches reproduce quickly. If you see one then there can be many more hiding, multiplying or ready to hatch behind your walls, cupboards and other areas.
Evasive By Nature
Cockroaches are typically nocturnal, if you have seen one then you probably have not seen them all. The few that you see by day could mean they were forced out by overcrowding or lack of available food source to support the number of cockroaches hidden which is a possible sign of infestation.
The debris created by cockroaches as they shed skin, dead bodies and droppings can increase people's susceptibility to allergies, especially in children and sensitive individuals.
Preventative Treatment.
Getting rid of cockroaches and preventing their return takes a combination of keeping your home clean and tidy (which will make it less attractive to cockroaches), and the appropriate pest control measures put in place.
Cockroaches feed on a diet of rotting garbage and food scraps (and sewage, but we will leave that well alone), so for long-term prevention, it's important to try to mop up any spills as soon as they happen, keep things tidy (listen to your parents kids) and store your food in sealed containers.
As with all pest control measures, be sure to take your rubbish out regularly, and if you have compost bins, keep a close eye on any pest activity.
Pet owners should clean your pets food bowls every night to help stop them having to share their dinner and attracting unwanted guests.
The best remedy for a problem is always to go to the source — if you can follow the path of any cockroaches that you spot and see where they are nesting (cracks and crevices, under skirting boards or inside cupboards, as well as under appliances) this will make treating them with the appropriate pesticide easier and more effective.
If you feel you have a pest problem, or would like to book a preventative pest control treatment please contact us via email or call 0498 560 139 to arrange one of our comprehensive treatments.
Contact Affordable Pest Control Coomera today and we will take care of your Cockroach Pest Control Treatment