CTO Blog

The word cockroach is stemmed from the Spanish cucaracha. The cockroach is characterized by a flat oval body, long thin antennae, and a shiny black or brown leathery integument. The head is aimed downward, and the mouthparts point rearward instead of forward or downward as is the case for many other insects. The male usually has two pairs of wings, unlike the female, who in some species, is wingless or holds vestigial wings. The female produces eggs in egg cases (called oothecae). These are on occasion held away from her body or could be stuck in protected parts. After the female produces an egg case, the soft, white nymphs emerge. As their exoskeleton solidifies, it turns brown in appearance. The geometry and remarkable size (some species demonstrate a wingspan of over 12 cm [4.7 inches]) of cockroaches have turned them into a significant objective in the biological laboratory.

The cockroach enjoys a warm, humid, dark living habitat and is generally thriving in tropical and other mild locations. Just a couple species have become pests. The insect harms more material than it consumes and has a disagreeable smell. The nutrition of the roach, which includes both plant and animal products, can be from food, paper, clothing, and books to dead insects, especially bedbugs. Insecticides can be utilized in roach control.

The American cockroach (species Periplaneta americana) is 30 to 50 mm long (up to about 2 inches), reddish brown, and lives outdoors or in dark, heated indoor spaces (e.g., basements and furnace rooms). During adult life, a period of about 1.5 years, the female generates 50 or more oothecae, each containing usually 16 eggs that hatch after 45 days. Nymphal life goes from 11 to 14 months. The American cockroach, indigenous to tropical and subtropical America, has well-developed wings. However, most species are not good at flying.

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica), a common pest in the house and is sometimes incorrectly called a waterbug, is light brown with two dark stripes on the prothoracic area. The female deposits the ootheca three days after mating and carries it for about 20 days. Because it is tiny (about 12 mm [less than 0.5 inch] long), this cockroach often can be brought into houses in grocery bags and boxes; it has gone across the globe by ship. Three or more generations may live yearly. This cockroach, abundant throughout the water pipes of the Croton Aqueduct in New York City, became called the Croton bug.

The brown-banded cockroach (Supella supellectilium) resembles the German cockroach but is a bit smaller. The male has completely developed wings and is brighter in hue than the female, whose wings are stunted and nonfunctional. Both sexes have two light-coloured bands along the back. The adult life span is about 200 days, and there could be two generations annually. Eggs might be left in clothes, wood molding, or cracks in the floor. With the invention of heated buildings this cockroach became more common in cooler locations.

The Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is held as one of the most disgusting of household pests. It is oval, shiny black or dark brown, 25 to 30 mm (1 to 1.2 inches) long, with a life cycle like that of the American cockroach. The male has short, fully developed wings, and the female possesses vestigial wings. This cockroach has been spread by vehicles of business from its Asiatic origins to almost every temperate regions.

Wood roaches are wild pests. Parcoblatta pennsylvanica, the common wood cockroach, lives in logs and stones in northern latitudes. The male and female are so different in appearance that they were once seen as individual species. The male, 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 inch) long, possesses wings that expand past the abdomen; the female is smaller and has much shorter wings. Cryptocercus punctulatus eats wood with the assistance of some protozoans in its digestive tract.

Got a cockroach or pest problem? If you’re looking for pest control Brisbane or a pest exterminator Brisbane, contact Brislander today.