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Roaches are unfortunately common; everyone who lives in New York has seen one at some point. Seeing a roach in your home or business is gross – and many people find it embarrassing. While keeping your space clean is a great deterrent for roaches, it’s not a guarantee. Even clean spaces can end up with a roach problem!
If you need cockroach pest control, read on to learn more about these bugs and how the pros at Assured Environments can give you a hand.
Cockroach Identification
The most important step is figuring out what kind of pest you’re dealing with! When a roach scurries past your feet, there isn’t a lot of mystery about what it could be. Even so, here are a few identifying features of these bugs.
Scientific Information
Scientific Order: Blattodea
Most common families:
Blattidae, which includes the most common cockroach species in New York, the American Cockroach (periplaneta americana)
Wood Cockroaches (Ectobiidae), including the German cockroach (blattella germanica)
Cockroach Appearance
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Size: Cockroaches can get as big as 3.5 inches in length but the average roach measures between 1 and 2 inches in length and no more than 30 grams in weight.
- Features: Roaches have six spiny legs and two long antennae which they use to detect odors and to navigate in the dark. They have two sets of wings that fold over their thorax. Their bodies are flat, which lets them squeeze into nooks and crannies where you might not expect them.
- Color: All cockroaches come in varying shades of reddish-brown to black.
Many people are allergic to cockroaches. Cockroaches can secrete a protein allergen called tropomyosin that has been linked to asthma complications. If you have a cockroach allergy, seek professional cockroach control immediately.
Behavior and Diet
Cockroaches are omnivorous. They’ll eat just about anything and don’t require much. In fact, roaches can survive for up to two or three months without eating. However, they do need water to live, which is why humid buildings are often targets for roach infestations.
Roaches live to burrow, dig, and roll around in any filth they can find. Because they can slip through cracks mere millimeters in size, roaches are capable of reaching every conceivable space in your business.
Control and Prevention
The best way to keep NYC cockroaches out of your space is to keep things clean. Roaches love dirt and garbage, especially if there’s food involved. Any food you leave out is fair game; keep food stored in sealed containers and empty trash frequently. Additionally, look for and seal the outdoor gaps and cracks that roaches use as entry points to come inside. Start with door and window frames and screens.
While there are over-the-counter insecticides, glue baits, and powders out on the market, roaches are incredibly hardy creatures. More often than not, if you have a cockroach infestation, your best bet is to call Assured Environments to take care of the issue. Don’t waste time and money on quick fixes that won’t solve the underlying problem.
Signs of Infestation
Signs of a roach infestation include:
- Discarded exoskeletons or egg casings
- Black specks (feces) lying everywhere
- Musty odor
As with most infestations, visible confirmation is also common. Unfortunately, this may mean turning the light on at night and seeing them scurry across the floor.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The average natural lifespan of a cockroach is up to a year. A single female can give birth to eggs eight different times during her life. With each of those egg cases holding up to 50 eggs, a single cockroach can quickly turn into a big problem. In favorable conditions, a single female cockroach will produce anywhere from 3 to 400 offspring.
Once a cockroach egg hatches, the nymph inside seeks out food to grow. As its size increases, a nymph will shed its exoskeleton and grow a new, larger one. This may happen up to a dozen times before they reach full adulthood and gain their wings. You may see these discarded shells in areas where they travel. Baby cockroaches begin white in color and eventually darken to a reddish-brown.
Need a Cockroach Exterminator? Call Assured Environments
Dealing with a roach problem is impossible without help from the pros. The Assured Environments team has over 91 years of experience that we’re ready to put to work for you. We offer pest control services to industries of all sorts, from hospitality to distribution. We can help wherever you are.
Cockroach FAQ
What does a cockroach look like?
Cockroaches are easily identified by their flat, oval-shaped bodies, long antennae and spiny legs. They are almost always reddish-brown except for nymphs which are lighter in color.
What do cockroach eggs look like?
Cockroaches lay their eggs in small, brown casings called ootheca that look like small beans. Despite being 5 mm in length, these ootheca can hold 40-50 cockroach eggs.
Where do cockroaches lay eggs?
Roaches prefer to lay their eggs in warm, dark areas that are left undisturbed. These locations will usually be proximate to a food source so that hatchlings can eat soon after emerging. A mother cockroach might “glue” the ootheca to a hard surface to protect it.
How long does it take for cockroach eggs to hatch?
Incubation under ideal conditions–warm, dark, humid–takes about 50 days. This can extend up to three months in lesser conditions.
What do flying cockroaches look like?
While they do have wings and are capable of flight, cockroaches are not confident flyers and prefer the ground. If you see a rare flying cockroach, it will likely appear slow and clumsy, swerving and dipping.
How long do cockroaches live?
The average lifespan of a cockroach is about one year. They spend the first couple of months as nymphs, molting multiple times until they reach adulthood. Roach lifespan can depend on access to food and water as well as exposure to the elements.
How big is a cockroach?
The types of cockroaches in New York that you’ll typically encounter average about one inch in length. The largest cockroach ever discovered was in Japan and measured nearly four inches long and three inches wide.
Do roaches serve a purpose?
Hard to believe, but in the wild cockroaches do serve several purposes. They’re food for other animals and birds, they help the decomposition of organic matter and they restore nitrogen into the soil.